The Perils of Voice Veneer: The Case of Disneyland Puppeteers’ Unionization Efforts

Abstract

Workers’ voice efforts play a critical role in improving working conditions and fostering more equitable workplaces. Managers can either facilitate or delay changes by addressing or silencing workers’ concerns. When changes are agreed upon—as evidenced, for instance, by the signing of a labor contract—it is often assumed that they then are enacted. However, in our study of a unionization drive among California Walt Disney Parks and Resorts puppeteers, we discovered a perplexing process we call the adoption of “voice veneer,” in which an employer appears to address the concerns voiced by workers but simultaneously limits the impact of voice by decreasing its dependence on those voicing concerns. Our analysis shows how Disney negotiated and signed (though reluctantly) a labor contract with puppeteers, yet simultaneously reduced opportunities for them to work, making the negotiated agreement impossible to enact. Our findings underscore the need to pay close attention not only to whether and how workers voice concerns, but also to how managers handle voice efforts after concerns are voiced and change is agreed upon. We argue that our contemporary world might increasingly give rise to the adoption of voice veneer, and we discuss its perils for all involved: workers, managers, and society.

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