Firefighters confronted DeSantis’ governing board on Wednesday. “The removal of this benefit takes away, for some, their entire reason for working here."

  • RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zip
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    10 months ago

    Make no mistake this is a case of ‘the guy we voted for to Fuck with the people we don’t like is going after us instead’. Needle dick Ron laid waste to the state of Florida so he could play politics and the people of Florida got exactly what they wanted.

    Well now the state is worse than it’s ever been and ol meatball is getting absolutely clowned on in the national spotlight. Eat shit dickhead, you thought you were the natural next choice but that’s all over.

    • Staccato@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Orange County, where Disney World is located, went for the D candidate 53-46. Don’t blame them for the malignant human tumor their state foisted on them.

      • RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zip
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        10 months ago

        But Disney themselves donated plenty to R candidates for years. The state and its inhabitants are finding out what that gets you.

        I’ve spent far more time in the sunshine state than i ever would wish on anyone, Im not saying everyone in the state is brainwashed but there are plenty of people who cheer on as their state is imploding.

        • Astroturfed@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          But you see, Disney made the mistake of going woke. How dare they cast non-white or any gay characters in anything. Next they’ll tell us women should be able to vote. It’s a slippery slope.

        • Blooper@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          We have to acknowledge that Republicans have lots to offer if you’re a mega corp.

          1. They pick up the phone for you and your lobbyists - day or night
          2. They lower your tax burden
          3. They functionally killed unionization - allowing you to pay your executives enormous sums of money while the majority of your workforce struggles financially.
          4. If you’re somehow unable to outright buy their legislative agenda with bribes campaign donations, they can instead be forced to comply with subtle threats to leak details of their various homosexual escapades to the media.
          5. They tend to have absolutely no morals - which is great for your shareholders.
        • Staccato@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          True, but I bet you that the 53 isn’t able to do much about that 46. At least nothing that fits in the bounds of a civil democracy.

      • spider@lemmy.nz
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        10 months ago

        Orange County, where Disney World is located, went for the D candidate 53-46.

        This might explain DeSantis’ actions. He has also suspended two Democratic state attorneys over the past year, for no good reason.

        • ashok36@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Orlando and Tampa are both fairly liberal cities. Miami has a big Cuban population which leans conservative, Jacksonville is basically southern Georgia. Tallahassee is a weird one because you’ve got a bunch of government workers and it’s a college town. I think DeSantis would like to fuck with Tallahassee but doesn’t want to shit where he eats.

          • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Oh he’s shitting there. How can one teach about the Seminole tribe without falling into the category of white guilt for subjugation of another group. Tallahassee is where Florida State University, who uses the Seminole as their emblem/mascot. The Seminoles faught a war (3 according to the U.S.) that spanned 42 years agaisnt the U.S. In the 90s and early 2000s they were still sorting out things, I think the Supreme Court was paying them a settlement over lands stolen.

            That’s where it all gets dicey though, the Seminole tribe was made up of torn apart tribes they accepted into their culture as well as African Americans who were “granted” freedom after serving in the Civil War. The U.S. basically had tried to take a census per say of who they were, then tried to divy out the land as individually owned as per U.S. law. Previously it was all owned by the community/tribe I believe. Anyone that hadn’t been written down but was part of the tribe would essentially not get part of the payout.

            Sorry I got way off topic. End of the day I guess what I meant is that stereotypically people who watch college sports are viewed as ignoring politics if they can. If the Seminoles had to change their name per request of the tribe stating “you can no longer use it if you are no longer allowing education to your populous about the subjugation you put us through.” People would get mad that they had to hear about it and mad they had to use another name.

            Not to mention many would potentially protest it being changed and demand that their history be still an eligible topic. (Which would diminish the bills signed by Desantis)

            • orclev@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              There’s a lot of good facts in here, but I’m struggling to understand what point you were trying to make. Could you maybe clarify how all of that is related to DeSantis attacking Tallahassee and/or what point you were trying to make?

      • bitsplease@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        Wait, Disney world is also in a county called Orange? That’s pretty funny, I never knew that

        • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Yeah, Orlando is Orange county. Florida was the largest producer in the U.S. California is recently passing them up due to issues. Between the two it something like 95% of all the citrus grown in the U.S.

          That said, if you want a sweeter, juicier orange, get an orange from Florida. If you want a longer shelf life orange, go with California.

    • DarkWasp@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      We don’t know who this person voted for. They could be totally against Desantis and never voted for him like millions of other people did as well. I certainly didn’t vote for the premiere of my province who is corrupt and screwing us all over constantly.

      • Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I know a guy in the Reedy Creek fire department. He is a hard core Republican. When Desantis took over the board he didn’t think it would be a bad thing.

