SAN FRANCISCO β Under soft lights and the dazed gazes of a dozen men in darkened booths, Polly not even close to her real name undulates wearing a black lace camisole pulled below her breasts, red high heels, a garter belt hooked to black fishnet stockings--and a button from Local of the Service Employees International Union affixed to one garter.
Not that their employer can stop them from wearing the buttons. Their organizing committee is as scrappy and passionate about the union as any Norma Rae. Strippers at a San Diego club briefly set up an open union shop several years ago. But the fervor of the dancers at Lusty Lady and the public politicking leading up to the union elections today and Friday have gotten a lot of attention here. They were certainly never paid a wage. At most clubs, women work for tips--which can be more lucrative--and lap dancing ends up with the customer touching, if not fondling, the dancer.
Cade frets that a union will destroy the family-type atmosphere. Pro-union dancers say the homey atmosphere falls by the wayside when there are no guaranteed hours everyone is part-time and no sick leave. Dancers tell stories of being compelled to work still suffering from strep throats and the effects of miscarriages or surgeries.
They worried that their privacy would be compromised--and that the video pictures would be sold or distributed on the Internet without any remuneration. They appealed to Cade. Can you take out the one-way windows?
But almost immediately after the dancers presented Cade with a petition to unionize, the manager removed the one-way windows and instituted sick leave.
