Morale and trust within the Walt Disney World government has deteriorated since allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took it over earlier this year, according to many employees who have departed in recent months saying the governing district has been politicized and cronyism now permeates the organization.

More than 40 out of about 370 employees have left the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District since it was taken over in February, raising concerns that decades of institutional knowledge is departing with them, along with a reputation for a well-run government.

“When I first joined the District, I found an organization that strived to be the very best at serving our community, sought the very best employees and valued those employees above all else,” a former facilities manager with three years of experience said in an employee exit survey last week. “I find myself leaving a completely different District. A District that prioritizes politics above all else and will gladly sacrifice its employees, its community and its work if there’s an opportunity to score political points.”

    • Decoy321@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      46
      arrow-down
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      This is a horrible take that’s shared by DeSantis and his cronies. It doesn’t matter how many people lose, as long as “the right” people lose.

      • dannoffs@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        25
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        A multibillion dollar media conglomerate getting to run its own local government is bad actually.

        • drewofdoom@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          15
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I mean, yes. Corporations owning towns is problematic. But the way in which this was handled is significantly worse.

          While having their own government generated huge potential for abuse, all signs point toward Disney actually being a pretty good steward. So it’s not like this was some emergency. The takeover of the government could have happened slowly, deliberately, and in a way that did not destroy the district in the process. But that was not the point here. The point was to cause damage to Disney because they dared to disagree with DeSantis.

          Notice that none of the other privately-owned towns in Florida are being stripped out. It’s just Disney, and it’s just because of revenge.

          Due to the way this was done, an awful lot of people are going to needlessly suffer. Not just Disney employees, either. Disney attracts massive tourism to Florida, and that tourism money ends up all over the state. This is a self-own of absolutely epic proportions on DeSantis’ part, and all of Florida is going to pay for it.

          • jaybone@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            6
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Corporations running towns. Versus fascist government regimes running town. Pick one.

        • Decoy321@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          True, but a state full of people isn’t. I’m not here to defend a business. I’m here to remind that the point should be about the people.

          We should celebrate people winning, not someone losing.

        • Eh-I@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yes, but we are actually at the point where we have to ask if the alternative is better? In this case… It’s close.

        • Nastybutler@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          1 year ago

          Tell me you don’t know what you’re talking about without saying “I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

      • Lexi Sneptaur@pawb.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        7
        ·
        1 year ago

        Okay, I agree with DeSantis then. Disney shouldn’t own a town. His reasons are shitty and my reasons are anticapitalist.

        • SuperDuper@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          10
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Ron DeSantis: I don’t care who suffers as long as the people I don’t like also suffer!

          Sneptaur: I don’t care who suffers as long as the people I don’t like also suffer!

            • Lightor@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              9
              ·
              1 year ago

              Most self centered people don’t, until it effects them. Society requires a level of empathy to remain in tact, and not everyone has it.

              • Lexi Sneptaur@pawb.social
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                8
                ·
                1 year ago

                They’ll find new jobs. Again: I do not fucking care. I hope they find new employment quickly and that they have savings enough to support themselves and any dependents. If they don’t, they will have unemployment. I don’t expect privileged Floridian government officials to be living paycheck to paycheck, so again: I don’t fucking care.

                • Lightor@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  5
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  1 year ago

                  Unemployment is a joke, especially if you’re supporting a family and lose health benefits. I get you don’t care when people lose their jobs. I’m just saying that’s cold and callus. You’re also downplaying how hard it is for some people to get another job quickly in this economy and job market while saying you hope they have enough savings to have to burn through to stay afloat. It takes very little effort to have the smallest amount of empathy.

                  People not caring is how things never change.

                  • Lexi Sneptaur@pawb.social
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    arrow-down
                    3
                    ·
                    1 year ago

                    I don’t think keeping redundant jobs around is a good policy to help people. It’s much better to build stronger social safety nets. You’re not going to get me to care about someone losing their job. It happens literally every day all around the world to untold numbers of people.

                    I am callous to this. I’m jaded. It’s absolutely not an okay SYSTEM. I am not going to waste time focusing on the jobs lost because DeSanctimonious and The Mouse got into a tiff about whether LGBT folks should be allowed to live. It’s stupid. Those people will be fine in the long run. The vast majority of them are privileged and will be able to make it through unscathed. Nobody’s going to die because of this.