If you are auditioning for a position as a musical performer at Disneyland in Anaheim, please see this important message from Orange County Musicians’ Association Local 7:

FROM: Orange County Musicians’ Association, Local 7, AFM
TO: Musicians auditioning for the Disneyland Band
DATE: April 9, 2015
SUBJECT: Disneyland Band Auditions

After 59 years of continuous service, the Disneyland Band was given an “end of run” notice on March 31, 2015 and was told that auditions for a new Disneyland Band would commence April 15; Local 7 was informed the same day. While this does present an opportunity for employment, musicians auditioning for this job need to be aware.

Employee Musicians at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure work under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) between Disneyland Resort and Local 7. That CBA specifies, “The Employer will use its best efforts to inform an employee at the time of hire of his work status (i.e., Regular Full-Time, Casual Regular, etc.), and in all cases shall so inform the employee at the end of rehearsals and prior to the first day of performance [emphasis added].”

Benefits depend on work status. For example, the employer-offered health insurance benefit requires an average at least 30 hours of service per week. A musician may or may not work 30 hours a week. The Disneyland Band has historically been a full-time job, with benefits; that is not the case with some bands hired more recently.

In one band working under the CBA, there have been seven musicians employed for each position in the band. That band is usually scheduled to work ten to fourteen 7-hour shifts per week, depending on the season. Typically, musicians in that band are assigned between one and three shifts per week. The effect of this schedule is that the majority of these musicians do not qualify for the health insurance benefit; the few that do qualify, work in multiple bands in the resort. This appears to be a trend.

Particularly if you do not live in Southern California, verify what the deal is before making life-changing decisions. If you don’t, it could be possible to audition, be hired, move to Southern California, rehearse for several weeks and, “at the end of rehearsals,” be informed that your “work status” is part-time—you might be a substitute with no assigned shifts.

Hopefully, Disney will not allow this sort of confusion—but be aware.