Disneyland workers answer to 'electronic whip'

[Newsjock]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1019-lopez-disney-20111018,0,1918886.column

In the basements of the Disneyland and Paradise Pier hotels in Anaheim, big flat-screen monitors hang from the walls in rooms where uniformed crews do laundry. The monitors are like scoreboards, with employees' work speeds compared to one another. Workers are listed by name, so their colleagues can see who is quickest at loading pillow cases, sheets and other items into a laundry machine.

... Isabel Barrera, a Disneyland Hotel laundry worker for eight years, began calling the new system the "electronic whip" when it was installed last year. The name has stuck.

... Employees in the Anaheim hotels are required to key in their ID when they arrive, and from then on, their production speed is displayed for all to see. For instance, the monitor might show that S. Lopez is working at an efficiency rate of 37% of expected production. The screen displays the names of several coworkers at once, with "efficiency" numbers in green for those near or above 100% of the expected pace, and red numbers for those who aren't as fast.

... According to Barrera, the whip has led to a sort of competition among workers, some of whom have tried to race to the head of the pack. But that has led to dissension and made other employees worry that a reasonable pace won't be enough to keep the boss happy. Barrera and Beatriz Topete, an official with Unite Here Local 11, said employees have been known to skip bathroom breaks out of fear that their production will fall and managers will demand an explanation. They say they felt bad for a pregnant employee who had trouble keeping up.

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. panopticon

[Capitalocracy]

16. +1. This sort of practice has been going on in call centers for years.

My wife worked at one where they didn't let people go to the bathroom.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Horrific that we go there

and yes it is a whip

[msongs]

3. "the happiest place on earth" nt

[Dawson Leery]

4. Disneyland, a place I can easily live without.

[Cid_B]

21. This girl disagrees with you

Skip halfway if you don't have the full 3 minutes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OOpOhlGiRTM

[tammywammy]

25. That girl was adorable

Very sweet video.

[CreekDog]

50. she probably won't be able to afford to go to Disneyland if she ends up working there

like the workers described in the article.

:shrug:

[Dawson Leery]

57. +1

[Ignis]

61. +1

[alittlelark]

5. I detest disney even more now.

Hard to make my revulsion stronger - but this story did.

[snagglepuss]

7. +1

[silverweb]

6. Shameful.

Treating workers like machines. I've hated Disney Corp for some time now and this just reinforces that feeling.

[diane in sf]

8. This is a sick way to treat workers.

[Bluestar]

9. The happiest place on earth

I worked there for 10 months. Taking that job was biggest mistake of my career.

[Kaleko]

27. It's called Mouseschwitz

by screenwriters who have worked for Disney. That's a wordplay on Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration/labor camp.

[lumberjack_jeff]

30. Heh. +1

[Javaman]

32. it's very anti-union.

VERY anti-union.

I had a friend who worked there as an animator back a number of years. She only did it because she couldn't get anything else fresh out of college. As she said, "she did her time", then got the hell out.

calling her bosses slave drivers would be polite.

[Nye Bevan]

36. That's offensive to families of the *real* Auschwitz victims.

Employee production targets is not comparable to the murder of millions.

[Kaleko]

49. Oh yes, someone should be appointed who can whip all these creative people

using offensive language into shape!

If not you, who?

[gratuitous]

56. The Holy Rodent Empire?

{Looks around quickly to make sure there aren't any troops commanded by Charlemagne to object} :hide:

[readmoreoften]

67. +1

[Blue_Tires]

28. I had a friend who did the culinary arts program in Orlando

He thought he would be doing something high profile after the training, but instead ended up outside in the heat slinging burgers at a snack bar earning slave wages...After a few months he'd had enough and scrounged the gas money to drive home (900 miles) and even though he was penniless, depressed and his leaving probably prevented a "going postal" tragedy, Disney still sent him a monster bill for training, the apartment and breach of contract...This was several years ago, and I'm only remembering a fraction of the hellish misery he had to deal with...

