Within days of the Actors’ Equity Association urging members not to take jobs with Florida’s Walt Disney World until the resort agrees to provide the COVID-19 tests, the amusement park reports that “tens of thousands of cast members “They are preparing to return for the staged opening. That starts on July 11.
On the official Disney Parks Blog today, Laurel Slater, Walt Disney World’s Communications, Public Affairs Manager, writes: “With just eight days until we reopened our first theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort, tens of thousands of cast members they have straightened as we begin to return to work. As we return to the gradual reopening of our theme parks, we look forward to welcoming our castmates home to begin training in preparation for the reopening. “
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The blog post, apparently the first public statement from the resort since Equity rejected its reopening plan for worker safety, also includes a video of cast members entering the park, wearing protective masks, taking their temperatures and expressing their gratitude. for going back to work. Look the following video.
Neither the blog nor the video makes it clear whether the returning cast members are non-union or affiliated with a New York-based non-Equity union.
In addition to portraying Disney characters, cast members (a term for Disney resorts) include employees attending attractions and rides, some security positions and retail jobs, among others.
In a tweet today in response to the video, Equity wrote: “If you are focusing on safety, we hope you will try performers, as there were 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday.” The tweet included the hashtag “$ DIS”.
The Florida Department of Health reported yesterday that the state set a daily record of 10,109 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed Florida coronavirus cases to about 170,000. Sixty-seven new deaths were reported Thursday, bringing the state total to 3,617. Officials in Orange County, where Orlando is located, announced that all county-operated beaches will remain closed during the July 4 holiday weekend.
According to Slater’s blog post, the resort is “dedicating thousands of hours to health and safety training because we know it will take all of us to work together to responsibly create magic once again.” The amusement park website indicates that safety precautions will include improved cleanings, physical distance, reduced contact, and mandatory facial covers for all guests and cast members and possible temperature readings.
Equity has insisted that Walt Disney World add COVID testing to those precautions. In an email to its members on Wednesday, reported exclusively by Deadline, the union wrote: “Disney knows that the tests make it a safer workplace. Why else would Disney agree to try out for film productions? If proofs help keep a film set safe, that’s true for artists in parks, too. Despite that, we have not reached an agreement with Disney for the tests. “
The deadline reached Walt Disney World but received no response.
Yesterday, both Walt Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in California confirmed the indefinite suspension of their internship program at Disney College and withdrew job offers to students they had previously completed through the program, in part due to the continued closure of Disney homes.
