'Second class' in Disney Springs: Some restaurant workers push for better pay, benefits

When guests arrive at Disney Springs in Florida and eat at one of the entertainment complex’s restaurants, they might assume that all the employees serving them with smiles work for Walt Disney World.

But the magic most people associate with Disney doesn’t exist for some Disney Springs’ employees, say union officials. They argue there is a “second class” of workers at the complex who deserve better wages and benefits.

“We’ve discovered that there is a second class of workers at Walt Disney World, those workers are the subcontracted employees of restaurants that are not operated by Disney,” said Jeremy Haicken, president of the UNITE HERE Local 737, which represents Disney employees. “These are restaurants that are operated by subcontractors at Disney Springs.”

More than 50 food and beverage locations at Disney Springs operate using subcontracted workers, including Gideon’s Bakehouse, Rainforest Café and STK Steakhouse, among others.

Many of these employees do not receive the same level of benefits, such as paid vacation and sick days, provided to employees of restaurants operated by Disney, Haicken said.

The union, which represents about 19,000 employees of Walt Disney World, on Wednesday released a report documenting the inequities. The report was based on a survey of 69 workers at 18 locations in Disney Springs who are not Disney employees.

It found that 46% of those workers had no health insurance and only 28% received any paid sick time or paid vacation time. By comparison, Disney employees represented by Local 737 reported that 69% receive paid vacation time or are eligible for Union-negotiated health insurance and 100% receive paid sick time.

The union wants the non-Disney employees to be able to join Local 737 or form their own union to push for better benefits.

Sabrina Redditt, a single mother and a cook at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs, said she would make $5.10 more per hour if she was a Disney cook doing the same exact job, an amount of money she said could be life-changing for her and her family.

“Recently, my rent has increased and since I can’t afford to pay it, my landlord has started the eviction process against me,” she said. “It’s really hard and if I worked at Disney, I would be able to keep a roof over my family’s head.”

Redditt is a subcontracted employee who works for Delaware North, a food service and hospitality company based out of New York that staffs five Disney Springs restaurants.

Kristen Mercer, a server at Maria & Enzo in Disney Springs for more than three years, is also a Delaware North employee. She said health insurance is not offered to her by the company, forcing her to pay about $500 a month through the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace.

“We aren’t treated as fairly as our other counterparts at Disney,” Mercer said. “We don’t have the same pay as them, and we don’t have the same benefits as them, but we’re on that Disney property just like them providing those Disney experiences just like them and not getting any of the Disney treatment ourselves.”

In a statement, Delaware North, which also staffs the Space 220 restaurant in EPCOT, said it is aware of the organizing efforts of employees at its restaurants and would abide by the rules should employees vote to form a union.

“At Delaware North, we take pride in fostering a positive employee experience and ensuring that our team members feel valued, supported and have opportunities for growth within our global hospitality company,” the statement said. “We respect the rights of our employees to decide whether they wish to be represented by a union. Should any union garner enough support to petition the government for a vote at any of our establishments, we will adhere to all rules and protocols involved in that process.”

Some Disney restaurant employees said Disney Springs restaurant employees deserve better.

Carla Locklear, a cook at Mama Melrose’s in Hollywood Studios, said she has a similar job and similar responsibilities to Redditt at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs and can relate to her because they are both mothers to children with special needs.

“For those who know or truly understand what autism is, to have to take time off of work because your child is having a bad day and things like that starts a domino effect in your financials,” she said. “It just keeps going and you’re not making enough to catch up.”

Locklear joined the union’s press conference Wednesday, she said, because she felt sharing her perspective as a Disney employee could help the other employees secure the benefits they need.

“I have vacation time and sick time and paid holidays and floating holidays, all to fall back on if I need it in case something happens with my child or whatever life throws at me,” she said. “I say workers at Disney Springs …. don’t deserve to be looked at or treated like second class.”