Disney Epcot workers to vote on strike at Italy Pavilion

Workers at Disney World Epcot’s Italy Pavilion announced Tuesday that they plan to take a vote on whether to authorize a strike at Epcot as soon as Sept. 30, due to lack of progress made in union contract negotiations with their employer.

Spread across Epcot’s Via Napoli, Tutto Italia and Tutto Gusto restaurants, the workers are technically employed by the Patina Group, a contractor that has an agreement with Disney to operate restaurants on its property. They’re represented by Unite Here Local 737, a labor union that represents roughly 19,000 workers in the local tourism industry, including direct employees of Walt Disney World.

“I deserve a good life,” said Ismael Gonzales, a cook of 18 years at Tutto Italia, in a statement. “That isn’t too much to ask — we are only demanding what we deserve.” Gonzales joined a couple dozen co-workers and allies at Local 737’s office Tuesday to announce their upcoming strike vote. They repeated chants of “Sí, se puede,” a Spanish phrase meaning, “Yes, we can” and the union’s signature slogan, “When we fight, we win!”

According to the union, results of the strike vote will be announced Sept. 10. If workers vote to authorize a strike, they could be called upon to walk off the job as soon as their current contract expires Sept. 30, or any time after until they negotiate a new agreement that workers approve.

If workers vote in favor of strike authorization and walk off the job, this would be the first strike in history by restaurant workers on Disney World property, according to Unite Here. Strike authorization votes are common, however, and do not always result in an actual strike taking place. Rather, a credible strike threat during the bargaining progress can be leveraged by workers to help get an employer to concede to their demands.

At Epcot’s Italy pavilion, the workers’ current demands from the Patina Group include an $8 raise over three years, free health insurance to replace their current insurance plan, a pension plan for workers once they retire, and a 20 percent auto gratuity on all customer checks to ensure workers receive a stable income. A union representative explained to Orlando Weekly that an auto gratuity would help to make up for discounts often used by international visitors at Epcot that ultimately end up reducing workers’ take-home pay.

“I have worked here for 18 years, but the expensive health insurance makes it hard to afford the medicine I need,” Gonzales, the cook, explained. He added, “I’m ready to do what it takes so that we can get what we need.”

The strike vote announcement from the Disney Epcot workers came just hours after Orlando’s official private tourism marketing agency, Visit Orlando, all but begged Orange County leaders to continue giving their agency the $100 million-plus in public tax money they receive annually, as part of their agreement to promote tourism and good, stable jobs in the industry. More than one-third of the Central Florida region’s workforce works in tourism, representing about 468,000 jobs.

“Orlando’s leadership in the tourism sector is not guaranteed, and we must continue to market and sell our destination with the same ambition and innovation that earned us this position,” said Visit Orlando CEO Casandra Matej, speaking to the Orange County board of commissioners Tuesday morning. 

Matej herself was paid a salary of at least $584,296 in her role as head tourism promoter as of 2023, according to a tax filing. “As we move forward, we will refine our practices in line with industry standards and stay focused on our mission, which is to inspire, promote and grow global travel for the economic and community benefit to Orange County,” she reassured.

Her presentation came after a recent audit by the county Comptroller’s Office found evidence of questionable use of public tax money by Visit Orlando, including a $12,000 car allowance for Matej.

Meanwhile, Patina Group workers at Epcot’s Italy Pavilion are asking to be paid wages that can allow for them and their families to stay afloat in a region that is considered one of the most cost-burdened in the United States. Under the workers’ current union contract, workers at the Italy Pavilion earn anywhere from $18.50 to $26.48 per hour, depending on their job classification and seniority.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, workers covered by a union contract earn 12.8 percent more, on average, than workers in a non-unionized workplace, and in Florida, the vast majority lack union representation. Researchers also say, however, that unions offer the benefit of helping all workers, regardless of whether they’re unionized or not, by setting higher standards that nonunion employers will need to similarly meet in order to attract and retain employees.

This has historically played out locally with nonunion employers like SeaWorld and Universal Orlando, which have conveniently announced pay raises for their own workers whenever Disney World workers bargain with their own employer for a new union contract.

As it currently stands, the 45,000 unionized workers directly employed by Disney are set to head into contract negotiations themselves in roughly two years’ time, and Patina Group workers at Epcot plan to set their own standards for Disney to follow. The union is also currently involved in an organizing effort among Patina Group workers at five Disney Springs restaurants, including Morimoto Asia, Maria & Enzo’s and The Edison. The Patina Group, a subsidiary of the multinational company Delaware North, operates more than 40 restaurants across several states.

“We’re one team, one operation, and we’re all here to serve our guests,” said Vicky Ramos, a Disney-employed server at Topolino’s Terrace at Disney’s Riviera Resort, speaking in solidarity with Patina Group workers Tuesday. “The proposals that they’re fighting for are needed. This economy that we’re living in is suffocating. It’s squeezing out the middle class,” she said.

“We all work hard to serve these guests. We all deserve to live a good life. We need to win a good life at Disney when our contract expires. That’s why we all need to stand together.”

The union launched a website, DisneyWorldFoodAlert.org, to provide guests with updates on any restaurants on Disney World property that have active labor disputes.

Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 2, 2025 and Best of Orlando (R) 2025.