Union Organizing is Taking Off All Across the Nation

Strippers at N. Hollywood Topless Bar Apply for Union Representation

Unionizing campaigns sweeping workplaces across the country now include a strip club in North Hollywood. On Aug. 11, a majority of 30 dancers employed at the Star Garden Enterprises filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election to be represented at the bargaining table by the Actors’ Equity Association.

If the dancers win their election and the results are certified by the National Labor Relations Board, the Star Garden workers would become the only strippers in the United States represented by a union. The bargaining unit would be affiliated with Actors’ Equity, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers employed in live theater.

This is a first for Equity, but it’s not the first time strippers have sought union recognition. In 1996, strippers at San Francisco’s Lusty Lady organized the Exotic Dancers Union in 1996. They were affiliated with the Service Employees International Union until the club closed in 2013.

For more information see https://knock-la.com/strippers-strike-north-hollywood/

Ohio Unions Rally for Rail Workers

Unions in Toledo, Ohio, held a rally on Aug. 20 demanding a fair contract for railroad workers who have gone almost three years without a contract or a pay increase. The ongoing dispute with America’s largest freight rail companies has spurred action from the Joe Biden administration, which last week released recommendations to help resolve the bargaining impasse.

Rep. Tim Ryan, the pro-labor candidate running for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, spoke about his union roots and called on union members to vote this election year for candidates who have a record of helping working people get ahead. He was joined at the rally by Rep. Marcy Kaptur and other union-endorsed candidates.

Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Greg Regan also spoke about the labor movement’s increasing power and popularity at the rally.

“Unions have the highest favorability ratings in decades. People are waking up. They’re recognizing they have power in their jobs.”

IBU Wins Anti-SLAPP Suit Against Centerline Logistics

This past April, Cris Sogliuzzo of the Inland Boatman’s Union won an Anti-SLAPP lawsuit against their employer Centerline Logistics, which owns the subsidiary, Westoil Marine Services.

Strategic lawsuits against public participation are damaging lawsuits that are used to chill free speech and healthy debate by targeting those who communicate with their government or speak out on issues of public interest. Lawsuits such as these are used to silence and harass critics by forcing them to spend money to defend against them. 

In the case of Centerline Logistics, the Seattle-based corporation accused Westoil Marine Services employee Sogliuzzo and the IBU of making malicious and untrue statements during the public comment period of a Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission meeting in October of 2021. 

At the time, Sogliuzzo drew attention to 10 pending National Labor Relations Board cases against the company, and a long-running hours and wages class action lawsuit. 

Centerline claimed that at the October meeting the commission was addressing a permit renewal. The allegation was untrue. Centerline also accused Sogliuzzo and the union of disseminating a handbill claiming that Westoil employees had their work stolen from them and the company was trying to avoid pension obligation. The court found that Westoil Marine Services had not proven that Sogliuzzo and the union were behind the production or distribution of a handbill disparaging the company’s wage and labor practices.

This past July, the court ordered Centerline Logistics to pay the IBU’s and Sogliuzzo’s attorneys fees. On Aug. 22, Centerline Logistics filed an appeal.

UTLA to Boycott LAUSD First Accelerated Day

Ninety-three percent of United Teachers of Los Angeles voted in favor of boycotting the extra acceleration days Los Angeles Unified added to the calendar this school year.  On the first of these accelerated days, scheduled to take place on Oct. 19, the union will instead hold a rally. The union’s vote came two weeks after UTLA filed a complaint against the district regarding its decision to add the four optional acceleration days and extend the school year by one week, which it said the district did without bargaining with the union and without input from families, faculty and staff.

School board members voted to add four acceleration days and three extra professional development days in April in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho shared recently that last school year’s statewide test results, which have not yet been released, will show significant gaps in achievement.

The added days will cost the district $122 million. While the professional development days occurred before the start of the school year, the acceleration days are set to take place on Wednesdays throughout the school year. 

The LAUSD is currently in negotiations with UTLA over a new contract. Negotiations resumed this month after the union’s summer hiatus.