Performers who play characters like Mickey Mouse and Goofy at the Disneyland Resort in Southern California voted overwhelmingly to join the Actors’ Equity Association.

Seventy-nine percent of the performers voted to unionize, well above the minimum 50%-plus-1 margin needed to be successful.

The union will focus on improving employee benefits, working conditions and job security, said Kate Shindle, the president of the Actors’ Equity Association.

The Actors’ Equity Association already represents performers and stage managers at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disney Theater performers and stage managers on Broadway and national tours. More than a dozen unions represent 21,000-plus Disneyland employees who work in retail, food service, security, pyrotechnics, hair and makeup.

Nearly 30% of the more than 14 million wage and salary workers who belonged to a union in 2023 lived in California or New York, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

USA Today, May 19

CNN, May 19