Some Workers At Walt Disney World Reporting Being Laid Off As a Result Of COVID-19
As we reported on Friday here at MickeyBlog, Walt Disney World has closed its gates indefinitely during this time of COVID-19 and social distancing. As part of this announcement, the company pledged that they will continue paying Cast Members through April 18th.
However, a recent piece on WFTV News suggests that commitment may not apply to all workers and that some employees on Disney projects have already been laid off.
One example given was that of new mother Samatha Colunga who reports being laid off from Buena Vista Construction Company two weeks ago. The Company is a is an indirect subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. In the report Colunga admitted, “In this type of work that we do, we do get laid off, but usually we know it’s coming and we’re a little bit more prepared for it,” Colunga added. “This just came up out of nowhere.”
Colunga told WFTV that she is currently staying at home where she’s now waiting to collect unemployment. However, she’s worried about insurance for her newborn telling the network, “I have to pay out of pocket if he’s not covered. That is a harsh reality for so many people, ”
Union leaders have stepped in to voice their concerns believing that the construction company should’ve continued to pay the workers especially given that the government recently passed their stimulus package. “Most of the small businesses in the construction industry are used to laying their workforce off in response to a slowed-down economy, so they already reacted before the government did,” said James Williams with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.
As we previously covered here at MickeyBlog, Walt Disney World has halted current construction projects during the outbreak which includes a makeover to Cinderella Castle as well as numerous projects as part of the re-imagining of EPCOT.
Readers are encouraged to keep following along with MickeyBlog for the latest Disney-related news and updates.
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Source: WFTV