Why You Should Be Angry at The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry

You should be angry at them even if you aren't a dancer. You should be scared and worried. I reported many Minnesota strip clubs to their organization, in addition to privately litigating. They did not help me with any of them. Rather, they called me to tell me that they didn't have enough resources to pursue an investigation. This should upset strippers, because it means the state of Minnesota does not care about them. It means that your tax dollars are not investigating exploitative workplaces, because of an alleged lack of resources.

Citizens who aren't strippers should be worried too. The state of Minnesota does not investigate strip clubs, and their lack of interest is a symptom of a larger problem-- one that says women's issues don't matter. It's one that says subversive workplace environments aren't as deserving of regulation.

I wrote to Al Franken about this, and received an automated response, asking me to donate to his campaign. I was put on an annoying mailing list that usually asks me for money. Al Franken has demonstrated that he also doesn't care about stripper labor rights. It's unfortunate that dancers must rely on private litigation only, but that's the way it is in Minnesota. It's unfortunate that all citizens aren't protected under the law in the state of Minnesota.

Does Brittany Carollo Sadistically Enable Sexual Assault?

When most dancers start working at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club in Las Vegas, they are put on the day time shift, which starts at 4 PM. This is a time of day when clubs are slow, and it is more difficult to make money. Dancers must leave by 10 PM if put on this shift, although sometimes, in order to make more money, they sneakily stay after 10 PM. That is what I did when I first started working at Hustler.

While most of the managers didn't bother tracking me down and telling me to leave at 10 PM, Brittany Carollo went out of her way to bother me about that whenever she could.

For many dancers, being forced to work the day shift meant enduring more sexual assault, out of desperation. Because of the slowness of the day shift, there were not a lot of customers to choose from. Brittany knew all of this, but continued to harass dancers who stayed past 10 PM without her permission.

I only had to work the day shift for about a month before being allowed to come in at busier times. Even after other managers gave me permission to stay while it was busy, Brittany continued to bother me about it. I had to tell her bosses that I needed her to leave me alone. Other dancers were not so lucky, and many wondered aloud who the young woman bullying them was. Several dancers wondered aloud if Brittany was the result of inbreeding, because of her recessed chin and lack of jaw bone. Several dancers wondered if Brittany, with her stout stature and unshapely frame, harassed attractive dancers out of jealous spite. Many more other unfavorable things were whispered about her in the halls and crannies of the Hustler dressing room, from dancers who were at the mercy of Brittany's torment.

Brittany Carollo was in her early twenties while I worked at Hustler. When she wasn't harassing dancers who she didn't like, she spent much of her work shift sitting at the hookah bar, smoking flavored tobacco. While working at Hustler, I found Brittany's resume on the internet, to see that she had experience working for progressive organizations, such as Planned Parenthood. It amazed me that she would go from Planned Parenthood to managing a place like Hustler where sexual assault and worker exploitation is prevalent. In an industry dominated by male staff and management, it was abnormal to have Brittany working in her position, even more because of her age.

Many dancers hypothesized that Brittany must have been related to someone powerful or had a relationship with someone in charge. Whatever kind of connection Brittany has, I never saw her exercise power to protect the vulnerable, exploited, assaulted or oppressed as it was happening all around her. In 2013, she was a registered republican.

Brittany was present during my termination, when I was told that part of the reason I was being fired was for offering my lawyer's contact information to workers who were having their rights violated. It was her job to sit and stare at me, as a witness.

Brittany can be found on facebook under the name "Brittany Rose." Her facebook contains quotes from Marilyn Monroe, Chuck Palahnuik and Lana Del Rey.

Leo Mena

In Madison Mainwaring's Vice magazine article about me, she begins:

"During a ten-hour shift at work this past spring, Brandi Campbell was getting into an elevator when her manager grabbed her and pulled her close to his body. He wanted to know why she hadn't replied to his multiple requests to take her out for sushi. This wasn't the first time Campbell's boss had been inappropriate with her. In the eight months that she'd worked for him, he had habitually brushed his hands across her thighs and rubbed her shoulders. He had demanded her personal phone number so many times that she'd given in, and now he wouldn't stop calling, even though she had made it clear she wasn't interested."

That manager was named Leo Mena. He is the big, grotesque, ogre-looking fella pictured below. The woman next to him was one of my fellow strippers at Hustler, named Ayumi. It looks like Ayumi was more complacent than me about the dining invitation.

