Lake Buena Vista, Fla. – Dan Cockerell spent his time as a Walt Disney World college intern checking guests into their hotel rooms, working as a custodian and parking cars. He says the experience 16 years ago has been useful in his current job as general manager of the Disney All-Star Resort.
Each year, 8,000 students come to Disney World to work as six-month college interns in one of the largest internship programs in the country. The interns make up a significant portion of Disney World’s 55,000-person workforce. They learn about customer service and absorb Disney’s hospitality culture.
“It’s very different for the students from working at the local mall,” said Kristi Breen, manager of college and international recruiting at Disney World.
But aside from giving interns valuable experience, the program is a relatively cheap source of labor for Disney and sometimes worries the unionized workers, although union officials approved the program when it began almost 25 years ago.
“None of them are paid properly,” Ed Chambers, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1625, said of the college interns. “They’re like indentured slaves … They live on Disney property. They eat Disney food. They take Disney transportation.”
Most of the college interns earn $6.25 an hour, well below the more than $11- an-hour pay for a veteran employee doing the same tasks. Interns also don’t receive any pension or health-care benefits like regular workers.
Despite his concerns, Chambers said the program probably is a good experience for the students because they learn what it’s like in the working world.
Omarr Cantu, who recently graduated from Texas A&M University with degrees in history and communications, worked as a ride operator at the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway in the Magic Kingdom four years ago. His experience this summer is quite different as an advanced intern in the marketing department of the resort’s human resources department.
Cockerell regularly tells college interns that they can handle anything after being in the program.
“Guests walk up to you and … they expect all the great service and heritage, and you have to know everything about everything,” Cockerell said. “It’s a bit overwhelming.”
