It takes thousands of Cast Members to keep Disney World running — and many of those Cast Members are also union members.

Last year, Disney and various Cast Member unions were involved in some heated negotiations, with the parties eventually coming to an agreement on their terms. Now, employees of multiple Disney Springs establishments have lodged public complaints — citing unfair working conditions, ADA violations, and more — and some are attempting to unionize. Here’s what we know.

Disney World is no stranger to unions, as thousands of Cast Members are represented by several different ones across multiple industries. And, just recently, Disney and some union Cast Members went head to head over contract negotiations.

The contracts for thousands of Disney unionized employees expired on October 1st, 2022, and they entered into negotiations for contract updates including wage increases, health care, and more. The unions requested Disney increase the minimum wage to $18 per hour, and increase the pay of those who make closer to that by $3 to keep up with inflation.

After quite a bit of back-and-forth that lasted well into 2023, the unions and Disney did come to an agreement; but now, others are working inside the Disney World bubble who wish to unionize. The difference? This new group of employees are technically third-party employees, meaning Disney does not directly employ them. 

Workers at five Disney Springs restaurants operated by the Patina Restaurant Group, which is owned by the hospitality company Delaware North Companies (DNC), have announced plans to unionize and are calling on their employers to support their efforts.

Unite Here! Local 737 seeks to represent employees of Morimoto Asia, The Edison, Maria and Enzo’s, Enzo’s Hideaway, and Pizza Ponte as part of its union. The union already represents 18,000 food, beverage, and housekeeping workers at Disney World.

According to DNC’s website, they are “one of the largest privately-owned-and-operated hospitality and entertainment companies in the world,” and Local 737 reports that “Thousands of DNC workers in the US and Canada are represented by unions” already.

The union conducted a survey over a one-week period in March and April of around 12% of the 300+ Delaware North workers at Disney Springs and found that:

• Over 60% of respondents were uninsured. Of the remaining 40% who had health insurance, half got it through their job at Delaware North.
• 38% are full-time – compared to 70% of restaurant workers employed by Disney.
• 1 out of 10 servers reported that they are full-time.
• Among part-time workers, nearly 3/4 have no health insurance.
• 78% of workers report that they have no paid sick time or paid vacation days – including 100% of the part-time workers and nearly half of the full-time workers.

Unite Here! Local 737 also points out an example of Disney wages in comparison to a Delaware North cook, Sabrina, who makes $18 an hour working at multiple cook stations at Morimoto Asia. On the other hand, the union says Disney’s wages are as follows:

• Cook 2 (prep cook) starts at $21
• Cook 1 (line cook) starts at $24.10
• Assistant Sous Chef (experienced cook, assistant supervisor) starts at $25.60
• All have a guaranteed union raise in December of an additional $1

“We’re expected to provide that Disney experience for our guests, but as employees, we are not getting that Disney experience we deserve,” said Kristen Mercer, an employee at Maria and Enzo’s.

Per The Orlando Sentinel, Delaware North issued a statement about the union campaign and said:

“We respect our employees’ rights to consider union representation. Should any union gain sufficient backing to petition for a vote at any of our locations, we are committed to adhering to all relevant regulations and procedures throughout the process.”

Additionally, Local 737 filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the Patina Restaurant Group, accusing them of watching and threatening employees because of their union activity.

But, employees of the Patina Restaurant Group aren’t the only ones in Disney Springs who are interested in unionizing. On May 11th, an Instagram account with the username @ghostsofgideons, claiming to be a “collective voice representing the employees” of Gideon’s Bakehouse, shared a statement alleging multiple workplace violations and other instances of employee mistreatment.

Gideon’s Bakehouse is also a third-party company not owned or operated by Disney, but employees still go through several instances of Disney-specific training.

In the statement, the “Ghosts of Gideons” claim that “Ownership & Upper-management of Gideon’s have built a toxic empire of lies. We feel unsafe, underpaid, and are being severely taken advantage of, purely so they can reap a fortune.” The letter goes on to list a number of claims of employee mistreatment, such as racial slurs, along with health and safety violations.

Later, on May 14th, Steve Lewis, the owner of Gideon’s Bakehouse, responded to the claims via an Instagram story on the official Gideon’s Bakehouse account. You can read his statement in full below, but Lewis notes that “much of what is being represented is either misleading or false,” and that the company will properly respond to the @ghostsofgideons’ list of demands soon. Lewis also went on to dispute the reports of failed health and safety inspections, and said, “I love my team. I hire everyone personally, and we discuss bringing emotional maturity and leaving out ego in the workplace with the need to look out for each other. Sometimes, people fall short and are let go, but you’ll notice many of the same faces have been with me for years…I feel confident that everyone is treated with care and respect.”

On May 14th and claimed that “the workers of Gideon’s Bakehouse are now in the process of organizing with Unite Here! Local 362.” We reached out to Unite Here! Local 362 to get confirmation on whether or not they are working with Gideon’s Bakehouse employees on unionizing, but so far have not received a response.

UPDATE: On May 21st, Gideon’s Bakehouse owner Steve Lewis shared an additional update on Instagram. In it, he claims the @ghostsofgideons account was run by someone who wasn’t an employee of Gideon’s, as well as refuting other claims.

Since this is a developing situation, we’ll continue to bring you the latest updates as we learn them. Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney World news and more.