Results of Vote Count for Star Garden Strippers Seeking to Form a Union with Actors' Equity to be Announced on Monday

Dancers employed at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood, who filed a petition in for a union recognition election with the National Labor Relations Board, will learn the results of the historic union vote this Monday, November 7, at 2 p.m. PT. The Star Garden dancers are seeking to become the only unionized strippers in the United States.

Actors' Equity Association, the national union for 51,000 actors and stage managers in live entertainment, filed the petition in August on behalf of the Star Garden dancers with the labor board. The NLRB is conducting the vote count by Zoom. However, official observers for the union will be at the Equity office in North Hollywood watching the vote count as the mail ballots are opened. Star Garden dancers and Equity President Kate Shindle will be available at the union office for comment following the announcement of the election results.

Additionally, strippers will be picketing outside the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar the night of Saturday, November 5, from 9 p.m. until midnight. Star Garden's dancers have been walking a picket line outside the North Hollywood club nearly every weekend since March. Each night of picketing has had a theme such as "Twerking-Class Heroes," a "Picket Olympics" and an "OSHA Violations Night" where strippers dressed in a manner representing various aspects of the OSHA complaint filed against the club. The theme for the November 5 picket line is "Graduation." The Star Garden dancers are hoping that with a successful vote for union recognition, future picket lines outside the club will no longer be necessary.

Star Garden's strippers have been voting on whether they wish to be represented by Actors' Equity Association by mail ballot. This is the first time Equity, a union with more than a century of history, has organized strippers.

If a majority of those eligible to vote choose to be represented by Equity, and after the NLRB certifies the election results, dancers, assisted by Equity staff, will sit down with the club's managers to bargain a first contract.

Lawyers for Star Garden filed objections in an attempt to block the election from happening. Last week, the National Labor Relations Board rejected that appeal.

For more information about Actors' Equity Association visit: www.actorsequity.org.

Anyone who works on the live stage as an actor, stage manager or stripper and is interested in organizing a union can visit www.actorsequity.org/organize to begin a conversation with an Equity organizer.

ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. www.actorsequity.org #EquityWorks

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