You know where I first met this guy? In a suicide prevention support group--True story...

[Initech]

10. They might as well just have a guy beating the drums.

[raccoon]

29. You mean like in the galley in BEN HUR? ITA. nt

[Hugabear]

11. Considering what they get paid, it's even more shameful

Nothing like pitting worker against worker...

[tblue]

12. BOOOOO!!!!

Shame on Disney! I'm glad the news is out.

[pepperbear]

13. THX-1138

[999998th word]

14. This was hard to rec- douchebag bosses are all over

Pitting workers against each other is the oldest weapon in their arsenal. Now with a new 'high tech twist'.

Back in the day, sometimes a paper clip would find it's way into the timeclock:shrug: and disable it for awhile.

Wonder what todays equivalent is :-

edited to delete the word fuck.

[Raine]

15. Disney NOT a "happy" place for those who work there. nt

x(

[Fokker Trip]

17. This shit has happened everywhere.

Jesus H Christ. Computers that monitor employee behavior are being used wherever they can create a more robotic work force. It drains every bit of possible autonomy and pride out of any job, strips away any humanity and leaves stress, anxiety and fear in its wake. It is a great way to make sure no solidarity forms between workers though.

IT IS DISGUSTING.

My wife and I have noticed that the emotional atmosphere at our local (chain) grocery store has changed over the last year. She asked a check out person about it recently and the person said that they are now monitored for scanner swipes per hour. Ahhhh. Fuckers. We try and avoid the store now but there are no alternatives left besides the chains in this city.

When you constantly peer over a workers shoulder you remove any possibility of taking pride in a job well done. You make everyone a drone who is working out of fear.

It makes me so effing mad.

I've been wondering for a while now if the benefits of computers outweigh the costs and I think the costs are too high and getting higher.

Robotic war is the tip of the iceberg and its a very big iceberg and getting bigger all the time.

Foxconn is now expediting the roll-out of a huge number of robots to replace much of their Chinese workforce to prevent suicides from happening. Yeah that's a great solution.

Who is going to buy the shit that robots make when most people are struggling just feed and house themselves. There are not enough 1%ers to keep the corps afloat.

[CrispyQ]

46. "There are not enough 1%ers to keep the corps afloat."

Their inability to look beyond one quarter is stunning.

[Fokker Trip]

18. Theres a great book called the Disneyization of America.

It talks about how the corporate control in the Disney parks, shiny facade and iron control behind the scenes is a model for the whole of the corporate world. Worth reading.

[Javaman]

33. The Disneyization of Society by Alan Bryman...

Thanks for the suggestion! I offered the correct title to anyone interested.

I have been trying to find just a book like this for a while. I had read, "behind the mouse" but it was more of a sociological look at who goes to the park and how they react to it. It was okay, but not what I was after.

I think this book fits that bill.

Thanks again!

[Sentath]

48. Looks interesting

but outside my casual budget

[Gemini Cat]

65. Thanks

I need to read this.

[CoffeeCat]

66. I've also heard that they have more than 100...

...in-house attorneys.

I guess if you get hurt in their park, or get stuck on a defective roller coaster for a few hours--that you
haven't experienced hell until you sue Disney. I guess they are ruthless and fight you like hell.

I worked in the animation business as well and knew many people who worked for Disney. I didn't hear ONE
positive story from anyone who worked there--about their work experience. I'm not saying positive experiences
don't exist. But I never heard one.

[Major Nikon]

19. What they need next is a collar that administers a non-lethal voltage when productivity falls

[leveymg]

20. You're management material.

[Frank Cannon]

23. I'll bet one hundred quatloos on Carlos the Janitor.

[liberal N proud]

22. That is the latest greatest thing in industry

Driving people to compete putting out more than the line next to them or across the country.


Getting more done with less through deception. The deception that it is a competition.