Kimberly K. Moore

Below is a photo of Kimberly K. Moore. She was a stripper at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club during the same time that I was. She was involved in a sexual relationship with a DJ there, named Dustin Chaves. Kimberly couldn't cut it as a dancer, so she switched to being a cocktail waitress. I never tipped DJ Chaves, and Kimberly didn't like it very much that her boyfriend couldn't bully me into giving him my money. Before Hustler and I reached resolution, Kimberly volunteered to testify on Hustler's behalf. She was going to describe how she thought she was an independent contractor while dancing, but an employee while waiting tables. Kimberly is not good at understanding the Economic Realities test, so thoughts about nuance in employment situations don't happen inside of her head. She is a scab.

Douchebag: Blake Gutierrez

This guy calls himself "the sand man" and threatened to kill me for my Larry Flynt's Hustler Club lawsuit activity.

Cash James: An Exploitative Pimp's Spawn

This is a photo of a child named Cash James and his dad, Ralph James. Cash directly benefits from misogynist sexual assault and worker exploitation. Ralph James is a manager at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cash's dad, Ralph, makes a lot of Cash, in order to send Cash to private Montessori schooling and give him a swanky Las Vegas upbringing.

During my time at Hustler, I regularly witnessed women being sexually assaulted by customers and staff. Ralph didn't do much about it, even though he knew about most of it. Sometimes Ralph would withhold my money from me for hours if I protested sexual assault. Sometimes Ralph would passive-aggressively talk about misclassification if I was stuck in an elevator with him. For a long time before Hustler fired me, Ralph knew that I was interested in suing the club. Several people tipped him off, and he was devising a way to get rid of me without making it look so obvious what he was doing.

Sometimes when the offspring of oppressive political leaders get negative media attention, people think the offspring doesn't deserve it. I disagree, and I believe that the offspring should not be let off the hook.

It is likely that Cash James will grow to be an exploitative misogynist just like his dad, Ralph. Anything less than aggressively calling out Ralph's behavior when he grows up will not be enough on Cash's behalf.

Why It's Important to Give Clubs the Benefit of Doubt

When I start a new job at a strip club, I don't always know if they will classify correctly. There is a possibility that a club will accurately classify me as an employee and recognize my rights. There is also the possibility that a club will not enforce rules consistent with employee status, and that I will have so many freedoms within a club that I truly am an independent contractor. The latter is almost never the case, but it's not impossible.

It's important to give clubs the benefit of doubt that they will do the right thing, and classify correctly. It's also important to understand all of the factors in the Economic Realities test, to know when misclassification is occurring. I'm no ideologue when it comes to strip club classification. I just want them to do the right thing when it comes to worker rights.

VCG: Crushing Them with Critical Mass

It's much more difficult to find other plaintiffs to start a class action, than it is to do an individual lawsuit. That being said, the VCG class action is going great and I am so happy to have joined it.

One of the greatest obstacles with suing strip clubs are lying, backstabbing fellow strippers who will attempt to sabotage a case. Arbitration serves this purpose well. However, with the VCG class action, there are so many on board and support for fellow dancers is much easier. It will be great to see where it goes.

Stage Skills

Sometimes during legal proceedings, the opposing side will bring in a dancer with a marginal amount of talent, and have her describe to the judge or arbitrator how her job requires skill. Sometimes, this will result in a demonstration of her skill. When the opposing side states that these skills are profitable or required for the job, they are lying. There are, however, a set of stage behaviors that are much more profitable than pole acrobatics, hoola hooping or other hobbies. Below is a list of things I have witnessed which are more profitable on stage. I don't engage in this behavior myself, and sometimes that results in termination after customers complain that I am rude:

-- Bringing a second stripper on stage and pretending to give her oral sex

-- Rubbing one's breasts in customers ugly disgusting faces

-- Pulling female customers up on stage and dry humping them

-- Pulling female customers up on stage and removing their clothes while their boyfriends and husbands watch

-- Getting down on all fours in doggy style sex positions

-- Fingering oneself

-- Sitting on customer's faces while they are seated at the stage

-- Removing dollars from customer's bodies with one's mouth

Debra Kalsbeck: Owner of King of Diamonds

Debra Kalsbeck had me trespassed from King of Diamonds in Minnesota the other day, after she found me filming a wholesome interview on her property. She sent the police to harass me on a Mississippi River bridge. She told them that I had "harassed" staff, when actually I simply sued her club, won, did a till tap and sent her staff a nice letter.

