Journeys through Disney History: Epic Labor Strife & Grand Career Adventures

The Walt Disney Company’s most famous and celebrated figures, dubbed Disney Legends, have made their mark on the company through contributions to animation, theme parks, music, marketing, and more. In the upcoming fall and spring, we’ll explore the lasting legacies of two such Legends, Art Babbitt and Marty Sklar. All book club meetings will be held on the UW-Whitewater campus, but a virtual option is available for those who are unable to join in-person.

This fall, we’ll read The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation’s Golden Age by Jake S. Friedman. Art Babbit worked for years alongside Walt Disney as a pioneering animator at Walt Disney Productions, but the two innovators were alienated from each other by a long-running labor dispute. Compounding that 1930s labor relations conflict, which culminated in a bitter 1941 strike, was the involvement of Mafia gangsters, vying for control of the union and Hollywood. Our discussions of the book will draw parallels to contemporary workplace conflict, labor disputes and society’s changing views of the division between management and workers. Fall book club meetings will be 12:30-1:30 p.m., Thursdays, Oct. 29, Nov. 5, and Nov. 12.

In the spring, join us for a discussion of legendary Imagineer Marty Sklar’s memoir, Dream It! Do It! My Half-Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Present for the opening of Disneyland and pivotally influential in the development of the Magic Kingdom and Epcot theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort, Marty also served as Walt’s speech writer and created reams of advertising and public relations materials for the parks. As we trace this Disney Legend’s career path, book club participants will make connections to their own career paths and discuss topics of shifting workplace roles, climbing the corporate ladder, and the work-life legacy we leave behind. Spring book club meetings will be 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Thursdays, Feb. 11, Feb. 18, and Feb. 25.