        I like the guy and have known him for years so it’s sad to see it go this way but you get the government you votes for.

        • Case@unilem.org
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          10 months ago

          You get the government you voted for?

          For so many people in this country that isn’t the case.

          I live in a deep red state. I sure as fuck did not vote that way.

          The country has gotten so bad that I’m not looking into moving States any more. I’m looking at other countries.

          • DarthBueller@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            I have been practicing my pronunciation of “Cahnahdah,” trying to get it like Robin from 8 bit show & tell. Except I’m divorced with a kid and new partner who has a kid. I’d have to convince 10 other people to go with me so everyone can still see their kids.

            • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              You got any good skills? Like nunchuck fighting skills, bow hunting skills… Canada only likes immigrants if they’ve got good skills.

              • DarthBueller@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Well Napoleon, my great great grandmother was from Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, it’s too remote for me to get the benefit of Canadian citizenship. But I’m willing to try - mainly for my daughter’s future. The US is fucked and I don’t see it getting better. And I won’t bring American bullshit with me. Maybe I need to meet a cute 40-something Canadian to smooth the waay.

        • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          This reminds me of the old women that were living off of their permanent alimony payments in Florida suddenly having that yanked by Republicans and who are VERY angry at DeSADIST as well.

      • OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        I certainly didn’t vote for the premiere of my province who is corrupt and screwing us all over constantly.

        You must be Ontarian! Hi neighbour.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Will they have to purchase tickets in the future if there is a fire in the Disney Resort? /s

  • IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    My wife’s grandparents lived literally down the road from a theme park (not in Florida) and during the summers especially both vehicle and foot traffic on their street could be nuts. The theme park would give out a number of free passes to all the residents that lived within a certain distance as a way to apologize for having to put up with all the traffic. My wife and I used those free passes a couple times before her grandparents passed.

    DeSantis and his cronies are major a**holes for taking a perk like this away from the very people who risk their own lives to keep others safe.

  • babypigeon@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    They’re spending 6.4 million taxpayer dollars on suing and countersuing Disney between this year and the next. While taking away a popular , family friendly benefit costing 2;5 million per year.

    DeSantis is a legit Disney villain. They could make an animated film featuring him as a comically stupid bad guy.

    • constantokra@lemmy.one
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      10 months ago

      Meanwhile, he passed a bill to strip schools of funding by giving new vouchers to parents for their kids ‘education’, including homeschool. The money can be spent on a number of things outside school… one if which is Florida theme park admission!

      • Drewman@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Wait, how does this work? I’ve got 3 kids in a semi private school. I say that because it’s technically a public school, but it’s through a lottery system and admission is hard to get. One of the best schools in the northeast Florida. Am I eligible for that voucher as well?

        • constantokra@lemmy.one
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          10 months ago

          I don’t think so. It’s if you’re not in a publicly funded school. It’s meant to offset the cost of whatever you are doing to educate your kid if it’s not a public school. But knowing desantis, the goal is more likely to refund public schools.

          Weirdly, I think it’s like 10 or 12k, and you are eligible if you homeschool through flvs, but then you have to pay for flvs. But it’s only around 4k a year. Kind of makes sense, because you’re supposed to have access as a flvs student to all the extracurriculars and clubs and things at any local public school, but in practice the schools almost uniformly refuse. So you can use the balance to pay for classes and clubs and educational materials.

        • grue@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          Your kids’ school is a “public charter school,” not a “semi private school.”

          The purpose of those vouchers is to undermine schools like the one your kids are attending.

  • InternetUser2012
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    10 months ago

    Great opportunity for Disney to offer free park passes to the Firefighters.

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    10 months ago

    “Oh my god quick come help there’s a fire at DisneyWorld!”
    “Jeeeeez sure wish I could, but…”

  • Drusas@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    It looks like this is a $1,400 per year perk. That’s really expensive if you’re considering buying it out of pocket, but not a huge amount in terms of salary. This should never be a make it or break it kind of benefit. Negotiate to make an extra $1,400 next year and buy it out of your own pocket.

    Edit: just adding that I am incredibly anti-DeSantis, but this is a nothing burger.

    • lgstarn@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      No I don’t think their perk is $1400. If it is a Cast Member Silver Pass, they can get three people plus themselves in to any park every day of the year for free. If you have family come over it’s more than $100 per person per day. These tickets always include a Park Hopper option, adding another $40-50 in cost. If you use this perk 20 times per year for 3+1 people (which is definitely within reason), that would be more than $8000 and up to $12000 if you include the Park Hopper option. Maybe you could get that cheaper with season passes, but those are tied to an individual. $1400 is way, way off .