Her facebook name is "Deb Kay."

Debra likes to exploit vulnerable young women who don't know their labor rights. Her club is fully nude, and she coerces vulnerable young women, often intoxicated, to show their genitalia to much older men, even though the women don't want to all of the time, especially when not paid a lot of money.

Deja Vu, Minneapolis: New Poster

In a previous post, I wrote about how Deja Vu in Minneapolis fired me three weeks after hiring me, due to my name "flashing" in their computer system, telling them not to hire me. Blacklisting is illegal, folks. I hope they like this poster I got for them.

Deja Vu Minneapolis Poster

Footwear

I have danced for over eleven years now, and for most of that time, it has been my sole source of income.

I started dancing in the town of Portland, Oregon, where I was attending college. At my first club, I wore a pair of small heels that I bought at a thrift store. They were not stripper shoes. I didn't think it was necessary to wear uncomfortable shoes that are bad for my health, in order to make money. I was correct, because it ended up being a very lucrative job, regardless of my footwear. A few months after becoming a stripper, I auditioned a club called Carnaval. It was owned and operated by a former dancer named Laurie, and it was located in downtown Portland. Laurie didn't make me wear any shoes at all at work, so for the next couple of years, I danced completely barefoot. I continued to earn more money and learn how to hustle. I was sometimes bullied by other dancers, who wanted me to wear stripper shoes. For some reason, many women feel the need to patrol and criticize other women for the things that they choose to wear. These were not conservative women either-- they were mostly liberals.

Every strip club is different in regards to illegal rules they impose on dancers regarding footwear. Some clubs have allowed me to wear ballet flats. Other clubs have required me to wear stripper shoes, even though they misclassify me as an independent contractor. Some clubs go so far as to specify a minimum number of inches that the heel must be.

A club pressuring a dancer to wear a certain type of footwear can be a factor in determining whether she is an independent contractor or an employee, because people who are truly independent contractors would theoretically be able to wear whatever they want on their feet. Employees who are subject to certain rules regarding footwear would theoretically be entitled to workman's compensation if dangerous accidents or knee damage occurred while wearing stripper shoes.

High heels cause significant damage to the skeletal system and joints. It's not just the feet that they disrupt, but everything up to the neck and shoulders. Long term use of high heels can lead to foraminal stenosis, arthritis or slipped discs.

Recently, a sex work activist by the name of Matilda Bickers made a post on her friends' website, Tits and Sass. Matilda wrote:

“although the years have honed it and solidified my personal feeling that hobbyists (non-in person sex workers) have no business being within feet of a pole. If you aren’t going to work fifteen-thirty hours a week in 7” lucite heels... then you have no business using us as a costume.”

Please don't listen to Matilda's bullshit. I am a full time stripper and far from a hobbyist, much like many strippers who resist heels. Most dancers who wear heels don't wear ones that are seven inches. There are dancers who rely on stripping for their sole source of income and have for years, who choose to wear ballet slippers or other sensible shoes without a heel, during work. We do this because it relieves stress on the mind and body, not because we are hobbyists who don't need to make money. We aren't doing this to mock people like Matilda Bickers or wear a “costume.” She is not a part of any elite sect who gets to dictate what a true stripper is.

Matilda Bickers has a history of making sweeping statements regarding who she believes should have a voice in the sex worker community. Every once in a while on her blog, she will make statements regarding how she believes people should dress or look. If you find yourself subject to this kind of rhetoric but still know that you are a sex worker, understand that you are not alone.

Being a labor activist stripper is awesome, and one of the things that has always come up for me is the shoe issue. To my fellow strippers out there who like ballet slippers or otherwise resist unhealthy, body-damaging stripper shoes-- I support you and recognize that you aren't a hobbyist.

Troubles in Madison, Wisconsin

The other day, I auditioned and was hired at a club in Madison, called Visions. Within the first four hours of working, I saw a lot of disgusting looking heavy petting for little to no money. I decided the club wasn't for me, so I got dressed, packed up my things, and attempted to leave. I told the bouncer that I was leaving. He told me that I couldn't leave yet, because I hadn't paid my house fee, tip out, and because I needed manager approval to leave. I reminded him that I was quitting, and attempted to walk out the door to get to my car. Somewhere in my pursuit of getting outside, he put his hands on me, to try to physically prevent me from leaving. He pawed at my purse. I told him not to touch me, and attempted to open my car door. He yelled for a second bouncer to barricade my car door, so he could get a manager. I called 911. In all my years of quitting strip clubs, nothing like this had ever happened before.

