Hospitality workers deserve vaccine

Thousands of frontline Disney cast members and other hospitality workers have returned to work. Whether it’s cooking or serving food in airports, cleaning restrooms in the theme parks, or loading guests on and off attractions, hospitality workers are often exposed to COVID-19. In many cases, hospitality workers come in contact with thousands of tourists on a daily basis.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and has said over and over that tourism is essential to the economy of Florida. I agree. But I also believe that hospitality workers who perform the work that makes tourism a reality are essential.

While Disney and other employers have health and safety practices in place, there are no protections mandated by the state of Florida. The very least that the state of Florida could do is expand vaccine eligibility to hospitality workers (“Disney World union calls for vaccines,” March 20). I think it’s great that Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has expanded access at the local level, but we must keep in mind that workers live in many different counties across Central Florida. We cannot rely solely on the hope that local leadership in some of our major population centers will act responsibly. We need Gov. DeSantis to step in and ensure that eligibility is expanded to all hospitality workers in Central Florida, regardless of their county of residence. Eric Clinton Orlando

Eric Clinton is the leader of Unite Here 362, a local union that represents 9,000 Disney World custodians, ride attendants, food service workers and others.