Abigail Disney’s Documentary About Pay Disparity at Disney Hits Sundance Tomorrow
If you’ve been following along with us here at MickeyBlog for a while, you’ll know that Abigail E. Disney, granddaughter of Roy O. Disney has long been an opponent of what she sees as a pay disparity within the Walt Disney Company. Though she is not involved with the company she has taken to the media regularly to criticize form Disney CEO Bob Iger for the inequality between what upper management is earning versus the hourly theme park employees. Taking this one step further, Abigail Disney has directed a documentary titled The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales which will be premiering at the Sundance Film festival tomorrow (Monday, January 23, 2022.)
The film, which Abigail Disney co-directed with Kathleen Hughes will premiere digitally because of the pandemic. Executive Producers for the project include Abigail Disney’s sister Susan Disney Lord and brother Tim.
According to a recent piece in The New York Times, the documentary looks at four Disneyland employees who (pre-pandemic) earned $15 an hour. Each of these employees is struggling in their own way against the soaring costs of life in Southern California. The film shows cast members that must choose between medication or food juxtaposed against former CEO Bob Iger who led an accelerated period of gains for stockholders between 2005 and 2020 including Iger’s pay package worth and estimated $65.6 million.
The Disney family has not been involved in managing Disney since their father Roy E. Disney stepped down from the board in 2003.
The New York Times reached out to Disney regarding the documentary who issued the following statement, “The well-being and aspirations of our employees and cast will always be our top priority. We provide a leading and holistic employment package that includes competitive pay and comprehensive benefits for our cast members to grow their careers and care for their families. That starts with fair pay and leading entry wages, but also includes affordable medical coverage, access to tuition-free higher education, subsidized child care for eligible employees, as well as pathways for personal and professional development.”
The statement added, “We are committed to building on our significant efforts to date.”
It should be noted that Disney and Unions have been in negotiations over the past few years regarding cast member wages. Most recently in December, unions representing 9,500 cast members passed a new contract lifting the minimum starting pay to $18 by 2023 which is up from $15.45 last year. The new contracts also include seniority bonuses.
The theme parks in Anaheim employee roughly 30,000 cast members.
In an interview with the NYT, Abigail Disney and her co-director Hughes, said that they were encouraged by Disneyland pay increases but that it still isn’t enough. They went on to say that $24 should be considered a living wage due to the cost of living.
But Abigail remains skeptical saying, “If everything’s different, then why did the new C.E.O. walk away with $32.5 million for a not very profitable year?” She is referring to new Disney CEO Bob Chapek who is Bob Iger’s successor.
As of going to print, the film does not yet have a distributor for major release but that is typically what film festivals are used for. Abigail Disney said that she hopes through tomorrow’s premiere to generate interest from the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Apple to stream the documentary.
In addition to the documentary, Abigail Disney is also a member of the Patriotic Millionaires, a group that advocate for higher taxes on businesses and wealthy individuals.
The film premieres online at the Sundance Film Festival tomorrow, January 24, 2022 at 7:00 pm with a second screening on January 26, 2022 at 10 am. More information can be found here.
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Source: New York Times