25,000 Disney Workers Wish Upon A Class Action Lawsuit, Demand A Living Wage (Wonkette)

A referendum was passed some time ago requiring businesses in Anaheim which receive tax subsidies to pay $18.00 an hour, with which Disneyland is starting to comply.

However, since that referendum was passed, Anaheim gave Disneyland a huge tax subsidy to pay for a parking garage. The tax subsidy was paid for with a bond measure (never vote for unrestricted bonds), so the city is claiming since Disneyland is paying back the city over several decades, the parking garage people are not subject to the minimum wage passed in the city.

The suit, which was granted class action status in July, will determine whether $550 million contributed by Anaheim to construction of Disneyland’s Mickey and Friends garage constitutes a city subsidy. At the heart of the issue is whether Disney is taking a city subsidy because of the complicated way Anaheim is repaying municipal bonds it took out to pay for construction of the garage, which opened in 2000. The bonds are being repaid largely through taxes Disney pays and through hotel room taxes collected by the city as well. Randy Renick, the attorney who filed the class action suit, believes that repayment constitutes a city subsidy, since Disneyland keeps the revenue from the garage even though it was financed by the city.