2 ms·

In a historic step, strippers at an LA bar are poised to unionize

19 points by LinuxBender 3y ago

jfengel 3y ago
I'm kind of curious as to why Actor's Equity decided that this was in their wheelhouse. (I'm not an Equity actor, but a lot of my friends are, and I've had to study the Equity rules for when I work with Equity actors.) Obviously, strippers are performers. And in addition to the usual concerns about pay and working conditions, strippers are subject to sexual harassment and abuse -- something that affects actors as well. But there are also a lot of differences. Part of the job of Equity is to separate full-time professional actors for whom it is their livelihood, from novices who would work for less pay. I don't really know anything about stripping, but I had always thought of it more like a gig economy. Equity has experience in protecting performers. The list of Equity rules reads like a litany of abuses that they've had to fend off. But would the strippers and actors go on strike with each other? Is it even part of the arrangement?
- giraffe_lady 3y ago
  > Part of the job of Equity is to separate full-time professional actors for whom it is their livelihood, from novices who would work for less pay. I don't really know anything about stripping, but I had always thought of it more like a gig economy. Even if it is, "gig economy" doesn't make it amateur necessarily. That's simply the method of allocating work and organizing & timing pay. It really has no bearing on the financial significance of the work to the performer, or to their professionalism. It certainly benefits employers to conflate these; the idea that gig work is supplementary rather than primary is one of the main justifications they use to keep the pay low. If the union considers them full time professionals to their standards I trust their assessment.
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  > But there are also a lot of differences. Part of the job of Equity is to separate full-time professional actors for whom it is their livelihood, from novices who would work for less pay. I don't really know anything about stripping, but I had always thought of it more like a gig economy. Structurally, from what I understand, its gig like, but not from the lack of full-time professionals for whom it is their main [0] livelihood, but just from power imbalance that enables facilities to eatablish precarious working conditions which offload risk to workers. [0] not necessarily exclusive, but stage actors also often do other kinds of performance, as well.
tabtab 3y ago
If they protest they'll probably get plenty of "supporters" from the community, knowing human nature.

19 points by LinuxBender 3y ago

I'm kind of curious as to why Actor's Equity decided that this was in their wheelhouse. (I'm not an Equity actor, but a lot of my friends are, and I've had to study the Equity rules for when I work with Equity actors.) Obviously, strippers are performers. And in addition to the usual concerns about pay and working conditions, strippers are subject to sexual harassment and abuse -- something that affects actors as well. But there are also a lot of differences. Part of the job of Equity is to separate full-time professional actors for whom it is their livelihood, from novices who would work for less pay. I don't really know anything about stripping, but I had always thought of it more like a gig economy. Equity has experience in protecting performers. The list of Equity rules reads like a litany of abuses that they've had to fend off. But would the strippers and actors go on strike with each other? Is it even part of the arrangement?

giraffe_lady 3y ago
> Part of the job of Equity is to separate full-time professional actors for whom it is their livelihood, from novices who would work for less pay. I don't really know anything about stripping, but I had always thought of it more like a gig economy. Even if it is, "gig economy" doesn't make it amateur necessarily. That's simply the method of allocating work and organizing & timing pay. It really has no bearing on the financial significance of the work to the performer, or to their professionalism. It certainly benefits employers to conflate these; the idea that gig work is supplementary rather than primary is one of the main justifications they use to keep the pay low. If the union considers them full time professionals to their standards I trust their assessment.
dragonwriter 3y ago
> But there are also a lot of differences. Part of the job of Equity is to separate full-time professional actors for whom it is their livelihood, from novices who would work for less pay. I don't really know anything about stripping, but I had always thought of it more like a gig economy. Structurally, from what I understand, its gig like, but not from the lack of full-time professionals for whom it is their main [0] livelihood, but just from power imbalance that enables facilities to eatablish precarious working conditions which offload risk to workers. [0] not necessarily exclusive, but stage actors also often do other kinds of performance, as well.

tabtab 3y ago

If they protest they'll probably get plenty of "supporters" from the community, knowing human nature.