[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 17, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING JULIE RUIZ AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA DURING 
                           LGBTQ+ PRIDE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DARREN SOTO

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 17, 2025

  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, Julie Ruiz was born in Arizona and raised in 
Mexico. As a young woman, she came to Florida looking out for herself. 
She lived with friends who supported each other in building their lives 
in Central Florida, with few resources and no family here.
  She began working at Disney Springs as a cashier for a restaurant run 
by Delaware North, making just $16 an hour and sleeping on her friends' 
couch. Because Julie is a fighter, she quickly began to fight for 
restaurant workers to be treated better--especially as a young bisexual 
woman who believed that she and all her coworkers should be equals. 
Even while sometimes working two jobs and rushing from shift to shift, 
she was paying rent to sleep in a living room and was classified as a 
part-time employee at Disney Springs with no benefits.
  One day, Julie and her coworker reported their supervisor for sexual 
harassment, but the company left him in his position as their 
supervisor. She became a union leader with Unite Here Local 737, 
organizing her coworkers to win a better life, saying: ``We should feel 
safe in our restaurant. I want to be treated as a human being. We ARE 
their restaurants--they don't run without us.''
  One week after passing out a union flyer with her story on it, Julie 
was fired for nothing more than wearing an earbud while walking into 
work. She continued to fight, telling her story of sexual harassment 
and worker organizing more and more publicly. She has inspired 
thousands of people to sign on to support her fight--not just for 
herself, but for her coworkers, for women and LGBTQ workers, and for 
workers in the tourism industry everywhere.

                          ____________________