The Walt Disney Company states that a labor strike by the EPCOT employees would violate the contract between the company and union that covers food service employees.
Labor Strike
Employees who work at Tutto Italia, Via Napoli, and Tutto Gusto in EPCOT’s Italy Pavilion are represented by UNITE HERE Local 737. The union representing the 70+ restaurant works have been in talks with Patina Group, a Disney contractor, for a new union contract since earlier this year. Their previous contract expired on September 30, 2025.
However, negotiations remained unsuccessful, and the union announced in August that workers would vote on whether to call for a strike if their demands for higher pay and better benefits were denied. This would have been the first ever strike by food-service workers on Disney World property.
Unionized employees are asking for an $8/hour raise over the course of three years. They currently earn anywhere from $18.50 to $26.48 per hour, which they say is not enough to live comfortably in the Orlando area. They are also fighting for a pension plan, 20% automatic gratuity added on to guest checks, and affordable health insurance.
Disney recently brought in an arbitrator to argue that a strike by any employees on Disney World property would violate their contract with UNITE HERE Local 737 and five other unions. According to the arbitrator, this would hold true even if the employees were not directly employed by Disney.
Essentially, the arbitrator ruled that Patina Group employees cannot strike.
Do you think unionized employees should be able to strike even if it violates their contract? Let us know in the comments and on social media.
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