North Hollywood topless dancers to become nation's only unionized strippers

The dancers at North Hollywood's Star Garden Topless Dive Bar are about to become the only unionized strippers in the United States, the first group to do so since the late 1990s. 

"If you have been following our journey, then you know this has been a long, exhausting fight, which is why this victory is so sweet," said Reagan, one of the Star Garden dancers. "We put everything we have into this campaign, and we were fortunate to have the support and solidarity from the club's patrons, our allies and friends, the labor movement and our union, Actors' Equity Association."

The group has lobbied for union representation for the past 15 months after many dancers raised concerns about unsafe working conditions after being inadequately protected from threatening and abusive behavior by patrons. 

"Security was informed by the management not to intervene if there was a problem with a customer, between a customer and a dancer," Reagan explained last October. "The dancer was told simply diffuse the situation, don't cause any drama, just smile and walk away — no matter what the instance is."

The strippers began to picket outside after some were fired for raising the concerns to management, according to the Actors' Equity Association. Protests happened every week through November 2022 until the dancers held their vote to organize. 

While the vote was finished six months ago, the certification of the ballots was halted amid challenges from Star Garden. However, after reaching a settlement, the two sides are expected to negotiate their first contract. The club has agreed to hire the dancers fired last year. 

"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 Actors' Equity Association President Kate Shindle. "The Star Garden dancers have been absolute warriors throughout this long process, and I'm thrilled that we've won recognition of their rights to safety and democracy in the workplace and representation at the bargaining table."

The dancers at Star Garden are not the first strippers to seek union representation. In 1997, the performers at San Francisco's "Lusty Lady" organized the Exotic Dancers Union and affiliated themselves with the Service Employees International Union. However, the Lusty Lady closed in 2013. 

The Actors' Equity Association represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers throughout the country.