Thousands Of Disney World Workers Face Furloughs Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The 43,000 workers represented by the Service Trades Council Union were the largest group of staff to be furloughed across Florida

(Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Miami: About 43,000 Disney World workers will be furloughed starting April 19, the most extended wave of employees in Central Florida to be sent home without pay because of the Coronavirus outbreak in the US. On Saturday the Service Trades Council Union, an alliance of six locals, declared the news through Facebook Live. The coalition stated Disney had agreed to provide free health care benefits for a year and will keep paying for a program called Disney Aspire that gives workers a free education. About 200 union workers deemed essential will stay on the job, the union said. As reported by Efe news, Disney World had 77,000 employees before it closed its parks, recreational places, and hotels in March. These workers had been receiving their salaries so far. However, after April 19 the management would stop their pay since the company was not sure about the date when it would resume its usual activities. According to Orlando Sentinel news, the 43,000 workers represented by the Service Trades Council Union were the largest group of staff to be furloughed across Florida. The STCU on Saturday in a statement said: "Furloughed part-time employees who are currently eligible and elected medical insurance under the Affordable Care Act for the calendar year 2020 will remain eligible per their current enrollment." The statement further asserted that these employees would remain eligible for the Disney Aspire educational program. The Disney Aspire program is a network of schools enables eligible employees and cast members to pursue undergraduate and master's degrees, high school completion, English-language, and Spanish-language learning and vocational training. As reported by STCU about 200 workers of Disney World, recognized as essential employees, would continue to work to support essential operations. According to the newspaper, Disney has announced that the furlough would apply to executives, full-time and part-time non-union employees whose services are not essential. Universal and Seaworld have announced similar measures. On March 12, Disney had announced that "as a result of this unprecedented pandemic and in line with direction provided by health experts and government officials, Walt Disney World Resort will remain closed until further notice". "The safety and well-being of our guests and employees remain our top priority," it said and announced the temporary closure of Disneyland Paris as well. The company committed to providing full pay and benefits for all employees through April 18 despite the closure of its theme parks and halting its film and television productions.