Disney reaches agreement with workers' union in Florida to avoid layoffs for full-time cast members - but 8,800 part-time employees will lose their jobs

About 8,800 part-time union workers at Walt Disney World in Florida will lose their jobs, but no full-time cast members will be 'forced into layoffs' following a union agreement Wednesday.

Last week Disney announced it will lay off 28,000 people across its theme park division nationwide.

On Wednesday Disney World's largest union the Service Trades Council Union announced that 8,800 part-time cast members furloughed during the coronavirus will be laid off as the theme park cuts about 20 percent of its workforce.

This announcement brings the total known layoffs for the Florida park to more than 15,500 at the Walt Disney World Resort, which previously employed 77,000 people.

The once-packed theme park has struggled to draw crowds since re-opening amid the pandemic. 

About 8,800 part-time union workers at Walt Disney World in Florida will be laid off, but no full-time cast members will be 'forced into layoffs' following a union agreement Wednesday. Last week Disney announced it will lay off 28,000 people across its theme park division nationwide

The Service Trades Council Union announced the agreement Wednesday following negotations with Walt Disney over the struggling Florida theme park

The Florida parks reopened this summer, but the California parks have yet to reopen as the company awaits guidance from the state of California. 

Since the re-opening ,21,627 full-time cast members and 3,877 part-time have been recalled to their jobs. Meanwhile, 7,731 full-time and 9,106 part-time cast members are currently on furlough status, according to the Orlando Sentinel.       

Many of those furloughed include vacation planners, hotel housekeepers, Monorail drivers and hotel bellhops, and now many of these positions will be laid off.

Following negotiations Disney and the union, which represents 43,000 cast members, agreed no full-time union workers will be 'forced' to layoff status.  

According to the deal, full-time workers whose positions aren’t needed can transfer to another position and if they don’t agree they can be laid off. Those workers who are laid off will receive two months pay. 

In the deal cast members who are laid off have priority to get their jobs, pay, and seniority back for the next two years when Disney starts hiring again.

According to the deal, full-time workers whose positions aren’t needed can transfer to another position and if they don’t agree they can be laid off. Those workers who are laid off will receive two months pay 

'Any cast members who are laid off in the future will retain their employment, their seniority, rate of pay including any scheduled increases, and the right to return back to previous job with the Company until October 1, 2022,' the agreement says. 

Laid-off part time employees will also have the contractual right to be recalled to their old jobs through October 1, 2022. 

Service Trades Council Union president Matt Hollis said on the pact: 'When you compare our strong agreement protections for all STCU Cast Members with what is happening to employees at other theme parks in Central Florida like Universal or Seaworld, there can be no question…the Union made the difference.'

However, he admitted it’s a difficult time, especially for the part-time workers.

The once-packed theme park has struggled to draw crowds since re-opening amid the pandemic. The Florida parks reopened this summer, but the California parks have yet to reopen as the company awaits guidance from the state of California

'There’s pain being felt across the board,' Hollis said.

'These are unprecedented times. It is unfortunate anytime a worker is laid off and the mass layoffs that Disney is facing are extremely difficult for 1,000s of Cast Members,' the Service Trades Council Union said in a statement.

'As incredibly difficult as it is to take this action, this agreement helps us preserve many full-time jobs,' Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said in a statement. 

'For those affected by this decision, we thank you for all your dedication. While we don’t know when the pandemic will be behind us, we are confident in our resilience, and we hope to welcome back Cast Members where we can.'