Exotic dancers at California bar become the only unionized strippers in the country

A group of exotic dancers at a bar in Los Angeles succeeded in creating the only strippers' union in the country after protesting for months to improve their working conditions.

The dancers at the Star Garden club will become part of Actors' Equity, a union representing more than 50,000 entertainment industry workers, after the strippers spent 15 months demanding safer working conditions, better pay and benefits such as health insurance.

The group of sex workers will become the only such group to be unionized after the bar withdrew challenges and agreed to recognize the union. However, the first union contract has yet to be negotiated to make it official.

"We’re hoping what we’ve done to unionize this club will have laid the groundwork for any other stripper in the country who decides that they want to also have a voice in the way their workplace is run," said one of the Star Garden dancers to The Associated Press.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that a group of strippers has attempted to gain union recognition. In fact, in the late 1990s, some dancers at San Francisco's Lusty Lady venue also made efforts to unionize. However, the club closed in 2013.

According to Actors' Equity Association President Kate Shindle, strippers should also be considered performers even though some elements of their work are "unique."

"Every worker who wants a union deserves a union. The Star Garden dancers have been absolute warriors throughout this long process, and I’m thrilled that we’ve won recognition of their rights to safety and democracy in the workplace and representation at the bargaining table," Shindle said.