While I was on the phone with 911, the manager came out and told the bouncers to let me go. I told the 911 dispatcher what was going on. The dispatcher asked me if I wanted to fill out an assault report. I agreed to do that, and the dispatcher arranged for officers to meet me at the gas station next door.

A few minutes after sitting outside the gas station, two officers approached me. One was named Cary House (I asked for his business card) and a female officer, whose name and business card I didn't catch. I explained to them what happened. The female officer went over to Visions, to talk to the bouncers. While she was gone, Cary House told me that what the bouncer did by restraining me did not count as assault. Cary House proceeded to defend the bouncer's actions, by comparing my not paying or tipping out to stealing a candy bar from the gas station. That was the metaphor he used to describe strippers who do not tip or pay their illegal fees-- stealing candy from the gas station. Cary House attempted to make me agree with him. I was quickly realizing that Cary House was a man of low intellect, even for a cop.

Cary House's female partner returned, to tell me that the bouncer, Ian, denied putting his hands on me. She proceeded to tell me that the strip club could sue me for my fees (totaling $30) if they wanted to. She and Cary House told me that because I signed the contract, I was legally obligated to pay those fees. They compared me to a thief for not doing that. Since I realized I was dealing with two dangerous individuals with low IQs and lethal weapons, I didn't discuss labor law too much with them or my history of suing these types of places.

Since the incident, I've done some research on Cary House. I found that he has been suspended for firing his gun at a house party while his cop wife was drinking and driving that same night. I have found police misconduct complaints filed against him. Since I still don't know the name of his female partner, I can't research her yet.

I filed a complaint against Cary House with the Madison police, but I know that he will probably not experience any negativity for his behavior toward me. I know that police are a murderous gang that can slaughter people like Philando Castile and not get charged with anything. I know that Cary House will continue his life of bullying people and distributing false information about labor law. I know that the Visions bouncer, Ian, will probably continue his life of bullying strippers, physically restraining them for not tipping, and lying about it to cops, who will believe him.

Thoughts on Settling

Older posts on this website reveal a more rigid opinion on lawsuits, one in which I was not in favor of settling. In the past, I have criticized other dancers who have settled. I have since settled, and my opinion has changed. It's a personal decision, particularly in an individual lawsuit where other people in a class action don't need to be considered. I no longer shame others for avoiding the emotional turmoil of a trial, and instead choose to accept an undisclosed amount of cash. Filing a lawsuit against a strip club at all is a courageous thing to do, and each lawsuit is another strike against the system which exploits their workers in the way that strip clubs do. Even with settling, strip clubs are likely to think twice before exploiting future workers to the extremes that they have done in the past.

Shotgun Willie's in Denver

Mike Dunafon is a libertarian who is active in politics. He also owns Shotgun Willie's and as we know, libertarians do not care for labor laws or unions. Luckily, attorney Mari Newman is suing the club. Mike Dunafon exploits vulnerable young women, by not paying them wages and by taking their earned tips away from them.

If you have danced at Shotgun Willie's and want to get the money back that filthy libertarians stole from you, I suggest contacting Mari Newman. Her firm's website is here.

VCG Class Action

I worked at Penthouse in Denver several years ago. While I didn't originally initiate a lawsuit against the VCG corporation which owns Penthouse, I have recently joined a class action against the corporation. Below is an article in a Denver publication about the class action. It's exciting to join it and I encourage all VCG dancers to contact attorney Mari Newman about joining.

Penthouse Denver

Deja Vu Minneapolis

While I was still suing Hustler in Las Vegas, I got a job at Deja Vu in Minneapolis, where I encountered many examples of broken labor laws. Three weeks after being hired, my manager informed me that I was not able to work there any longer, because my name was flashing in their computer system, telling them not to enter into a contract with me. Of course, I had to sue them for that and report them to the NLRB.

