Disney World's Maintenance and Trades Unions Will Vote November 19 on Authorizing a Strike

The skilled maintenance and trades workers who keep Walt Disney World running behind the scenes are being asked to give their unions the power to strike.

Members of the Craft Maintenance Council (CMC) will vote on November 19 in Orlando on whether to authorize strike action against Disney, according to a union letter reported by WDW News Today on Sunday evening. The letter, which WDW News Today says came from North America's Building Trades Unions, asks for the vote to increase the unions' leverage in the next round of contract talks. It does not set a walkout date.

Who the CMC is

The CMC brings together local craft and trade unions whose members handle skilled maintenance work at Disney, largely behind the scenes. Per WDW News Today, eight unions belong to it:

• Bricklayers
• Carpenters
• Electricians
• Laborers
• Operating Engineers
• Painters
• Plumbers/Pipefitters
• Teamsters

How the talks got here

The CMC's contract with Disney ran out on September 28, 2026. Since then it has rolled over month to month while the two sides negotiate. On October 13, members unanimously voted down Disney's first offer, and WDW News Today reports that member feedback "overwhelmingly indicated that higher wages remain the top priority."

The unions say they expect talks to resume in December. The November 19 vote is meant to strengthen the unions' hand if Disney's next offer is also voted down.

What a yes vote would and would not mean

The letter stresses that a strike is not imminent. As quoted by WDW News Today, it says: "The Unions expect to resume negotiations with the company in December and will continue working diligently to reach a fair agreement. A strike remains a last resort."

It goes on to lay out the next step if wages do not move: "If, at the conclusion of the December negotiations, there is no substantial progress on wages, the Unions may provide the Company with the required 14-day notice to terminate the agreement."

And even that would not automatically mean picket lines: "Terminating the agreement allows the Unions to strike, but it does not mean that a strike would have to be called."

Under the process the letter describes, a strike would only become possible after the December negotiations end without substantial progress on wages and a 14-day termination notice runs out. A yes vote on November 19 would authorize the unions to call a strike if it comes to that. It does not set a strike date.

An earlier labor fight at EPCOT

This is not the first recent union dispute at Disney World. In October 2025, WDW News Today reported that an arbitrator had ruled that workers at Tutto Italia Ristorante, Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria and Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar in EPCOT's Italy Pavilion, who are represented by UNITE HERE Local 737 and employed by Disney contractor Patina Group, could not strike. Disney had argued that a strike by any employees on its property would violate its contract with Local 737 and five other unions.

What it means for your trip

Nothing in the letter points to an immediate change for guests. According to WDW News Today, the contract remains extended month to month, no strike has been called, and the letter itself calls a strike a last resort. We will report the result of the November 19 vote, and any news out of the December talks, as it comes in.

Sources

• WDW News Today: CMC Union Members to Vote on Authorizing Strike Against Disney
• WDW News Today: Disney Blocks Historic Labor Strike by Food Service Employees at EPCOT (October 2025)

Image credits: WDW News Today (featured image of Cinderella Castle with flowers); Disney (Cinderella Castle and the Partners statue).