[lunatica]

24. Disneyland needs to be 'Occupied"

I love how that one word can so describe a very complex idea. Obviously the idea's time has come.

[leveymg]

26. Double-check. Along with their television networks. Particularly ABC.

[Freddie Stubbs]

53. That will cost you $80 per person

[Brickbat]

31. Why are they buying into it? A little bit of organizing would get everyone working at the same rate,

rendering the monitors moot.

[Javaman]

34. Because disney is the paragon of anti-unionization. nt

[Brickbat]

35. These are union workers.

[Javaman]

39. not at their studio.

the park may be different, but their studio is notorious for being an anti-union shop.

[Brickbat]

41. Of course. But this article is talking about union workers at a hotel. My comment applied

specifically to the hotel workers' situation.

[Javaman]

42. Then why the hotel workers put up with it is beyond me. nt

[Brickbat]

43. We reach.

:toast:

[ieoeja]

37. When I was young, ambitious and energetic ... I probably wouldn't have cooperated with a slow down.

In addition to not understanding how this hurts anyone aging, pregnant, etc, I failed to realize that people not growing up on a farm were, for the most part, never conditioned the way I was.

I have since learned the error of my ways. Part from aging. But also been the victim of too much bad management (the worst was actually a manager who worked to slow down my work, but for really unethical reasons).

On the flip side, in the 1st or 2nd year of my career, the highest ranking guy in the midwest and I got into a very hot fight when I got angry over the way he treated his secretary. He took it even higher up the ladder to complain about me, then ended up having apologize to both me and the secretary.

So hard to say for sure whether I would have been put off more by intentionally slowing down my work, or by the electronic whip.

[Brickbat]

40. These are long-term employees who have been with the company for years and, according to the blog,

aren't looking for huge payouts or lucrative benefit packages -- just enough to get by, maybe take a vacation once in awhile, and not have to worry about health care. Seems to me a work-to-rule-like campaign would go over well.

[slackmaster]

38. Mauschwitz is not a fun place to work

Walt Disney was the Führer of Fun.

[truebrit71]

45. Yeah. there's always been a "Brave New World" feel to the place...

...even when I first visited in the early 80's...

[xchrom]

44. ...

:mad:

[JHB]

47. When there are no limits on maximizing profit, the incentive is...

...to squeeze everyone down the chain. And nothing matters to those at the top but the numbers.

[Glassunion]

51. They should STFU and get back to work. If they don't like it they should try working for Amazon.

What a bunch of crybabies.

http://articles.mcall.com/2011-09-17/news/mc-allentown-amazon-complaints-20110917_1_warehouse-workers-heat-stress-brutal-heat

[Fire Walk With Me]

52. Time to read Carl Hiaasen's "Team Rodent".

http://www.amazon.com/Team-Rodent-Disney-Devours-World/dp/0345422805

[999998th word]

54. Was the irony intentional? - amazon link

Snark detector broken today. :hi:

[Fire Walk With Me]

60. Do Amazon belong to Disney?

[999998th word]

62. Both employers treat their employees likes shit.

Like your 'think tank' quote.

[Fire Walk With Me]

63. Dang, I'll not do business with them again, thanks.

Yeah, neat people down there at #OWS, huh? :)

[999998th word]

64. Can't afford travel to NY but yes-went to the local one on Sat-

they are OWSome.:thumbsup:

[Liberal_in_LA]

55. awful!

[TNLib]

58. I worked for a company did this to it's IT programmers

They had a monitor it was called the "wall of shame" If a programmer was behind on their project a picture of them and a frowny face would be displayed on the "wall of shame." This was a federal agency in TN at a power utility that did this. They primarily focused on their contractors that were from India. It's pretty appalling way to treat people and I hope Disney takes some heavy heat for this.

[Sabriel]

59. Coming soon to a K-12 classroom near you

Oh, wait, it's already there. Except we call it "standardized test results." And we publish it in the newspaper, not on a flat-screen.