      • PaupersSerenade@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Considering this quote from the article; ‘Firefighter Aaron Clark, whose father was also a district firefighter, choked up as he recounted how growing up his dad took him to the parks using the passes and how he now does the same thing with his three daughters.’ I think you’re spot on. They also mention discounts in the park which was a part of a cast member badge. When I worked in the parks I could have sworn they also had the blue ID (as opposed to green for 3rd party vendor), but that was a while ago.

      • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        They also bought 400 passes for all of the RCID employees, so they probably got a significant discount. Also considering Disney pays 86% of the taxes that fund RCID, it might have been cheaper to give away the passes and keep the tax money. Even at $10k a person (an absurdly high estimate), $4 million is a drop in the Disney bucket.

    • shastaxc@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      In addition to the other person who replied to you, I also wanted to point out that the firefighters did not say they were only firefighters for that Disney pass perk, just that it was the main reason they worked in that specific location. If they didn’t get that perk, I’m sure some of them have other stations closer to their home or would prefer to move somewhere less crowded or with better traffic on their daily commute. The Disney to I Drive area of Orlando is traffic/tourist hell. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to work there without some special benefits.

    • Riyria@sopuli.xyz
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      10 months ago

      It’s clear that you don’t understand Disney Adults. Even if it were just a $1,400 per year perk, the people that work there solely because of the perk that allows them to go to Disney properties whenever they want will have just lost their incentive. It’s entirely likely that some of these people have willingly turned down positions at fire departments or in the industries that require their experience for the explicit reason that they enjoy the access to disney their job provides. Without that, there would be little incentive to stay even if they could get a $1400 bonus.

  • chilicheeselies@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Honestly, I kind of agree with this. The state was paying for these passes, not Disney. Thats an inscestuous relationship between the state and private enterprise. It should never have been that way in the firstplace.

    The offset of 1400 in wage increases seems a bit low to compensate, but if its enough to buy a season pass then no harm no foul.

    Disney can supply the free passes if they want to; let them foot the bill

    • Tathas@programming.dev
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      10 months ago

      That’s the price of 1 annual pass. So if you have a spouse and 3 kids, that leaves you a fair bit in the hole.

    • Mirshe@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      He’s willing to call a truce against Disney directly. He can still attack them in more plausibly-deniable ways.

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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    10 months ago

    It’s callled blowing you was too soon. There was a path that he was on. Took a bad turn and fucked his future in politics. You hate love to see it.

  • AnonTwo@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    Just wondering, but why was Florida providing this in the first place?

    Was this provided by the board that Florida took over from Disney, or were they just always providing it?

    • lgstarn@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      This is a standard perk for Disney employees. Reddy Creek providing it to the fire firefighters was basically an acknowledgement that the fire fighters were Disney employees. Disney was explicitly in charge of Reddy Creek so that made some sense. Desantis ripped Reddy Creek away from Disney to win political points, and is now hurting the firefighters, apparently just for fun, in his continued vendetta.

      • shastaxc@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I’m sure Disney could just keep giving them those passes for free if they felt like it

        • MeetInPotatoes@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          This. Surprised this is so far down. I’d expect it also, this fool is giving Disney a chance to be the good guys again at no actual cost to them. It’s handing Disney a no-brainer PR win.

          • DancingYetiCrab@lemm.ee
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            10 months ago

            Good PR is worth more when there is bad news first. If Disney does this sight unseen it’s worth less than giving out passes next week after this story gets around.

        • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          That would be a massive win for DeSantis, since it shows that Disney does buckle when push comes to shove.

    • I'm back on my BS 🤪@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      it’s a common benefit provided by a lot of employers in the area. i’ve been to Disney for free more than i have been paying, yet i never rated this benefit. rather, someone that did would get me in instead.

    • rbesfe@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      I’m assuming you interviewed these firefighters on who they voted for governor? Or gasp are you jumping to conclusions on the internet?

        • Detheroth@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Aww they were worried about losing their park access and healthcare but supported him anyways?

          They fucked around. Now they’re finding out.

        • PizzasDontWearCapes@sh.itjust.works
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          10 months ago

          The union has had a rather rocky relationship with Disney, who appoints all five seats on the district’s Board of Supervisors. Their focus is largely on the theme park business and union members allege the Board cares little for actual employees of the District, which includes first responders like firefighters. Fire trucks and rescue units have broken down on multiple occasions, forcing responders to arrive on the scene in SUVs. Staffing has also remained inadequately low. Disney and Reedy Creek have both aggressively denied these claims.

          Sounds like things weren’t great with Disney, but choosing DeSantis isn’t going to work out any better for them