www.broadwayworld.com: "A bill that could provide these laid-off employees with unemployment insurance and a pathway to affordable health care has been sitting on Mitch McConnell's desk for months," said Mary McColl, executive director of Actors' Equity Association. "In Florida, laid off Disney workers can only receive $275 in unemployment benefits, which is unconscionable. The Senate must help these workers."
5 comments:
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Disney would lay off so many workers. It makes sense for them to do, they are currently operating at a very minimum capacity and quite frankly I do not know how they are not downright closed down. But anyway, it still comes with the issue that out of all industries the entertainment industry will not reopen until there is a vaccine; this will take several months still. This leaves 28,000 people unemployed, with little chance to be able to work and receive an income with the benefits of it. Although Equity is evidently doing all they can I cannot help but wonder if it’s getting too late. The progression of events happened fairly recently, although the act has been trying to get passed since may. It is now August, and it is clear that things will remain the way they are for the next several months. All of these workers deserve some sort of stability, something that should be provided if things are to remain closed down.
I think it is crazy that Disney is laying off even more of their employees! Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, I have heard over and over how Disney is laying people off. My technical director in high school was an Imagineer at Disney Land in Aneheim as a lighting designer, and he was layed off in the first wave. It is such a shame how Disney has resorted to firing people rather than finding ways of providing jobs (we all know they have the money). What is especially shocking is that employees can only make up to $275 per week in unemployment benefits, which is simply ridiculous and in no way how these people can sustain themselves. This just comes to show the truth and dark side of the Disney titan. Even further, until the Senate releases this bill, these unemployed workers are currently receiving nothing. It is quite evident how selfish and maybe even panicky Disney is feeling during this pandemic.
I agree with Hikari. Disney does have a lot of money. Money that could be spent maybe not to save everyone’s job (though that would be nice) but to create digital content. Look at companies like Cirque du Soleil that just filed for bankruptcy protection that has been building out a virtual world. Think with all the Imagineers or just a handful how much great content the company could be created either for free for or some money. Also, I understand that Equity Actors need to trade unions but couldn’t Disney help with that and these performers could do some voice acting for Disney. I’m super sure that this has been discussed and might even be happening (I am really out of the commercial theatre/entertainment world (I love nonprofits even though they are broken). Something that I don’t know how powerful it is or how truthful it is, is the political power of Disney. Disney has to keep stories out of the public domain but lobbying Washington, why can’t they lobby Washington harder for the passage of the HEROS act. I know what I just said greatly simplifies issues but I think Disney is acting like this hopeless identity when really they are a global corporation with a lot of power. Lastly, I am woefully uninformed about unemployment but I am wondering who/what identity sets the number of weekly unemployment to be a maximum of $275?
It kind of makes my blood boil that the HEROES Act is only finally being taken into serious consideration now that Disney has announced the lay off of 28,000 of its employees. Like, of course as soon as the big business is in trouble then the Senate may actually acknowledge the problem. Being from Florida, seeing the fact that the state unemployment is only $275 per week makes me sick to my stomach. That is nowhere near a liveable wage. On top of that, I am sure Disney could compensate their workers if they diverted where they choose to spend their budget but obviously they would never do so because the talent, in their eyes, is expendable. When the need for more performers arises, then they will rehire but for now they are going to try and make their former employees the government’s issue, when they could just as well handle it themselves. I am also signed up to receive emails from the Actors Equity Association and let me just tell you, they have really been sending out petitions for funding.
I'll be completely frank: I was pissed when I read that Disney was laying off so many of their workers. Now, that anger is focused on multiple fronts. On the one hand, I just despise that Disney is laying off their theme park workers and performers while their management and corporate teams are probably immune to those same risks - despite those positions accounting for much more in terms of costs due to much higher salaries and benefits. On the other hand, I am angry at what apparently is our completely inept Congress, seeing as they can't even for a second look beyond their petty party biases and political disagreements to provide the American people with some much-needed aid during this financially draining pandemic. It's just another instance showing that we are ultimately expendable to any of those senators or house members that continue to drag their feet on passing legislation like the HEROES Act. Combine these two circumstances (both corporate greed and hypocrisy and government ineptitude), and you have a clear image of the issues currently facing our country, and a detailed explanation of how we have gotten into the current mess we are in with this pandemic.
Post a Comment