Dancers at a Los Angeles bar may soon be the only group of strippers in the US
The Actors’ Equity Association says the owners of the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood have withdrew their opposition and agreed recognize the strippers’ union.
For 15 months, the club’s dancers have sought safer working conditions, better pay and health insurance, among other benefits. But their push for unionization has been stalled by objections and legal challenges from club management.
The union announced this week that management had agreed to a settlement. A formal vote count by the National Labor Relations Board is scheduled for Thursday.
“We hope that what we have done to put this club together can lay the groundwork for any other stripper in the country who decides that they also want to have a voice in the way their workplace is run,” Lilith, a dancer at Star Garden, told The Associated Press. Lilith asked not to be identified by her legal name in this article, for fear of being harassed or stalked. The AP has learned his legal name.
After being certified, Star Garden dancers join Actors’ Equity, a union that represents more than 51,000 workers in the entertainment industry nationwide.
The Star Garden case is not the first time strippers in the US have sought union recognition. In the late 90s, San Francisco’s Lusty Lady dancers organized the Exotic Dancers Union. But that club closed in 2013 — so, if Thursday’s results are certified by the NLRB as expected, the Star Garden dancers will be the only current unionized strippers in the country.
The Star Garden dancers’ union battle began in March 2022 – after the club’s security guards “repeatedly failed to protect” dancers from abusive or threatening behavior by patrons, and fired those who raised concerns. management, said Actors’ Equity.
“The positive side of Star Garden is that … where the dancers are allowed to express themselves in creative ways. And all my colleagues look at each other – it’s like a little family from the beginning,” said Lilith. “So, when we started to notice that there were some safety concerns that we all had, it didn’t take long for us to come together and decide that we had to do something about it. .”
Lilith recalls several instances that made her and other dancers feel unsafe while working – including the lack of adequate protection from sexual harassment and assault that dancers often face. Star Garden management told the dancers they could not go directly to security if they felt unsafe, Lilith said – as they were instructed to go to management, who would decide “if it’s a serious moment for security to intervene.”
Customers are also allowed to stay in the bar after closing, which makes the dancers unsafe because patrons can see them dressed “from our stripper personas” and recognize what cars they drive in they go home, he said. According to Lilith, a dancer was fired for raising her concerns about this to the management. Another dancer was fired for interfering when she noticed a customer filming her co-worker on stage without her permission, he added.
After the two co-workers were fired, Star Garden’s dancers stopped hanging out in an effort to get their jobs back. But after delivering a safety petition to their bosses, they were locked out of work, Lilith said – so they started picketing outside the club. They later announced their affiliation with Actors’ Equity, which filed for an NLRB guild election on behalf of the group.
According to the union, the NLRB conducted the election by mail and plans for the vote to be counted in November. But those results were suppressed due to legal challenges from Star Garden, which challenged the eligibility of some voters. The club also filed for bankruptcy protection.
As part of Tuesday’s settlement, Star Garden agreed to dismiss the bankruptcy filing and reopen the club soon, lawyers representing Star Garden management said in a statement.
“Star Garden decided to settle, because it has always been a fair and equal opportunity employer, respecting the rights of its employees,” lawyers Josiah R. Jenkins and An Nguyen Ruda said, that added that the club is “committed to negotiating in good faith with Actor’s Equity a first of its kind collective bargaining agreement that is fair to all parties.”
Mori Rubin, who approved the settlement as regional director for Region 31 of the NLRB, said he was impressed by “the dancers who had the courage to protest their unsafe working conditions” and was “very pleased” with the settlement. .
Lilith and other dancers said they look forward to preparing a union contract and returning to work.
“I feel so hopeful to be back,” Lilith said. “It’s definitely going to come back to that certain stage, but I know our community will rally around us…. And hopefully we can show the country how successful a union strip club can be.” .