Disney's Vaccine Mandate For Employees Raises Red Flag With Florida Labor Unions

Walt Disney Co’s DIS efforts to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for its employees has hit a roadblock with the labor union representing the workers in its Florida attractions.

What Happened: The company announced on July 30 it was enacting a new corporate policy “requiring that all salaried and non-union hourly employees in the U.S. working at any of our sites be fully vaccinated.” On-site employees that weren't vaccinated at the time of the announcement were given 60 days to get inoculated, while those working from home “will need to provide verification of vaccination prior to their return, with certain limited exceptions.”

Furthermore, all new Disney hires will not be required to be fully vaccinated prior to the start of their employment.

“Vaccines are the best tool we all have to help control this global pandemic and protect our employees,” the company added in a statement.

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What Else Happened However, it seemed that Disney made its policy shift unilaterally — a point that didn't sit well with the leadership of the labor unions representing the company’s Central Florida employees.

“Unite Here Local 737, along with the other five unions of the Services Trade Council, does not have an agreement in place with Disney regarding Disney’s vaccine mandate,” said President Jeremy Haicken in an Aug. 5 statement on its Facebook page. “We continue to negotiate with Disney. We are especially concerned that unionized workers with medical or religious concerns will be accommodated fairly.”

The Services Trade Council unions, which represent half of the total unions encompassing Walt Disney World’s 70,000 cast members, stressed that it supported COVID vaccinations, but also noted that “any workers who feel unsure about the vaccine should make that decision with their own doctor.” Haicken added that the Unite Here Local 737 was eager to resolve how the company treated employees that raised concerns over getting vaccinated.

“We continue to negotiate with Disney,” he said. “We are especially concerned that unionized workers with medical or religious concerns will be accommodated fairly.”

At the Disneyland Resort in California, the Instagram account for the attraction’s workforce has emphasized the need to get vaccinated. The most recent posting, from Aug. 9, stated, “One of the most effective ways people are responding to encouragement to get vaccinated is through conversations with people they trust and respect – by sharing resources with your friends and family, we can all do our part to protect one another’s health and well-being.”

Photo: Pikist.