Both in Florida and in California, Disney employees walked off the job this week. Some Disney stars spoke out as well on social media. It was all in response to Florida legislation that would ban classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the measure critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Employees across Disney’s various divisions participated in physical and virtual walkouts on Tuesday in a show of solidarity with Florida-based Disney workers.
Several actors, including Kerry Washington and Larry Wilmore, as well as some associated with ongoing Disney productions like Mark Ruffalo, also threw their support behind the walkouts.
The Disney Walkout was announced just a day after Disney CEO Bob Chapek told employees that the organization’s annual leadership retreat planned for April would be postponed. Chapek also apologized to the company’s workers for not opposing the bill more strongly. Disney paused all political donations in Florida, at least for now.
Disney, long seen as a corporate champion of the LGBTQ+ community, is now caught in the crosshairs of Florida’s politics.
Guests:
- Tim Gibbons, editor of the Jacksonville Business Journal.
- Michael Womack, communications manager for Equality Florida.
Sea level rise contributes to gentrification
A new report on climate change says Florida residents with the least capacity to move are going to be the ones most affected by the displacement that’s expected to happen with sea-level rise.
A researcher at Florida State University says lower-income Florida households and renters who live inland will suffer from gentrification as wealthy Floridians move inland to avoid rising waters.
The FSU study looks specifically at Pinellas, Miami-Dade and Duval counties.
Guests:
- Jessica Meszaros, sustainability reporter, WUSF.
- Brendan Rivers, lead reporter for ADAPT Florida.
- William H. Butler, Ph.D., associate professor and master's program director with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Florida State University.
