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Saturday, May 18, 2013 | 4:48 a.m.

Updated: 4:28 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 | Posted: 4:27 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004

Four Of Six Disney Unions Say They Will Not Strike

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —

Less than 24 hours before the next contract vote, four of the six unions at Disney say they won't strike even if the offer is rejected. This should be a big sigh of relief for Disney, because it effectively means a majority of the union employees will not strike.

Email News Sign-Up Multiple Choices - Auto sign-up (RIGHT ALIGN) GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts But there are others still adamantly opposed to what's being offered, and it's causing serious problems among the unions tonight.

"This is not a good day for the unions in this town, in Central Florida, or the state of Florida," says union president Ed Chambers.

It was not the kind of announcement union members wanted to make. The group representing 22,000 employees, from characters to caterers, admitting they don't stand united, but instead, divided, in their fight against Disney.

Four of the six unions are for accepting Disney's improved offer, while two are against and still threatening strike. - The proposal, written for a fourth time with the help of a federal mediator this week, meant bigger wages and continued pension plans for new employees. But members of the Teamsters and Local 362 are still demanding cheaper healthcare.

Disney has consistently said the national healthcare crisis makes that impossible and offered only to reallocate the money it is offering, but not add another dollar. And while the majority of members have decided to accept, they readily admit, last week's vote rejecting the deal was a surprise. They hope this time, their colleagues will see otherwise.

The voting begins Thursday morning at 7 a.m. and will last all day. Should the proposal be turned down, those two other groups could strike, although they have yet to say if they will. The rest say they would cross the picket lines and continue to work towards a new deal.

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