Coronavirus in Florida: What Pandemic Is Like for Theme Park Workers

The Coxes are among the lucky ones. While most people have received one-time stimulus payments from the federal government, UNITE HERE, a union representing 30,000 hospitality workers in the Orlando area, recently said that at least 1,500 of its members had yet to receive any unemployment payments from the state. Florida has been one of the slowest states to process jobless claims, in part because its system was designed to be arduous.

One housekeeper in late May sent UNITE HERE a three-word plea: “Please help me!!!!”

Few areas of the country rely on tourism more than central Florida, which is home to Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal, Gatorland, Legoland and a plethora of smaller attractions. An estimated 250,000 people work in the leisure and hospitality industries, accounting for 25 percent of jobs in the area, according to the trade organization Visit Orlando.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/27/business/coronavirus-florida-disney-tourism.html