Hundreds of workers go on strike at Walt Disney World hotels

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Dozens of workers picketed two hotels at Walt Disney World on Tuesday in a rare labor dispute for the Orlando area's tourism industry.

The union representing housekeepers, laundry workers, seamstresses and public area attendants at Walt Disney World's Swan and Dolphin hotels declared a strike.

But Treva Marshall, a spokeswoman for the hotels, said all employees scheduled to work had crossed the picket line and showed up for their shifts, and service was not disrupted.

Last week, the workers rejected for a second time a three-year contract covering 400 of the hotels' 2,000 workers. Management said it would put the contract into effect unilaterally.

Although the hotels are on Disney property, they are owned by Tishman Hotel Corp. and managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. They account for 2,267 of Orlando's 108,000 hotel rooms.

Union leaders said they understood many workers could not afford to walk out and would not hold it against them for crossing the picket lines.

Workers wanted a guaranteed 40-hour work week and job assignments based on seniority.