Topless dancers at North Hollywood’s Star Garden Strip 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 for topless dancers, 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.”
Supporters join topless dancers for a rally outside the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar on August 19, 2022, in North Hollywood, California. – A petition was recently filed by the bar’s strippers for a union recognition election with the National Labour Relations Board and if the dancers win their election with results certified by the NLRB, they will become the only strippers in the United States represented by a union, affiliated with the Actor’s Equity Association which represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers employed in live theater. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images © Provided by CBS Los Angeles Supporters join strippers for a rally outside the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar on August 19, 2022 in North Hollywood, California. – A petition was recently filed by the bar’s strippers for a union recognition election with the National Labour Relations Board and if the dancers win their election with results certified by the NLRB, they will become the only strippers in the United States represented by a union, affiliated with the Actor’s Equity Association which represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers employed in live theater. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
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.
Pole Dance Changed My Life. Here Are 13 L.A. Spots To Try It For Yourself
The pandemic led me to the pole.
Let me explain.
Prior to 2021, I had never been strong in my life. In fact, I was pretty damn weak. It was so bad that from the moment I booked a flight, I would start actively worrying about having to lift my carry-on into the overhead compartment by myself. As someone who is self-reliant in most other aspects of my life, that sense of physical helplessness felt embarrassing.
Like many people, the pandemic’s shelter-in-place mandate made me start to go stir crazy. That’s how I found myself considering doing something I had never given much thought to before: dedicating time, energy and money to fitness.
I started out by getting a basic gym membership with a friend. As long as I had an accountability partner to work out with, I was consistent. But once our schedules no longer aligned, I found myself returning to a sedentary lifestyle. Now that I knew how it felt to be strong, it didn’t feel as good to go back to having noodle arms. I tried to figure out a fun way to sneak in the workouts and decided to try a pole dance class on a whim.
I took my first class in July 2021 with Celina Huang at BeSpun. With all the grace of a newborn antelope, I stumbled around the pole, trying to hit the foreign-feeling moves on time and feeling betrayed by my lack of mind-body connection. I can only imagine how terrible I looked, because I was too embarrassed to record myself. But the challenge felt exciting rather than discouraging, so I booked another class and tried again.
I went from having absolutely no upper-body strength to toned biceps, shoulders and abs. I became more flexible, my posture improved and I developed a musicality to my movement that I could only dream of having before. Learning such a challenging skill also unlocked a confidence in myself and my body not tied to aesthetics or external perception. Besides the muscle fatigue and occasional “pole kiss” (a.K.A. Bruises left behind after practice), it’s been all upside.
Nearly two years later, I’m obsessed with the art of pole dance and have met a ton of interesting people along the way. Most of the women I take classes with are young professionals, ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s and beyond. Pole dancers develop confidence, strength, sensuality and bravery through dedication to this practice (just check out my progress on my dedicated pole Instagram, @spinaiya).
“Curiosity brought me in, confidence and community kept me,” explained an instructor at the Secret who uses the stage name Kam Poles.
When most people think of pole dance, their first thought would be the strip club. And while some studios and classes absolutely emphasize unlocking one’s inner sexiness and sensuality, many classes more closely resemble a gymnastic or fitness class. The beauty of pole is it can be a tool to grow in different directions, and the practice caters to people of all tastes.
The three main branches of pole are pole sport, pole art and exotic pole. The first emphasizes tricks and technique with minimal choreography. Pole art is about creativity and storytelling with more emphasis on emotional resonance than a display of strength. And exotic pole most resembles what you’d see in a strip club: performers in 6- to 8-inch platform heels dancing sexily.
Pole dance is the ultimate strength builder and stress reliever, and it all happens through dance, one of the most cathartic and beneficial ways to improve brain health. (Studies have shown that dance helps reduce stress, increase serotonin levels and develop new neural connections.) I would advise anyone who is even mildly interested to try a class. There’s no barrier to entry because strength and flexibility can and will be developed along the way.
At this point, I’ve taken classes at all of the major L.A. Studios and have held regular memberships at three. Each studio has a different vibe, clientele and way of doing things. I can honestly say that they’re all worth checking out at least once.
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