Strippers Union!
"We demand that the WEP cease its campaign of harassment and intimidation against dancers in Sheffield, Manchester and elsewhere. If they want to help women, they should campaign against austerity measures and poverty wages. Reducing women’s job options is active harm to their livelihoods." - Shiri Shalmy, UVW representative
A spoken word piece by union member, Faye Phoenix.
While many Sheffield dancers love their jobs and have chosen the industry freely the lap dancing industry as a whole is not standardised, and there is much work to be done. Clubs all abide by different licensing rules, operating procedures and management methods.
Strippers across the UK are fighting for their workers rights by unionising with United Voices of the World (UVW) trade union. Many Sheffield Dancers are union members, and UVW has been working with dancers and management to support the SEV license renewal of Sheffield's only licensed stripclub, to keep their members in safe and regulated workplaces.
UVW are also speaking out about stigma and misconceptions around the sex industry as 'uniquely exploitative' under neoliberal capitalism, and the harmful tactics employed by 'feminist' groups against their members.
Follow the UVW United Strippers of the World campaign on twitter and instagram.
"The strip club workers who spoke to Novara Media said attempts to shut down their places of work are bringing them closer together.
“We build each other up. We help each other through difficult times,” said Steph. “I’ve never worked in such a collaborative and supportive network.”
Increasingly, this means unionisation; UVW has seen a spike in stripper membership in recent months.
“If anything this action by Not Buying It – along with its allies in the Women’s Equality party – has made us stronger,” said Louise, who has been dancing for nine years in London, Edinburgh and elsewhere.
“It is accelerating the drive to unionise, and as a strong workforce we have more power to argue for better working conditions and to convince local authorities to support our right to work and to choose our own jobs.”" (Hemery 2019)
