America’s first unionized strip club in two decades Star Garden in North Hollywood REOPENS after nine months after firing over a dozen dancers who refused to work without better pay, filing for bankruptcy and shutting down

North Hollywood’s Star Garden Topless Dive Bar has reopened its doors nine months after filing for bankruptcy and closing.

Last year, the club’s dancers became the second-ever strippers in the United States to receive union recognition since the 1990s.

The dancers fought for union representation for 15 months after fighting to protect themselves from sexual violence and unsafe working conditions.

On their first night back, patrons were greeted with a part union meeting, part sidewalk party, and part reopening party that took place in front of the club.

Dancers standing outside encouraged people to come in and spend their money. A dancer named Velveeta was heard saying, “If you’re willing to go to the club tonight, please do so. Party with us!’

North Hollywood’s Star Garden Topless Dive Bar has reopened its doors nine months after filing for bankruptcy and closing

Passersby also saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello playing songs on his guitar, while notable actors and writers cheered as they lined up to get in.

After months of deliberation, the club agreed to many of the dancer’s demands, including “renovating and improving many environmental safety hazards, reinstalling the pole right side up, steam cleaning carpeting, and equipping of guards with metal detectors.’

Star Garden has also rehired all twelve dancers they had for being part of last year’s protests and will no longer be assigning security guards to the bar in the future who have worked at the club in the past.

But while everything seemed fine when it reopened on August 24, Star Garden also made some changes that have caused new problems for the dancers. Only one has been solved so far.

A cover charge of $40 per person was introduced at the entrance and drink prices have been greatly increased. The bar also operated without cash and the cash machine had been removed.

Additionally, since reopening, management began discouraging customers from tipping with cash.

At the time, dancers said they felt the club was “trying to scare away customers, demoralize dancers and weaken resolve in contract negotiations.”

Another dancer at the club named Charlie told me The Los Angeles Times: ‘That’s not how strip clubs should work. People were obviously willing to spend cash. It’s really shocking and hard to hear.

One of the dancers, Sinder’s mother Lisa Howe, came to the club and refused to pay the $40 fee.

She said, “(Star Garden’s owner) doesn’t care about anyone but himself. The girls are so strong, they stuck to their guns and did what they had to do… they are a real family.”

But the club fell through with their plans and on September 27, the strippers announced on their Instagram page that the cover charge had been reduced.

They wrote: ‘We are so happy with this! We use our small wins to build on big wins!

‘It’s the simple act of making progress that keeps us going! thank you to everyone who came and loved us when it was $40. your love and support never go unnoticed.”

In May 2022, dancers fed up with the terrible working conditions and retaliatory firings of those who tried to tackle clients’ dangerous behavior towards them, came together to launch a campaign to be recognized as a union.

The spark that ignited the campaign was ignited in March 2022, when the club’s security guards repeatedly failed to protect dancers from threatening and abusive behavior from customers.

A dancer named Reagan, left, protests outside Star Garden Topless Dive Bar on Saturday, March 26, 2022 in North Hollywood

A dancer named Reagan, holding the “Twerk Union” sign, pictured protesting outside the Star Garden strip club in North Hollywood in March 2022

The North Hollywood dancers said they hoped their victory would spur new unionization efforts at other U.S. strip clubs

Supporters join strippers for a rally outside the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar on August 19, 2022 in North Hollywood, California

In May 2022, dancers fed up with the terrible working conditions and retaliatory firings of those who tried to tackle clients’ dangerous behavior towards them, came together to launch a campaign to be recognized as a union.

Reagan was pictured taking part in the initial protests, claiming that more than a dozen of her colleagues were illegally barred from returning to work after raising concerns about their own safety.

The dancers also alleged that security guards repeatedly failed to protect dancers from threatening and abusive behavior from patrons.

Eventually, the strippers began protesting unsafe working conditions outside the strip club, and workers turned to weekly demonstrations through November.

Last year, Reagan said, “Normally I love this job and find dancing empowering and fun, but safety protocol is absolutely necessary and without it, dancing in a club becomes chaotic and dangerous.

‘More than a dozen strippers have been banned from returning to work after raising concerns about their own safety and what they say is that the club’s management has failed to protect them from attacks.’

After a year, the Actors’ Equity Association said attorneys representing the venue’s owners finally agreed to recognize the union and begin negotiating an initial contract within a month.

Kate Shindle, the union president, said in a rack: ‘Strippers are live entertainers. While some elements of their work are unique, they are essentially performance artists and have much in common with other Equity members who dance for a living.”

The National Labor Relations Board previously ruled that the bar violated labor law by firing three strippers and locking out more than a dozen others who raised concerns about their health and safety at the bar.

The Star Garden dancers strategically made their protests entertaining to communicate to customers and club owners that they created the club and without them the company would not exist.

The dancers continued the charm offensive, stripping down to their underwear to give the labor movement a boost.

They asked loyal customers to “come back another time, visit another club or party with them on the picket line instead of going inside.” Each night of the protest, the strippers had a different theme, including costumes and props to keep their supporters interested.

They also managed to build a huge following on social media and used their supporters’ contributions to make the 15-month protest possible, along with other jobs.

They also managed to build a huge following on social media and used their supporters’ contributions to make the 15-month protest possible, in addition to finding other jobs.

And after multiple legal battles, including the club’s bankruptcy and closure, the union and Star Garden’s owners announced a settlement in May 2023. The agreement allowed the dancers to move forward with a union vote and allowed the club to reopen.

Ana Ruda, an attorney for Star Garden said in a statement: “Star Garden is committed to negotiating in good faith with Actor’s Equity a unique collective bargaining agreement that is fair to all parties. Star Garden decided to enter into an agreement because it has always been a fair employer with equal opportunities, which respects the rights of its employees.”

The North Hollywood dancers said they hoped their victory would spur new unionization efforts at other strip clubs.

“This is a victory not only for the dancers of this club, but for the entire strip club industry,” said Lilith, a Star Garden dancer and leader of the protest in a rack.

After they were formally recognized by the AEA, Reagan said, “If you’ve followed our journey, you know this has been a long, grueling battle, and that’s why this victory is so sweet.

“We put everything we have into this campaign and we were fortunate to have the support and solidarity of the club’s patrons, our allies and friends, the labor movement and our union, Actors’ Equity Association,” she said.

Sinder also expressed her joy, saying, “I am excited that all my wonderful colleagues will finally have a seat at the table and a voice to discuss safety and other issues. This is a big day for us and for dancers everywhere.”

The first strip club ever to unionize was the Lusty Lady, a workers’ club in San Francisco in 1997 with the Service Employees International Union. The club was closed in 2013.