A popular Disney Springs bakery known for its gothic aesthetic and treats has been accused by an anonymous, unconfirmed Instagram account of “unsafe” working conditions and underpaying employees.
The account, Ghosts of Gideons, first emerged a few days ago and posted a note on May 11 detailing their grievances.
“We are the Ghosts of Gideons, a collective voice representing the employees whom you have come to know and love,” the note began before launching into their “desperate plea for help.”
The note called the culture at the bakery a “toxic empire of lies” and claimed that employees feel “unsafe, underpaid” and “severely taken advantage of.”
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The shocking claims include employees being paid just $8.95 an hour, working under “numerous” health and safety violations and management allegedly using racial slurs toward employees and customers during meetings.
The anonymous group has even put together an eight-page list of demands via Google Docs.
One of their grievances was related to the making of Cold Brew drinks, which the document claims employees were told to shake 10 times before serving.
“When we have 10+ beverages queuing to be made, shaking each drink 10 times will severely impact our ability to be efficient,” the document said.
They also called for the firing of a manager named Cynthia who allegedly used racial slurs in a recent meeting.
As for the alleged health and safety violations, the document claimed that the bakery does not have a proper fire egress for employees in the kitchen, that employees are forced to wear pants even in the Florida heat, that there are no “ADA mobility standards” in place, that the sanitation of baking sheets is inadequate and that employees are not given adequate bathroom breaks.
The group also included a lengthy demand timeline in the letter.
However, two days after the initial posting of their grievances, an update was posted on the Instagram account claiming that things only became worse.
“The atmosphere inside the Bakehouse is now a police state,” the update read.
They claimed that management “cornered and interrogated” employees and fired people they thought were involved in the Instagram account.
“The workforce as a whole is petrified,” the note said. “Coming to work is entering a nightmare.”
The update also claimed that other employees from different locations allegedly came forward with accusations of “rampant sexual harassment, victim blaming, and continued racist behavior.”
