Cynthia “Cyn” Carranza meticulously scavenged for a shady parking spot in the car she called home.

The overnight custodian at Disneyland has to sleep during the day - a difficulty for anyone, let alone when you’re living in your car with two dogs. Ms Carranza says she makes $20.65 an hour (about £15.99) at the park but last summer, she couldn’t afford rent in this Southern California city where the average apartment can run more than $2,000 (about £1,550) a month.

Ms Carranza, like others who work at the park, detailed to the BBC the financial hardships that come with working at what’s supposed to be the “Happiest Place on Earth”. About 10,000 union workers at Disneyland - the first of 12 parks created around the globe - are threatening to strike over the wages and what they say are retaliatory anti-union practices.

Hundreds of workers protested outside the park this week, with an array of signs and pins showing Mickey Mouse’s gloved fist in defiance.

“Mickey would want fair pay,” workers chanted outside Disneyland near the park’s gates.

They voted almost unanimously to authorise strike action on Friday, just days before union contract negotiations for workers are set to resume.

      • CaptSneeze@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Or… “I work hard and live modestly in a small apartment with two dogs that I love. Oops, the landlord just jacked up my rent and I can no longer afford it, and the multi-billion dollar company I work for refuses to allow pay increases to help their low-paid employees deal with inflating prices. Now, I have to live in my car briefly while I figure this situation out.”

      • Steve@startrek.website
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        5 months ago

        Reading the other comments, apparently its a human right to keep a dog no matter what your living situation and suggesting they give it up is evil.