Resolution with Hustler

Larry Flynt's Hustler Club and I reached resolution on the employee misclassification and sexual harassment claims. I continue to litigate against other clubs, report them to appropriate organizations, record them, and speak out about the issue of stripper labor rights.

Arbitration

Arbitration is a problem that not only strippers experience, but regular citizens as well. Not all strip club contracts have arbitration in them, but many do. Here are a couple of links to articles and information about arbitration:

Mother Jones

Arbitration

Questions from A Reader

One of my readers sent me an email that I'd like to respond to publicly, because it contains a lot of questions and curiosities that come up. Jessica writes:

"I was reading over your website because there was a girl at my club in Florida who was talking about a lawsuit like the ones you talk about and it got me curious (I’m a college student) so I started Googling online.

One of my thoughts was, shouldn’t we have the right to choose as individuals if we are independent contractor or employee?

The reason why I ask is, there are some nights where I definitely want to be an employee (when it’s slow), it would be great to have no fees and have an hourly paycheck.

But then there are other nights where I would rather keep all of my money and not have to pay taxes. There have been some nights in Miami where I made 2,000 or more and the idea of paying taxes on all of that scares me!!!

When I lived in LA, my girlfriend and I tried working for 3 days (it was slow) at a club in San Diego that paid hourly paychecks to its dancers. They paid hourly, with overtime if you worked overtime, and then the customer paid the bouncer the dance money like most clubs in Cali. After your first 3 dances, they started splitting the money with you 50/50 and put it as a bonus on your paycheck. I didn’t mind this set-up, but the club was slow so we didn’t stay. Also, it was clear that they could fire you if you didn’t sell enough dances each week, kind of like a quota (understandable).

I was talking with a few of my girlfriends and all of us hate the idea of paying taxes. My question is, how do we get around that if we are employees?

Also, do you like the idea of having a choice to be contractor or employee, or is that a bad idea?

What are your thoughts or ideas?

Just trying to get another perspective. I am thinking maybe of doing a term paper on this next year for my intro law class. If so, I'd like to interview you or get some quotes from you since you have some much experience in this area."

Here is my response to Jessica:

Individuals don't decide the legal definition of an employee versus an independent contractor. There are specific definitions according to the IRS, NLRB and Department of Labor. Even if an individual states that she is an independent contractor, if her employer imposes rules upon her that define her as an employee, she can still sue the club. These laws were made to protect workers from employers exploiting them, employers who lie to them and take their rights away from them. Many strippers are deluded into believing that they are independent contractors, simply because they want to be. However, they still follow schedules, rules and rotations that legally define them as employees. There is something called Title VII that people fought and died for. Title VII protects workers from sexual harassment, racial and sexual orientation discrimination. However, Title VII only protects employees-- not independent contractors. Many other protections apply only to employees. The power that employee status yields should not be ignored.

Everyone pays taxes in a socialist society. Do you like libraries, hospitals, fire departments, clear roads, a future with medicare, the idea of free college tuition, free public schools for children and public drinking fountains? Taxes pay for all of those things in a socialist society. Libertarians are near-sighted and selfish. They believe that a tax-free society where private corporations control everything is a good idea. In reality, this would be catastrophic.

Workers such as bartenders and servers rarely claim everything on taxes that they make in tips. I am not suggesting you do that. I am suggesting that many other workers with jobs that get tips are able to maneuver around paying what they actually owe.

Currently, strip clubs fire dancers for whatever reason they want. For example, I have been fired for not flirting enough with management and bosses, for standing up for what is right, for not shaving my pubic hair and for not wearing ankle breaking heels. Many other dancers are fired for the color of their skin or body shape.

You girlfriends sound like ignorant and selfish libertarians who do not give a fuck about those who are in need of social services. I pay taxes because I care about my fellow human beings who are in need of social services. I also know that I can be audited and accused of tax evasion if I don't pay my taxes, just like your girlfriends can. Donald Trump is an evil misogynist piece of shit who doesn't pay his taxes and the world is sick and scary. Plus, wouldn't you want to have employee status so you can unionize the work force and make more money, as well as protect your fellow workers from employer exploitation?

Why don't you read the rest of my website before asking questions about what I think about some of these things? There are a lot of links and content that could help you understand the legal definition of an employee and how in a strip club, even if you have the delusion that you are an independent contractor, you are an employee. I also suggest reading an interview with filmmaker Hima B that covers some of what you are wondering about. Here is the link: License to Pimp