Disneyland workers have voted to authorize a strike, but that doesn't equal a walkout

Disneyland workers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, according to unions representing some 14,000 workers.

But that does not mean they will walk out of their jobs. Negotiations between the unions and the theme park are taking place on Monday and Tuesday.

If the retail workers, candy makers, costumers and other employees do strike, it will be the first time in 40 years.

A coalition of unions representing the employees are seeking a more flexible attendance policy, pay raises and an extra bump for people who have worked at the theme park for decades.

Hector Ojeda has worked at Disneyland for more than 25 years, but said he makes $20.50 an hour, just 60 cents above Anaheim's minimum wage for hospitality workers.

"People are just fed up," Ojeda said. "We give the magic, you know, and they take all the money."

Dispute over union buttons

Workers allege that Disneyland has also intimidated and disciplined them for wearing union buttons on the job. Those pins have an image of Mickey Mouse's hand, held up and raised into a fist.

The unions — Teamsters Local 495, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324, Bakery, Confectionery, Grain Millers and Tobacco Workers Local 83 and Service Employees International Union- United Service Workers West — filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board last month saying the company violated labor law in doing so.

"They were threatened, they were intimidated, they were disciplined by management all for asserting their union rights and wearing a button," said Andrea Zinder, president of UFCW Local 324, which represents Disneyland's retail workers.

A Disneyland spokesperson said in a statement that the theme park asks workers to remove "anything that distracts" from the park's "uninterrupted, immersive experience."

"As you enter Disneyland Park, the plaque reads 'Here you Leave Today and Enter the World of Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy,' and everything we do to create and protect that environment is intentional," said the spokesperson, Jessica Good.

But Kent Wong with UCLA's Labor Center said wearing union buttons is typically protected by labor laws.

"Rulings of the National Labor Relations Board… have supported the right of workers to wear buttons and T-shirts unless they expressly interfere with their work," he said.

What a strike could mean for Disneyland

If Disneyland workers do strike, they'll follow Southern California hotel workers, screenwriters, actors, auto workers and more who have recently staged labor actions. It also follows news that Disneyland character performers recently unionized with Actors' Equity Association.

Ginny Cristales works at Candy Palace on Disneyland's Main Street. She said she's prepared to go on strike if necessary.

"If it wasn't for us, the park wouldn't be open," she said. "Whether it's in the morning, in the evening, at night, we're here. We open the gates at eight o'clock in the morning…and we don't get home till three in the morning sometimes. So with this strike, I believe that we will accomplish a lot."