Disney World Raises Minimum Wage For Its Employees To $10/Hour

Posted in Our Blog on April 18, 2014

Kudos to the Walt Disney Company, which recently announced it would be raising the minimum wage at its Florida theme parks to $10 an hour over the next two years. For many employees, this will amount to a 25% raise.

Today, the starting pay for an employee at Disney World is $8.03 an hour. The raise will bring minimum Disney World wages in line with the federal minimum wage President Obama is seeking.

This is good news for the employees of Disney’s parks, who work so hard to make vacations memorable for millions of people every year. But it should be noted that this is overdue-Disney recorded its highest profits ever last year, at $6.6 billion. That it would share more of its pie with its employees is a testament to the power of organized labor, as the union representing Disney World employees was able to successfully negotiate this raise in a state that is historically hostile to labor.

Disney as a company is a true American institution, built on wonderful ideals laid out in its films, TV shows, and theme parks. Congratulations to the company for changing its own behavior to be more in line with its message. Let’s hope it continues to do so.