Cast Members Are Heading Back To Disney World To Work and Still Haven’t Received Unemployment
As Walt Disney World readies itself for a theme park reopening next month Cast Members including custodial staff are being called back to the resort, however, some haven’t even received their unemployment checks yet.
Local news agencies including ClickOrlando and the Orlando Sentinel are drawing attention to the fact that many Walt Disney World Cast Members who were furloughed by the company back in April are getting ready to return to work. For many, it marks the end of a stressful period of applying for unemployment but not seeing the checks come through from the State of Florida.
Check out this tweet here from Gabrielle Russon at the Orlando Sentinel:
A furloughed Epcot custodian is getting the call to go back to work — before he ever got his unemployment benefits. https://t.co/2d8hSmJPZX @orlandosentinel
— Gabrielle Russon (@GabrielleRusson) June 4, 2020
When Disney announced that the parks would remain closed until further notice back in April, the company also made the decision to furlough the majority of their Orlando employees. This gave thousands of Orlando cast members the opportunity to apply for unemployment to provide them with some financial support during this uncertain time.
However, according to a recent piece on ClickOrlando, hundreds of Disney employees that registered for unemployment in April are now saying they are still waiting for their state and federal unemployment checks to come through.
This is similar to a piece that ran today in the Orlando Sentinel announcing that Disney will be bringing back full-time attractions and custodian workers as earlier as June according to local union 362. Some of those cast members working in areas that will remain closed such as vacation planners and water park employees may be able to be transferred to another department to get back to work sooner.
“With a focus on the health and wellness of our cast members and guests, we have worked with the unions on a thoughtful plan to bring thousands of our existing cast members back to work as soon as possible in a safe and responsible way,” Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said.
This couldn’t come any sooner for many employees like EPCOT custodian Ramon Rodriguez who said he got a call to return back to work before he received his first unemployment check. Though Disney helped usher furloughed employees into unemployment many cast members are reporting that they never received benefits, that they’ve been told they don’t qualify even though the should and some even say they received an initial check only to have consecutive checks stop.
Rodriguez said, “Sometimes I’m angry. What am I supposed to do? Cry?” He went on to tell the paper that he has struggled to navigate what many say is a confusing system.
If you are a cast member that has yet to receive your unemployment benefits, reach out to ClickOrlando who are going to continue to report on the topic. Email: makeendsmeet@wkmg.com
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