David Morin, Local 1625
Walt Disney World, Florida
David Morin always had a smile on his face during the 27 years he worked as a cast member in Florida's Disney World. But on April 23 this smile turned upside down when he was terminated, with no prior warning, for giving one of his photo note cards (shown on right) to cheer up a visitor in distress.
He was charged with solicitation. He had given out over a hundred photo cards in the past, many to managers and even VIP's who had requested additional ones. Most of the time these exchanges brought happiness and never any monetary reward. But this day was different. Maybe someone was upset, maybe management was trying to tighten up its policies, or maybe he was just the unfortunate soul who got on someone's bad side. Whatever the case, he found himself alone.
For 27 years he thought his "diligent work ethic and efforts to improve guest satisfaction" would prevail in any misunderstanding. This didn't happen and the union he had resisted joining, UFCW Local 1625, was the only one to stand by him fighting to get him reinstated. After 43 anxious days, he finally got his job back and is once again working at Disney World--only now is a proud union member.
He has this to say about his experience: "If the union hadn't been available as an avenue of appeal, I would have been left to my own devices. I probably would have faded away quietly as Disney expected. But, with the union backing my cause, I stood strong in the face of this unfortunate affront to common sense."
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