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Disneyland Resort agrees deal to raise minimum wage for California staff

Key Points
  • Disneyland Resorts will raise the minimum wage for staff at its California attractions.
  • Unions are still negotiating with workers at Walt Disney World in Florida.
  • Parks and Resorts are Disney's second largest source of income.
Disneyland Resort employees cast their ballots during voting on a new union contract at the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland in Anaheim, CA
Digital First Media Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images | Digital First Media | Getty Images

Walt Disney Co's Disneyland Resort announced it has agreed to raise the minimum wage of employees at its California theme park to $15 per hour by January 2019.

The subsidiary, which runs Disneyland, Disney California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney, said in a press release late Thursday that it had agreed the deal with Master Services Council.

Master Services Council is a conglomerate of unions that represent roughly 9,700 workers employed at the three sites.

The current minimum of $11 per hour is to be lifted immediately to $13.25 with the full 40 percent rise to $15 kicking in at the beginning of next year.

A separate deal for Orlando staff, which would lift their minimum wage from $10 per hour to $15 per hour by 2021, is yet to be finalized.

Former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders attended a protest rally with Disney staff earlier this year and subsequently accused the firm of turning the resort into a "nightmare" for struggling workers.

On July 13, Sanders then tweeted that Disney CEO Bob Iger ought to have a good explanation for his multi-million dollar salary.

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Parks and Resorts during the second quarter of 2018 represented Disney's second-largest division in terms of income, generating $4.88 billion in sales and $954 million in operating income.

In February, Disney raised the admission price for peak period access to the California site by 9 percent, raising the ticket price from $124 to $135.

The share price of Walt Disney has risen 5.6 percent year-to-date.