Dancers Want What They Already Have- A Union of Their Own

  Exotic dancers have been fighting for their rights for a very long time; the issues surrounding anything from sexual assault, to trafficking and other sexual violations. After the infamous DejaVu lawsuit the labor movement finally reached this industry. This battle in particular took on a life of its own & appeared to be the most successful fight with relatively favorable results; until it wasn't. What's even more surprising is that after decades of fighting for rights, the adult entertainment industry finally got recognition on a federal level and almost nobody noticed. Activist groups, such as SWOP, and sex workers alike have been fighting for something that was technically addressed and many of the issues still being fought against could have ended back in December of 2015. 

 On December 15, 2015, the US Department of Labor recognized a federal labor union for adult film actors, exotic dancers & now cam models. The union is indeed on dol.gov in the same category as every other union in existence; like the plumbers union or the electricians union. The International Entertainment Adult Union has the ability to operate exactly the same as all other unions. The same functions apply. The same laws apply. Per federal DOL and IRS laws, it is no different from the rest. After years of observation I can pinpoint some of the issues surrounding the lack of awareness.

 1) The absolute biggest problem is undoubtedly the fact that no one seems to know what the definition of "union" is, nor how they function and most definitely not the power they hold. Unions are only as strong as their members. There's power in numbers. Local chapters cannot exist unless workers are unionized. Dancers, for example, have been told since 2018 on that they can now unionize. At that point in time a union had already been in place for 3 whole years! Knowing what a union is and how they operate would be the reasonable place to start. Most of the people begging to be unionized have already been told 10 times over that they have a union they can sign up for, so the only possible reason they're still not members is because they have no clue what unions actually are. They need workers in their respective fields to join in order to function. It's that simple! I happen to sit on the IEAU board of directors and the Dancer Guild has hardly gained members in the 4 years since I was sworn in as an officer. Despite my constant efforts at giving dancers the exact answer they needed to "we want a union". Okay. Done. Sign up. Why are you still asking for something you already have? 

 2) There is NO NEED to demand a union. It's already there. All they have to do is join. It's been unnecessary to fight for unionization for about 6 years now. It's been unnecessary to ask for a union for 6 years now. There is ONE plumbers union on a federal level and hundreds of local chapter scattered around the country. There aren't hundreds of plumbers unions. There is one. All dancers have needed to do is go on the IEAU website and join the Exotic Dancers Guild. Done. You're now a unionized worker and the DOL/IRS have recognized your job as a legitimate source of income for longer than you have. The DOL and IRS decided you have a "real" job and make a taxable income! Why are you still picketing for something you already have and have had for the last 6 years? (HINT: entertainmentadultunion.com is the website you need to visit to become a member of a legitimate DOL approved union!) Sign up, receive your union card in the mail. Done. You're an official union worker with the same laws and rights in place that any other union offers! 

 3) If you're not recognized as an employee, the IEAU has an LLC membership you can sign up for which will then make you an employee of your own one person company. You're a walking talking business. Sole proprietor. Sole employee. Collective bargaining is off the table in that instance, but you still get union benefits and can continue working as a mislabeled contractor (until we swoop in and fix the problem). Done. You're now a union worker.

 Is it clicking yet? The various legal websites telling you that "exotic dancers can now unionize" are unaware that you don't have to fight that battle anymore. You're beating a dead horse. You don't need to keep trying to push for something you already have. Just go sign up for the union. It's there. There's absolutely no reason to try to convince anyone that you're a real worker with a real job. If the DOL & IRS have agreed that you are, in fact, a real worker with a real job; who else are you trying to convince besides yourself? Nobody's arguing that fact & forget the rest of society! Especially people in other fields who don't have a union! The Dept of Labor recognized the IEAU as a fully legal and functional union, which means they recognize exotic dancers as legitimate workers with a legitimate job!

 If you really want all those problems to end, including trafficking and assault, then just go sign up. Pay taxes on occasion and you're no longer invisible. Put yourself on the radar and become the unionized worker you've blindly been begging to become. That's one battle that really doesn't need to be fought anymore. You won. If you don't know what unions actually are, go on the DOL/IRS website and click on the union page. The laws are spelled out in black and white. Those laws apply to all unions, including the one made specifically for dancers. The EDG is an IEAU subordinate. You have your own bylaws. Members literally make up a union. The more members there are, the more powerful the union is. Unions are only as strong as their collective members. There's not much else that can be said. You have everything you have ever begged for at the tip of your fingers. 

www.entertainmentadultunion.com - The drop menu on the top right has the regular membership sign-up and the LLC membership directly underneath. Remember, this is literally THE union for you and the DOL is the only organization able to approve unions federally. Sign up and fight for things you still don't have- the basic rights only unions can offer. This seems to fall on deaf ears because something just won't click if there are still dancers begging for something they're repeatedly told they already have. In case I haven't made my point clear.. I repeated myself multiple times so it sticks. I've given this speech so many times since 2016 when I became a member and it still hasn't sunk in. One more time.. If you want to be unionized then sign up for your union. Nobody's stopping you except you!