The Maverick Disney Takes Aim At Bob Iger

Abigail Disney

Abigail Disney, an heiress of the Walt Disney empire, has become a champion for better working conditions in her family’s parks after she went undercover in one of them and found a grim reality beneath the facade of the “Happiest Place on Earth," according to The Washington Post.

Disney, 59, decided to look into working conditions at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif., last year, after a beleaguered worker reached out to her via Facebook. What she found there left her disenchanted — and, she says, clashed with the values of her grandfather, Roy O. Disney, who co-founded the company with his brother, Walt Disney.

“Every single one of these people I talked to were saying, ‘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,’ ” Disney told Yahoo News. “I was so livid when I came out of there because, you know, my grandfather taught me to revere these people that take your tickets, that pour your soda."

Disney doesn’t have an active role in the company, which GOBankingRates recently estimated has a net worth of $130 billion. The Walt Disney Co. enjoyed a record profit of $12.6 billion last year on nearly $60 billion in revenue, with much thanks to the strong performance of its theme parks. After a prosperous year — in part fueled by the windfall from President Trump’s tax cuts — Disney offered $1,000 bonuses to more than 125,000 workers and funneled $50 million into an employee education program.


“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,” the Walt Disney Co. said in a statement to The Washington Post. “Our Disney Aspire initiative is the most comprehensive employee education program in the country, covering 100% of all tuition costs, books and fees so our hourly workers can pursue higher education free of charge, and graduate free of debt.”

In the statement, the company also said it offers “flexible schedules and subsidized childcare” for its employees, and said that more than 40 percent of Disney’s hourly workers are signed up to participate in the Disney Aspire initiative.