Some employees of The Walt Disney Company walked off the job Tuesday to protest what they said was the company’s tepid response to a Florida bill that would restrict discussion of gender and sexuality in schools.
Hundreds of employees were seen marching out of the company’s headquarters in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday morning, according to CNBC field producer Steve Desaulniers.
The full-scale walkout came after Disney employees planned a series of smaller walkouts during their 15-minute breaks to urge the company to take a stronger stance against the Parental Rights in Education legislation, which advocates have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“The recent statements by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) leadership regarding the Florida legislature’s recent ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation,” an open letter by Disney employees reads.
“Primarily, those statements have indicated that leadership still does not truly understand the impact this legislation is having not only on Cast Members in the state of Florida, but on all members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the company and beyond,” the letter added.
