The National Labor Relations Board is now allowing roughly 60 “Minnie Van” drivers to join a local Orlando Union.
The drivers are officially employed by The Walt Disney Company and pick up guests for personal rides around property through the Lyft rideshare app.
Disney had originally argued the Lyft driver jobs couldn’t be covered by a union since the Teamsters union waived their right to represent any workers not mentioned in its five-year contract. The Teamsters negotiated the contract in 2014 along with five other unions that form a coalition called the Service Trades Council. The council already represents about half of the 77,000 employees at Disney World.
David Cohen, a National Labor Relations Board member, says the waiver can’t apply to those drivers because the job didn’t exist when the contract was negotiated.
Cohen also said that the job the “Minnie Van” drivers do is hardly any different than bus drivers and other transportation workers already represented by the Teamsters.
Disney has yet to respond to the new ruling.
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