A union representing workers from several restaurants throughout Walt Disney World Resort is working to give employees “a better life.” The laborers are organizing against their employer, Patina Restaurant Group, which operated several dining locations in the Italy World Showcase Pavilion at EPCOT and throughout the Disney Springs shopping and dining district.Union Marches Near Disney World on WednesdayCredit: DisneyOn Wednesday, around 200 UNITE HERE Local 737 members marched to demand a fair contract for unionized workers at Patina Restaurant Group-owned locations in the Italy EPCOT World Showcase Pavilion, as well as a fair process to organize representation for nonunion Patina restaurant employees at Disney Springs. LIVE: Workers are marching demanding a good life for Patina workers!We need a fair contract at Patina restaurants at the Italy Pavilion and a fair process to organize a union at Patina restaurants in Disney Springs!Patina Restaurant Group owns and operates Tutto Italia, Tutto Gusto, and Via Napoli in the Italy World Showcase Pavilion at EPCOT. Workers at these locations do not receive the same benefits as Walt Disney World Resort cast members and are demanding a fair contract that improves their lives. Their demands include an $8 hourly raise over three years, free health insurance for themselves and their families, pensions they can retire on, and a 20% automatic gratuity from Disney Park guests.Credit: Disney“I love to cook,” said Jennifer Quiñonez, who cooks at several of the Patina Group restaurants in the Italy World Showcase Pavilion. “I put my heart into everything that I make, and it brings me joy to see other people eat my food. But loving my job doesn’t pay the bills. That’s why we’re fighting in our contract negotiations for big changes – because all of us deserve a good life.”The Fight to Unionize at Disney SpringsCredit: DisneyAt Disney Springs, Patina owns and operates The Edison, Maria and Enzo’s, Enzo’s Hideaway, Morimoto Asia, and Pizza Ponte. Workers at these Walt Disney World Resort restaurants are not represented by a union yet, and demanded a fair organizing process at Wednesday’s march.“At the end of the day, my coworkers and I deserve to be treated like people with full lives, people who have more going on than just work,” said AJ Meeks, who works at The Edison. “We want Patina to treat us the way we know we deserve to be treated. That’s why we’re fighting for a fair process to organize.”Credit: DisneyUnionized Disney cast members joined the march on behalf of their coworkers, who don’t receive the same benefits and compensation as they do. Several spoke out during the livestream posted by UNITE HERE Local 737.“It makes me so angry to hear what Patina workers experience,” said Henry Allen Torres, a shop steward and Assistant Sous Chef at Magic Kingdom Park. “It’s not good for any of us when people who work so nearby get lower wages, no pension, or no union protections, especially when they’re serving the same guests who come to Disney.”Patina Restaurant Group ControversiesCredit: DisneyPatina Restaurant Group employees at Walt Disney World Resort began their unionization effort in 2024. One employee at Disney Springs claimed she was fired after reporting her supervisor for sexual harassment. Another union employee said a manager physically assaulted him inside Tutto Italia. In 2020, Patina was one of the few third-party employers at Walt Disney World Resort that refused to pay part-time employees during the COVID-19 shutdown.What do you think of the Patina workers’ demands? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments. The post Disney World Workers March for “A Better Life” appeared first on Inside the Magic.