Workers demand Disney investigate contractor for allegedly violating Disney code of conduct

Restaurant workers employed by Patina Group at Disney Springs are calling on the Walt Disney Co. to investigate their employer for what they believe to be potential violations of Disney’s supply chain code of conduct.

The Patina Group, a subsidiary of the multinational company Delaware North, is a subcontractor for Disney that operates several restaurants on the Disney Springs property in Lake Buena Vista and at EPCOT.

As a Disney subcontractor, Patina is required to follow a code of conduct that includes anti-harassment protections and respecting the right of workers “to choose whether to join, associate, organize or participate in collective bargaining in a lawful and peaceful manner, without penalty, harassment, discrimination, or interference.”

Workers at several Patina-operated restaurants at Disney Springs believe that Patina has violated these rights during their efforts to organize a union with UNITE HERE Local 737, a union that represents about 18,000 Disney World workers, in addition to employees of the Patina-operated Tutto Italia and Via Napoli at Disney World’s EPCOT.

Patina Group workers at Disney Springs delivered a letter to Disney’s labor relations office Wednesday afternoon, demanding that Disney investigate potentially unlawful interference with their rights under Disney’s code of conduct and “take appropriate action to ensure compliance.”

They were joined outside the office (in 97-degree heat, no less) by representatives of Central Florida Jobs With Justice, county Commissioner Kelly Semrad, and other members of UNITE HERE who work at local hotels, the county convention center and Patina-owned restaurants at EPCOT.

“We are held to Disney standards,” said Kristen Mercer, a server at Disney Springs’ Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante who has helped lead union organizing efforts. “Our employer should be, too.”

Workers like Mercer point to a recent order issued by a federal labor official to substantiate their allegations. Last year, less than two months after workers publicly announced their effort to organize a union, UNITE HERE filed two complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (a federal government agency), alleging that Patina management coerced, intimidated and prevented workers at Disney Springs from talking about unionization on the job, in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

A regional director for the federal labor board this spring issued a complaint finding merit in eight allegations from those charges, according to case documents reviewed by Orlando Weekly. A trial for the complaint, to allow workers and Patina management to testify on the allegations, is scheduled for next month.

“Managers shouldn’t make threats of any kind when we are just trying to speak up about what we need,” said Joli Lindsay, a server at Disney Springs’ industrial-themed restaurant The Edison. “We do our jobs with pride, and we deserve to be treated with dignity.”

The Patina Group operates nine restaurants on the Disney World property, including Morimoto Asia, The Edison, Pizza Ponte, Maria & Enzo’s and Enzo’s Hideaway at Disney Springs, as well as Space 220, Tutto Italia Ristorante, Tutto Gusto and Via Napoli at EPCOT.

‘I felt so unsafe’

For Lindsay and her former co-worker Julissa “Julie” Ruiz, the anti-harassment section of Disney’s rules for its subcontractors is particularly important for Disney to uphold. They believe the Patina Group may have violated it.

That section notes that “special attention should be paid to vulnerable groups, including, but not limited to, women, younger workers, migrants, and Indigenous peoples.”

At Pizza Ponte, another Patina-owned eatery at Disney Springs, both young women reported facing sexual harassment on the job from one of their supervisors, and said they didn’t see management hold the supervisor accountable.

“One day he had pursued me to stay late at work and [said] that he would take me home,” recalled Ruiz, 23, a former server at the restaurant. “He tried to insist I could stay late and he would take me all the way to the door,” she said, adding that the same supervisor had also asked her co-workers about what kind of birth control and condoms they used. “It made me feel so unsafe, so I reported it. I thought that was the right thing to do.”

Lindsay, who also temporarily worked at Pizza Ponte, said that the same supervisor also made her “extremely uncomfortable.” He allegedly made comments about her physical appearance and asked “invasive” questions about her boyfriend. “We reported it to a manager, and I sat down for an investigation,” said Lindsay, referring to herself and Ruiz. “He [the supervisor] got sent home and came back the very next day.”

Ruiz has recounted the same story publicly, and has voiced support for unionization as a way to ensure stronger protections for women.

After passing out pro-union flyers that included her photo and story outside Disney Springs last fall, however, Ruiz said she was abruptly suspended from her job at Pizza Ponte. Then she was fired for walking into work one day with an earbud in.

She and union officials believe she was fired in retaliation for being vocally supportive of forming a union and for publicly sharing her story of experiencing sexual harassment on the job at Pizza Ponte.

“Disney’s supply chain code of conduct says that sexual harassment is not acceptable,” said Ruiz on Wednesday. “It says that companies should pay ‘special attention’ to women, young people and migrants,” she said.

The 23-year-old migrant was born in Arizona, but grew up in Mexico, and moved to Florida three years ago by herself to find work without any family nearby to help financially support her. “I am the kind of person these companies are supposed to protect,” she said.

Although sexual harassment is unfortunately a very common occurrence in the service industry, workers say Disney should do more to ensure such harassment is not happening on their property. And, if it does occur, to hold responsible parties accountable.

The Walt Disney Co. did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

“I know I’m not fighting alone,” Ruiz acknowledged. “But it is time for Disney to take my story seriously.”

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This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2025.