On the picket line
In this article:
Nevada brothel workers want a union! · Alabama incarcerated workers hold work stoppage · UPenn grad students voting on first contract
Nevada brothel workers want a union!
Workers at the Nevada brothel Sherri’s Ranch have submitted a petition to unionize to the National Labor Relations Board. The 74 workers, who prefer the job title of courtesan, have formed the United Brothel Workers as part of Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 9413. Sex work is legal in Nevada, but workers need the protection that collective bargaining provides.
Sex workers are considered independent contractors and are often exploited by their bosses, as is the case at Sherri’s Ranch. The workers argue they are employees since they have set schedules, can’t work from home and are required to charge a minimum of $1,000 per hour to their clients. Sheri’s Ranch gets 50% of what they earn, according to Marc Ellis, Nevada state president of the CWA.
In December, Sheri’s Ranch issued new terms of employment which would give the brothel control over workers’ intellectual property and power of attorney with “irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license” to distribute the women’s photos and promotional material. The workers were told they must agree or face dismissal. Two workers were fired for union organizing, and CWA is demanding they be rehired. (apnews.com, Feb. 13)
Other successfully unionized sex workers include dancers at the Star Garden club in Los Angeles in 2022 and the Lusty Lady strip club (now closed) workers in San Francisco in 1997.
Alabama incarcerated workers hold work stoppage
The Free Alabama Movement (FAM) has organized a work stoppage among incarcerated workers in Alabama prisons. Begun on Feb. 8, the strike is to run for 90 days.
FAM leaders said in a statement: “This nonviolent action comes in response to decades of unconstitutional sentencing practices, forced prison labor and the ongoing humanitarian crisis throughout Alabama’s prison system. With the release of the documentary ‘The Alabama Solution,’ state officials can no longer deny or ignore the overwhelming evidence that Alabama’s prison system is in catastrophic failure and requires immediate, sweeping reform.
“The documentary exposes systemic corruption, violence and deliberate neglect that incarcerated people have endured for generations. The truth is no longer hidden behind prison walls — it is publicly available, undeniable and morally urgent. Despite federal investigations, [Department of Justice] findings and repeated warnings, the state of Alabama has failed to enact meaningful change. Therefore, incarcerated people across the state are exercising their lawful right to peaceful protest through a statewide shutdown and work stoppage.”
“The Alabama Solution,” released by HBO, was filmed during a previous work stoppage by incarcerated workers in 2024. That action had a major impact on prison function, as most of the facility operations are performed by incarcerated workers. This current work stoppage will once again list demands, none of which were met in 2024 by prison bosses.
The demands include: repealing Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act (HFOA), a punitive and outdated statute with no rehabilitative value and contrary to modern standards of justice; ending Juvenile Life Without Parole; mandating parole board reforms that have written and transparent standards that allow for non-arbitrary parole decisions; expanding and enforcing compassionate release for elderly, disabled and medically fragile incarcerated workers.
Also, establishing a conviction review board; abolishing forced prison labor and guaranteeing fair wages, safe working conditions and labor protections; and implementing policies that protect and strengthen family bonds, such as overnight stays, increased phone and video communication and family support programs. (alreporter.com, Dec. 5, 2025)
UPenn grad students voting on first contract
Members of GET UP-UAW (Graduate Employees Together University of Pennsylvania – United Auto Workers) will vote on ratifying their first contract after years of stonewalling and union busting by university management. In 2023, graduate students at UPenn organized and won a landslide victory in their union election. (www.workers.org/2023/10/73933/).
After three years of battling the university administration, union members authorized a strike to begin this month. They won solidarity from United Parcel Service drivers – Teamsters, who announced they would not cross the students’ picket line in the event of a strike and would not deliver packages to any address on campus.
Without the graduate students, the university would not function. Their threat to withdraw their labor brought the bosses back to the table, forcing them to bargain in good faith. Big wins for GET-UP – UAW include a 22% increase in the doctoral stipend, a guaranteed minimum wage of $25 an hour, an annual fund of $200,000 to cover dependents’ health insurance premiums and a guaranteed raise next year.
This union victory is significant, because UPenn is one of the most entrenched elite universities in the city. The university has decimated a thriving Black community with land grabs and targeted its own students during the pro-Palestine encampment.
Philly is a union town!
