(Bloomberg) -- A union seeking higher pay for Walt Disney Co. theme-park employees in Florida released a survey that shows hospitality workers are struggling to make ends meet.

Nearly half of the 2,415 Unite Here Local 737 members surveyed in October said they have skipped meals during the last year because they didn’t have enough money. Two-thirds said they have less than $100 in savings. The workers, who are employed by several companies, including Disney, have been hit hard by the rising cost of living, the union said Thursday.

The union is seeking an $18-an-hour minimum wage in talks with Disney. That would amount to $37,440 annually, based on a 40-hour week.

The Service Trades Council Union, which is made up of Unite Here Local 737 and five other unions, has been negotiating with the company to renew a contract that expired last month. It represents about 41,000 Disney workers in Florida, including janitors, ride operators and food service staff.

The group secured a pay rise, to $15 an hour minimum from $10, in 2018. That meant “tens of thousands of Orlando tourism workers finally achieved financial stability,” according to the survey. Costs have increased since then, with average rent in the area around Walt Disney World rising about 24% in the past year, Unite Here Local 737 said. 

“We continue to bargain in good faith and have presented a strong offer with meaningful wage increases that will give our cast members more money, while creating a path to $20 an hour for starting wages for full time, non-tipped roles,” a Disney spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “If our offer is accepted, our wages will continue to outpace Florida minimum wage by at least $5 an hour.”

The median wage among hourly workers at employers represented by Local 737 was $16.50. The living wage for an adult with no dependents in Florida’s Orange County is $18.19 an hour, the group said, citing data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Pay for employees at Disney, the largest theme-park operator in the world, has been a recurring issue. This year, heiress Abigail Disney released a documentary, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, about the plight of low-paid company workers.

Disney shares fell 2.5% to close at $99.25 on Thursday.

(Updates with Disney share price in last paragraph.)

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