Topline:
In Part 2 of Imperfect Paradise: Strippers Union, the dancers of Star Garden take their union campaign public and get pushback from a group they didn’t expect: other strippers. The episode follows the campaign for one whole turbulent year, from their victory in getting Actors Equity union representation to the bankruptcy of Star Garden.
About that pushback: The episode delves into the criticisms Star Garden dancers faced for being a mostly white group using the term “stripper strike,” which was previously a term used by Black strippers in response to discriminatory practices in strip clubs. The Star Garden dancers also received blowback for pushing for unionization as the primary strategy for improving dancers’ experiences, highlighting an ongoing debate over who actually benefits from unionizing this industry.
We meet dancers who are pushing for alternate solutions to common industry inequalities, including Cat Hollis of PDX stripper strike, who led a campaign to put pressure on multiple clubs and target issues of racism across Portland, Oregon, strip clubs; and Onyx Black, who thinks strippers shouldn’t be unionized employees, but rather independent contractors.
Meet Onyx: Onyx Black started stripping at the age of 37 after spending many years working in the corporate world. “It's one of the most toxic places I've ever worked,” Onyx says. “Having all of these white men looking down on you … And at the strip club, all of those white men are giving me money and I'm looking down at them.”
Onyx says she made good money as a stripper and liked the scheduling flexibility she got as an independent contractor. Then, everything changed in 2020, when California passed AB5, a controversial labor law that caused many strip clubs to re-classify their dancers as employees, and as a result, let many of them go.
Onyx now advocates for a return to independent contractor status for strippers through her organization Artists Revolt.
Star Garden management opposed their dancers’ unionization campaign — halting the ballot count by claiming the strippers were independent contractors, not employees, and later filing for bankruptcy, which led the dancers to believe they might have a shot at buying the club themselves.
How can I listen? Here's Part 2:
New episodes of Imperfect Paradise: Strippers Union publish Wednesdays wherever you get your podcasts, on LAist.com, and on broadcast at LAist 89.3 the following Sunday.
