Los Angeles club dancers to become the only unionised strippers in US

The club dancers of Los Angeles, after days of late-night picketing in North Hollywood, are set to become United States' only unionised strippers.

The victory of dancers is likely to be finalised after a formal union vote and will mark the first time that strip club workers will be represented by the Actors Equity association, which is a century-old union for singers, stage actors and dancers.

The campaign of strippers featured colourful costumed protests and attracted the support of high-profile people. Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and Amazon Union president Chris Smalls both showed up in solidarity.

Star Garden's 23-year-old dancer Charlie said, “The sacrifices we made were definitely sacrifices, but it was for something bigger than us.”

The dancers have been fighting for “a future where unionisation exists for strippers who want it. That’s bigger than struggling to pay rent.”

The campaign, which began in March 2022, highlighted the unsafe working conditions of dancers and their retaliatory firings if they spoke about the dangerous behaviour of customers.

'Dances of Star Garden absolute warriors'

Actors’ Equity, which has been representing more than 50,000 workers, has till now not organised strip club employees. However, the union stated that the concerns of strippers are similar to those of other performers, varying from wage theft to post-show security.

“Strippers are live entertainers. While some elements of their job are unique, they are essentially performance artists, and have a lot in common with other Equity members who dance for a living,” said Kate Shindle, the union president, in a statement.

Shindle termed the dancers of Star Garden as “absolute warriors throughout this long process”.

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Along with concerns about dancer safety and sexual harassment, the union campaign was led by labour concerns which strippers face like any other worker, such as suffering workplace injuries which affect dancers' jobs and making health insurance essential.

“Just walking around in six- to eight-inch heels every night is a lot of wear and tear on your body,” Charlie, the Star Gardens dancer, stated.

The dancers faced legal battles for more than a year, which included the club announcing bankruptcy.

The owners of Star Garden and the union finalised a settlement on Tuesday which will permit the dancers to continue ahead with a union vote, and help the club in re-opening.

In a statement, Star Garden's attorney An Ruda said, “Star Garden is committed to negotiating in good faith with Actor’s Equity a first-of-its-kind collective bargaining agreement which is fair to all parties.”

“Star Garden decided to settle, as it has always been a fair and equal opportunity employer, that respects the rights of its employees,” Ruda added.

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