1 Regulating Sex Work Adrienne D. Davis VERY ROUGH DRAFT ...

organizing an itinerant and powerless group of workers, pro-union sex workers even
encounter resistance from unions themselves, which, though desperate for new members,
still often reject sex traders as illegitimate workers. 94 Still, many continue to urge
unionization as sex workers’ best chance to achieve decent working conditions. 95 Thus,
even beyond Macklin’s four-part schema, labor is seen as the first step toward the basic
rights that inure to all workers recognized as employees.
Even more so than basic employee benefits, as Monica Moukalif observes,
“[o]ccupational health and safety is the major organizing point for prostitutes and other
sex labor activists.” 96 The dominant form of “danger” that most risks sex workers’ safety
is violence./One dominant axis of risk that endangers sex workers’ safety is violence.
Sex workers have significantly higher rates of assault, rape, and even murder than other
workers. [add quote and citations 97 ] Dancers are subject to sexual assault and other
battery, on the stage, in private lounges and rooms, and even leaving work, in parking
lots or on the street. 98 Even in public parts of clubs, “women are often subject to verbal
harassment and unwanted sexual touching,” which can be a precursor to violence and
make them feel unsafe in their workplaces. 99 Masseuses similarly may be subject to
violence from customers. Finally, the physical assaults, robberies, rapes, and even
murders of prostitutes, whether street-walkers, outcall workers, or brothel or private
bargainers are well-documented. [fill in statistics] Importantly, physical and sexual
assault comes from not only customers and third parties but also club owners, pimps, and
other employees, e.g., bouncers, bartenders, and servers. 100 The statistics bear out that
94 Chun, supra note [x], at [pincite] ([add quote re union bias against sex workers]); Law, supra note [x], at
599 (“[w]here women have sought to organize a union, they have been rebuffed by established labor
organizations.”); Rutman, supra note [x], at 553, 554 (“Exotic dancers, because they are a stigmatized
group of women, often have problems finding outside labor support or unions that will allow them to
join.”).
These authors also describe challenges to organizing sex workers. [add citations regarding itinerant, antiunion,
etc] “As a result of their lack of power to force better working conditions through
the court system, exotic dancers have begun attempts at unionizing so that they can
collectively bargain with their employers.” Rutman, supra note [x], at 553 (footnote
omitted) then describes problems with unionization, pessimistic 553-54, including
difficulty in organizing, retaliation, preference to remain independent contractors fn 352
(voted down union), rejection by unions
95 Others are more skeptical, however. Margot Rutman observes that in the first successful effort to
unionize a dance club, the Lusty Lady, the dancers got 1 sick day and 1 holiday. “The union contract is
impressive because it exists despite the challenges that the exotic dancers faced, but generally, the contract
fails to offer work benefits comparable to those of other more established unions.” Rutman, supra note [x],
at 555.
96 Moukalif, supra note [x], at 270.
97 Maticka-Tyndale describes assaults of dancers in private rooms of clubs, but also notes that “even in the
public areas of clubs, women are often subject to verbal harassment and unwanted sexual touching.”
Maticka-Tyndale, supra note [x], at 95.
98 [add cite] BROOKS, supra note [x], at [pincite] (describing dancers’ concerns); Maticka-Tyndale, supra
note [x], at 95 ([add parenthetical]).
99 Maticka-Tyndale, supra note [x]. See also Exotic Dancing Health and Safety (“While assault is not
tolerated in other workplaces, dancers report that it is not uncommon for bouncers, managers and police to
treat assault in and around a strip-club as an occupational hazard that dancers should expect and “deal with”
without taking action against the perpetrator.”).
100 [add quote and cite]
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