Local 50, the union that represents many Disneyland employees, recently issued a statement on its Facebook page indicating that it had received notice that the Anaheim park would be implementing a vaccine mandate. "The deadline will be April 11th to have verification of vaccination submitted," according to the article.
On the Local 50 Facebook page, the announcement provoked a lot of debate among members and union officials. Many commenters wondered why the union didn't convince the park to compel guests to get vaccinated as well, despite the fact that HIIPA does not extend to vaccination status and if corporations can require particular vaccinations as a condition of employment.
“For everyone asking why we didn’t come to an agreement with Disney. We requested that they also require guests to show proof of vaccination or a negative test and Disney said no,” wrote Local 50 Steward Chris Shively on the union’s Facebook page. “Disney has no intent to require guests to show proof of vaccinations or a negative test. They have specifically communicated that to us.”
"Yeah of course we did," Shively said when asked if the union indicated why it wanted visitors and Cast Members to be vaccinated. " The company said no. They had no interest in wanting to require guests to show proof of vaccination or negative test."
Rather than requiring proof of vaccination, the Anaheim park encourages visitors to "self-attest that they are in compliance" with California's standards, which include either full immunization or a recent negative test. Many medical specialists do not regard self-attestation to be a best practice, and it is not permitted in the state for admittance into indoor "mega-events" involving more than 500 people, such as concerts, sporting events, and the like.
Attestation is permissible, but not advised, for outdoor events with more than 5,000 attendees, which one thinks includes Disneyland. According to the state's Covid website, "CDPH does not recommend using self-attestation to verify vaccination status or negative test results" for such situations. It should be remembered that masking is required indoors and on rides at Disneyland.
Early in the epidemic, the state's stance on theme parks was significantly more stringent, with Governor Newsom urging that they remain closed even while other industries were allowed to remain open. Park operators and a trade body representing them said that they had a lengthy history of preventing infection and that they were actually safer than other venues that had been reopened. A split developed between then-Disney CEO Bob Iger and Newsom as a result of the disagreement.
The original message, which was recently uploaded on the Local 50 Facebook page, is as follows:
We have received notice, after months of good faith negotiations on the matter, that the company will be moving forward on a vaccine mandate for Local 50 and other Union’s not currently under a mandate. Cast will receive an email with details of the mandate. The deadline will be April 11th to have verification of vaccination submitted. Accommodations for religious and/or medical reasons will be available.
In July, Disney announced that all salaried and non-union cast members will need to be completely immunized. According to a Disneyland official, the corporation has been in talks with unions representing many of the remaining employees under collective bargaining agreements since then. According to the park administrator, those covered by such agreements must now complete immunization protocols by March 28.
While the company's claimed vaccination procedure completion date of March 28 may appear to conflict with Local 50's April 11 deadline, the two may be on the same timeframe if the former implies becoming completely vaccinated and the latter means producing proof of immunization. In fact, a two-week gap between the two would be prudent, since it would allow the vaccine-induced immunity to take full effect.
Disney has stated that their most essential job is to keep employees safe, and that immunization is the most effective way to do so, according to practically every major medical authority in the world. Rather than sending cast members to clinics or doctor's offices, the Anaheim park, which was turned into a mass immunization site during last year's lockdown, has said it will make vaccines available to them on site.
The bulk of the park's employees have apparently been vaccinated, but Disney has stated that "some restricted exceptions" will be made, which most likely means allowances for people with medical issues that impede vaccination and those who have religious convictions that hinder immunization.
When the mandate was first revealed, the Walt Disney Company issued the following statement:
At The Walt Disney Company, the safety and well-being of our employees during the pandemic has been and continues to be a top priority. Toward that end, and based on the latest recommendations of scientists, health officials and our own medical professionals that the COVID-19 vaccine provides the best protection against severe infection, we are requiring that all salaried and non-union hourly employees in the U.S. working at any of our sites be fully vaccinated. Employees who aren’t already vaccinated and are working on-site will have 60 days from today to complete their protocols and any employees still working from home will need to provide verification of vaccination prior to their return, with certain limited exceptions. We have also begun conversations around this topic with the unions representing our employees under collective bargaining agreements. In addition, all new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated before beginning employment. Vaccines are the best tool we all have to help control this global pandemic and protect our employees.
After Florida state legislators, backed by Governor Ron DeSantis, approved a flurry of bills restricting mask and vaccine regulations, Walt Disney World in Orlando placed its employee immunization mandate on hold in November.
