A Los Angeles area topless bar violated federal law when it laid off three exotic dancers and locked out 15 other strippers who launched a unionization drive to protest hazardous conditions, the National Labor Relations Board ruled.
The NLRB regional office in LA filed a complaint which states that the strippers’ claims that they were forced by the Star Garden dive bar in North Hollywood to work in poor safety conditions has merit, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In recent months, the dancers have picketed the jiggle joint — with some carrying signs that read “Twerking Class Heroes” and “Power to the Strippers.”
The strippers alleged that they were forced to work in a club that regularly had broken glass on the floor, furniture with bed bugs, infestation of rats and cockroaches, rusty nails protruding on stage, and white substances falling from the ceiling.
“The Star Garden dancers concertedly raised concerns about their health and safety, and the employer unlawfully retaliated against them because they did so,” NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado told the LA Times.
A representative for the Star Garden wasn’t immediately available for comment.
In late March, exotic dancers at Star Garden voted to unionize in hopes of becoming part of Strippers United, a federally recognized union.
Star Garden management refused to recognize the union after the dancers walked out to protest poor work conditions.
When the strippers who walked out tried to get back to work, they were prevented from doing so, according to reports.
In August, the Star Garden dancers filed a petition asking to be represented by the Actors’ Equity Association, a union that represents actors and stage managers.
But the vote count could not be completed after Star Garden owners challenged the majority of the ballots.
If the strippers succeed in forming a union, it would be the first time strip club dancers joined a guild in the US since 1996.