Strippers on Strike! Unionizing the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar

Cocktails & Capitalism

Reagan and Velveeta have been working with fellow dancers to unionize the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar. While the club is contesting the results of their union vote from back in November, it looks like these ladies will succeed in forming the only stripper union in America! This will be the second unionized strip club in the history of the country, the first being the Lusty Lady in San Francisco which closed in 2013.
We discuss the physical harassment and other unsafe working conditions that drove the Star Garden dancers to unionize. After petitioning their employer, 18 dancers were locked out of their workplace in March of ‘22. As a result, the women were driven to escalate their tactics to striking and picketing in front of the club. They’ve since collected union cards and voted in an official union election. Moving forward, the Actors Equity Association will assist these women as they bargain for a contract.
To raise money for the out-of-work dancers on strike, Reagan and Velveeta and some other dancers in the community have been using a side project, the Stripper Co-Op, to put on brilliantly unique and vibrant pop-up strip shows at various venues. The money raised through the Co-Op is distributed fairly amongst the strippers, and they also donate a portion to mutual aid. Donations made between the Stripper Co-Op and its previous virtual iteration, the Cyber Clown Girls, total over $50,000 from May 2020 to the present to over 100 different orgs. The Stripper Co-Op was also inspired by the worker-owned Lusty Lady.

Follow @stripperstrikenoho on Instagram and Twitter! @stripstrikenoho

Please support their strike fund here!

Sign their petition for safety here!

You can also follow their Stripper Co-op on Instagram: @stripperco_op or

Shoutout to @jessejamz for crafting the lovely fancy version of the Stripper Strike cocktail! Cheers & solidarity!

Stripper Strike

60 ml Gin (like Las Californias)

15 ml Lime juice

60 ml Fever Tree Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water

Lime wedge ( garnish)

Stripper Strike, fancy version

60 ml Gin (like Las Californias)

15 ml Lime juice

30 ml Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice

10 ml Grenadine or Jamaica (Hibiscus) syrup (recipe below)

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