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[Kristof]

From Mickey News:

Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell, Aladdin and about 1,000 of their supporting friends held up traffic in Anaheim on Thursday evening.

The union representing workers at three Disneyland hotels marched from the Paradise Pier Hotel to the Disneyland entrance on Harbor Boulevard from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the union's 15th protest. Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez said at least 28 people were arrested for disobeying police orders, blocking streets and standing in the roadway.

Unite Here 681 has been in contract talks with Disneyland management since spring. About 3,000 workers have been working without a contract since January. Union leaders have stopped short of threatening a strike vote.

Hotel service workers, union members of Local 681 and supporters marched along Katella Avenue from the Paradise Pier hotel waving signs that read "Disney is unfaithful. Unite here!" in a Disney-like font.

The crowd for a while blocked some cars at the Katella Avenue and Harbor Boulevard intersection with some motorists cheering on the marchers with honks.

Leaders said before the protest that they intended to get arrested by police for standing in the middle of Harbor Boulevard even after being asked to leave.

The 1,000 marchers neared the Disneyland Resort entrance at Disney Way and Harbor Boulevard and took to a run to charge then stand and sit in the middle of the intersection. A march organizer grabbed a megaphone and rallied the crowd, saying that by not meeting the union's demands, "Disney has forsaken the image of its characters."

After several minutes, Anaheim police ordered the crowd to clear the streets. While most of the marchers left to stand on nearby sidewalks, a somewhat predetermined group sat down and held hands as an intended disobedience of police orders.

Police then arrested those sitting in the street – including people dressed as Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell, Peter Pan, Minnie Mouse, Aladdin and Snow White.

Martinez said the protesters were arrested and would next be booked and released, so long as the people had proper identification and no outstanding arrests. The protesters were arrested for three offenses: a misdemeanor for not following the orders of police officers, an infraction for obstructing a roadway and an infraction for standing in a roadway.

Martinez said 35 officers were on hand to watch the crowd and make arrests, while 12 officers worked traffic control to direct vehicles around the protest.

Ada Briceño, the Unite Here 681 president, said Disney's proposals would bring in new workers at a lower wage and make them pay $100 to $250 per month for health care.

"On the healthcare front, they don't want to pay,'' she said. "Now, there is no cost to the employee for healthcare. We have a very good plan, but that's all we have. The rest of our contract is very low-paying jobs."

Disneyland representatives say management is frustrated that union leaders have insisted on negotiating their contract in the media. Disney spokeswoman Lisa Haines said none of the proposals under discussion are final, and that the next negotiating session is scheduled for Aug. 22.

"We've met for negotiations 11 times, and they've had 14 protests," she said. "They've had more protests than time spent at the negotiating table. It's unfortunate that they've resorted to these types of publicity stunts. They're not productive, and they're very disruptive to the resort area."

[AmericanMouse]

Ummm, Kris...I beat you to that in World of Disney:

//http://www.photosmagiques.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=5259.

Complete with what those at Fark.com call "Not Safe for Kiddies Picture Goodness".

[Kristof]

I'll close this one and move yours to this board.