ORLANDO, Fla. – The first Black female representative for a Disney union reflected upon her accomplishments and legacy.
Marvel Brisco was a union representative for Unite Here 737, a local union that represents workers at Disney World.
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“I believe that God put me in the right place at the right time because never in a million years would I understand that I was going to be the first Black woman to wear that title,” said Brisco, adding that she was inspired by her grandparents.
Brisco’s grandfather worked for the railroad in Orlando and was part of a union.
“He taught me a lot of things about when you get a job, you give it your all,” Brisco said. “You give it your all and your time.”
Brisco worked with the local Unite Here from 1976 through 1987, representing maids, cooks, waitresses and waiters.
She pushed for more women to be promoted at Disney World, specifically in the culinary division.
“I would simply go in and say, ‘Mary can’t be a salad maker her whole life,’” Brisco said. “She wants to learn and go to school to be a professional chef. Every time we’d negotiate a contract, you never let them forget. Women deserve to be promoted. We don’t deserve to make 59 cents anymore, we deserve to be corporate managers, we deserve to -- a woman can do anything a man can do.”
Brisco said people were often surprised to see her step into the room during labor negotiations. She said the man who hired her told her he saw something in her that would set a precedent for other labor unions.
“When I first got the job, the gentleman (who) hired me, Paul McCaslin, was Irish and he told me, ‘There’s going to be times you’re going to run out of offices. You go in the bathroom, you’re going to cry your eyes out. There are times you’re going to hit the wall,’” Brisco said.
She said McCaslin also told her, “You’ll want to kick the wall because, ‘Oh, I wish I could shake that human being.’ But you have got to hold your pride. You have to remember why you’re there, what you’re doing, and why I you to do the job here,” she said.
Brisco said no matter how people would look at her, she couldn’t lose sight of what she was there to do.
“I can’t look at color,” Brisco said. “I couldn’t look at color. No matter how they look at me, how they react, I knew what I came to do. I had a union contract. I had people dependent on me. I could not let their reactions trigger me. I knew why they were doing it. I had to put it in the back of my mind and I had to keep at the forefront what I come to do.”
Looking back on her work and her legacy, she said she feels like she’s left a piece of herself with Disney World.
“Today, we have women chefs at Disney World,” Brisco said. “Very proud of all of them -- and they’re tough women. I always like to feel like a little part of me is left behind. That’s just -- love everybody out there. They’re great people.”