Reality Bytes

For the 141st episode of Private Parts Unknown, host Courtney Kocak welcomes Velveeta, a Star Garden stripper and organizer, to explain how their 15-month fight for union recognition ended in victory in May. This was the most popular episode of 2023. The spark that ignited the unionization campaign was lit in March of 2022 when the club’s security guards repeatedly failed to protect dancers from threatening and abusive behavior from patrons. Dancers were illegally fired for bringing concerns about safety and security to management. With the assistance of Strippers United, a 501(c)3 organization led by strippers that advocates for strippers’ rights, Star Garden’s strippers began picketing outside the strip club to protest unsafe working conditions. Picketing continued every week through November outside the club’s location on Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood, California. Last August, the dancers announced they had affiliated with Equity. Shortly afterward, the national union filed for an election with the NL