Only one strip bar in the nation is unionized: North Hollywood, California’s Star Garden Topless Dive Bar. However, Portland’s Magic Tavern near Northwest 24th Avenue and Nicolai Street is anticipated to be the second.
In response to “dangerous working conditions and a lack of professionalism,” the majority of the 33 strippers at Magic Tavern have been on strike since April 4, according to a petition with more than 2,000 signatures. The dancers made the decision to join Actors’ Equity Association, 110-year-old actors’ and stage managers’ labor union, on June 6.
Dancer Nyx, who is now on strike, claims that they are asking for “basic safety and respect in the workplace, just like any other industry expects.”
When Kate Shindle, president of Equity, learned about the problems that led to the strippers’ strike, she visibly gasped. Club security and cameras are insufficient. failure to furnish contracts to hired dancers. A shaky pole, uneven stage flooring, and an eerie gas smell next to the kitchen are all safety concerns. retaliation for raising issues at work. An official group chat for dancers is referred to the management as “Anus Tarts.” The list continues.
Benjamin Donohue, the owner, declined to comment on the strike. Dancers onstage are not on strike, and the club is still open.
The dancers have another issue that isn’t expressly addressed in the petition but gets at the heart of their grievances: a favorite food item called Bitter Yuck.
Innovative Safety Solutions
Due to insufficient protection, Magic Tavern dancers invented safety measures including rubbing deodorant on their breasts or spraying themselves with Bitter Yuck, a product designed to stop pets from chewing on plants and furniture.
It turns out that it’s excellent at discouraging sleazy strip club patrons as well.
“Imagine if you told a dancer, ‘If someone licks your nipple, go tell security and we’ll get them thrown out,’” a dancer named Daphne says. “That would be so much better than, ‘You should put some deodorant on your boobs.’”
The three dancers we spoke with—Nyx, Creature, and Daphne—all expressed a desire to return to work at Magic Tavern.
“Both those stages are absolutely gorgeous, and the community we built was incredible,” Creature says. “That club has so much potential.”
In November 2022, Magic Tavern first opened. According to the strippers, management wanted to create a “Old Portland” punk vibe. While noting that most of the club’s Black dancers have been less visible during the strike since they would find it more difficult to get hired or find prime shifts elsewhere, they praised the diversity of body kinds and skin tones in their Magic Tavern community. The 2020 PDX Stripper Strike was triggered by racism throughout their profession.
On July 21, the Magic Tavern strippers want to picket once more.
“The clubs don’t keep us safe,” Daphne says. “We keep each other safe.”
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