Disney World union workers push to block new Patina restaurant work

Unionized hospitality workers at Walt Disney World moved to squeeze a Disney-linked restaurant operator from another angle, voting unanimously to ask Disney to stop handing Patina Group any new business. The May 8 vote, backed by 100% of participating workers, puts pressure on Disney’s brand as much as on Patina’s management.

The fight is about more than one contractor’s payroll. Patina Group, a subsidiary of Delaware North, runs restaurants on Disney property at Disney Springs and EPCOT, including Tutto Italia Ristorante and Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria. Workers say they are doing guest-facing work that looks and feels like Disney work, but for less money, weaker benefits and less job security than colleagues directly employed by Disney.

Unite Here Local 737 has said Patina workers are paid about $2 an hour less than Disney counterparts, and that the gap will widen to $3.47 less this fall as Disney wage increases take effect. The union says many Disney-covered hospitality jobs will climb between $22 and $28.60 by October 2026, while a cook at the Italian Pavilion said the difference can add up to thousands of dollars over a year.

The issue has been building since April 2024, when Local 737 launched an organizing campaign at five Patina-operated Disney Springs restaurants covering more than 300 workers at Morimoto Asia, The Edison, Maria and Enzo’s, Enzo’s Hideaway and Pizza Ponte. Workers raised concerns about lower wages, part-time scheduling instead of full-time work and the lack of benefits. The union also filed National Labor Relations Board complaints alleging threats and surveillance tied to the organizing effort.

Patina’s labor problems have not been limited to pay. Workers later delivered a formal report alleging possible violations of Disney’s Supply Chain Code of Conduct, and the recent closure of Mama Melrose and PizzeRizzo at Walt Disney World last summer has deepened anxiety about how secure subcontracted jobs really are. For restaurant workers who already live with high turnover and thin margins, the message was hard to miss: when a contractor loses a venue, employees can feel it first.

The pressure lands against Disney’s own history of setting regional wage standards. In 2018, six unions representing 38,000 service employees won a contract that raised starting pay from $10 to $15 over four years, a deal the union said sent roughly $1 billion in added wages into Central Florida. In 2023, nearly 14,000 union members rejected Disney’s previous offer before ratifying a new contract that lifted the minimum to $18 and, according to the union, will bring many current workers to $20.50 an hour by 2026.

That is why the Patina campaign matters beyond EPCOT and Disney Springs. If workers can force Disney to treat subcontracted restaurants as part of the same labor ecosystem, other venue-based operators inside branded destinations may face the same demand: pay like the host, or lose the business.