A Disney Heiress Who Went Undercover at Disneyland Was “Livid” About Worker Conditions
Disney heiress Abigail Disney went undercover at Disneyland.
She said she found that the company isn't treating its workers fairly.
When you think of Disneyland or any of Disney's other theme parks, your brain might be flooded with images of Dole Whips, characters cheesin' with superfans, and, of course, all the rides. It's supposed to be the happiest place on earth, but Disney heiress Abigail Disney found the exact opposite when she went undercover at the Anaheim, California park.
In an interview with Yahoo, she said she was inspired to go undercover after a worker messaged her on Facebook to tell her about low wages. The message, which was similar to many others Abigail encountered while at Disneyland, said, "I don't know how I can maintain this face of joy and warmth when I have to go home and forage for food in other people's garbage."
Abigail didn't go into too many details about her undercover work, but she said she was "so livid" by the end of the day. Then she called out Disney's CEO Bob Iger and said, "Bob needs to understand he's an employee, just the same as the people scrubbing gum off the sidewalk are employees."
She also called on him to to close the wage gap between himself and average Disney workers. BTW, Bob made $66 million last year, more than 1,000 times the median salary of a Disney employee, which is $46,127.
She emailed him saying:
"You're a great CEO by any measure, perhaps even the greatest CEO in the country right now. You know, your legacy is that you're a great manager. And if I were you, I would want something better than that. I would want to be known as the guy who led to a better place, because that is what you have the power to do."
And for the record, Abigail once said that while she has shares in Disney, she has no input regarding the company's operations.
When Disney heard of Abigail's comments, they gave a statement to CNN Business and said they pay everyone above minimum wage and have a program that pays its workers to earn degrees. That said, Abigail said they didn't respond to her directly. Disney's statement in-full:
"Disney is at the forefront of providing workforce education, which is widely recognized as the best way to create economic opportunity for employees and empower upward mobility. American workers need meaningful change; they deserve smart policies and practical programs, like Disney Aspire, that empower them to achieve their goals and ensure they are part of the most competitive workforce in the world."
Ultimately, Abigail thinks the country needs to "change the way we understand and practice capitalism without trampling on the dignity and rights of their employees."
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