Over the weekend Workers United Local 50 President Chris Duarte posted on the Union’s Facebook page that over 200 union members will be recalled from furlough to support the expansion of Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort.
As Disneyland still does not have reopening date for their theme parks, this past Friday Disney announced they were expanding the shopping and dining options at the Downtown Disney resort by opening up selected dining and shopping options in Disney California Adventure theme park.
Duarte informed members that the recall of more than 2o0 Local 50 members “will happen in a few waves” beginning with “trainers, leads, and some heart of house roles.” These individuals will be responsible for getting the restaurants ready to open.
The post went on to say that recalls from each scheduling group will be by job classification (steward, food prep, receiver, etc.) in descending seniority order regardless of location job knowledge. Leads, trainers, and others in premium positions, they will be notified in descending seniority order by full time conversion dates. For some Carthay Circle roles previous skill and ability requirements may be enforced.
In addition to the union members, some non-union Cast Members will also be recalled increasing the total number of employees that will head back to work at the resort.
Opening in November for the holiday season, retail shops that will be reopened at Disney California Advenrture’s Buena Vista Street are Elias & Co., Julus Kats & Sons, and Kingswell Camera Shop. Dining options will include Trolly Treats (food selections from vendor carts); Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe (coffee and sandwiches); Smokejumpers Grill offering a “streamlined menu” through mobile ordering on the Disneyland app; and the Carthay Circle Lounge – available for outdoor seated dining only.
On Tuesday, October 20, California Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly presented the State’s requirements for theme parks to reopen. Under the requirements, large theme parks – such as Disneyland – can reopen when their county enters the yellow or “minimal” tier and at only a 25 % capacity. Currently Orange County (where the City of Anaheim is located) has been in the red or “substantial” tier since September 8. It has yet to meet the metrics to move into the orange or “moderate” tier. Once they move into the next tier the county needs to remain at or below acceptable levels for three consecutive weeks.
Based on the four-tier system, Disneyland was not expected to be able to reopen until after the first week in November. Now, based on currently conditions it could be at least until December and possibly into early next year.
