North Hollywood Strippers Are Very Close to Joining Actors’ Equity Union | Eater LA

"Dancers at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood filed a petition this week to form a union with the NLRB, and if the election is won and certified the club would become unionized and affiliated with the Actors’ Equity Association. The group began protesting in March over what they allege is poor treatment, saying owners and security fostered an environment of harassment and were lax about worker safety and cleanliness; in April they filed an OSHA complaint citing bed bugs, broken glass, and rusty protruding nails on stage. They also raised safety concerns about drunken customers, including an accusation that a security employee refused to help delete video from a patron’s phone in violation of a longstanding no-phones policy and topless-club etiquette. Protesters have continued by turning customers away; owners Stepan and Yevgenya “Jenny” Kazaryan did not respond to requests for comment, and an attorney for the Kazaryans denied the allegations in July." - Mona Holmes