THE MONOPOLY CONTROLLING SAN FRANCISCO’S STRIP CLUB INDUSTRY!

THE MONOPOLY CONTROLLING SAN FRANCISCO’S

STRIP CLUB INDUSTRY!

There is one staple of American business, law, and economics, which everyone knows to be so unquestioned that this ideal is codified in law. This fundamental American truth of which I am speaking is the fact that monopolies are an unacceptable way to do business. Everyone knows that monopolies bad for workers, bad for business, bad for the economy, and generally speaking monopolies have been determined to be “super-predators” that are ruinous to the economic and social ecosystem wherever they are found. Monopolies are bad because as it turns out monopolies do exactly all the harmful things people expect monopolies to do. Which is why it is so surprised to learn that the City of San Francisco not only allowed for a monopoly to be created and operate with-in the City limits, but many politicians have actually accepted donations to their campaigns from this monstrous monopoly.

The monopoly-controlled industry of which I am speaking is the strip club industry, and the company which has a complete monopoly over all strip clubs inside the City of San Francisco is Déjà vu. What makes the monopoly controlled by Déjà vu all the more insidious is the already disenfranchised and voiceless class of employees, which Déjà vu has been and is at present victimizing. Déjà vu knows and in fact plays on the fact that many people in society wrongfully associate adult or exotic dancers with prostitution or consider exotic dancers to be low women, whom are somehow deserving of unfair treatment and little pay. Worse even still is the fact that many men simply view exotic dancers as two dimensional sex-objects in capable of understanding they’re being taken advantage of, or incapable of the emotional depth to feel frustrated and angry about the manner Déjà vu has taken full advantage of it’s monopolistic position inside the City of San Francisco to their detriment. Therefore, secure in the fact that no one cares to help its disenfranchised young female victim employees, Déjà vu goes about demanding its dancers sign and enter into grossly unfair employment contracts that Déjà vu regularly violates any way when doing so suits the needs of Déjà vu. What is clear is without a voice or awareness of their plight Déjà vu will continue to take full advantage of its current situation, and continue its pay cuts which at present literally make working as a stripper in the City of San Francisco on par with an employee at a Mc Donald’s inside the City of San Francisco.

Now, if you just rolled your eyes, because you found out this article is about strip clubs and the mistreatment of adult dancers/strippers, then you are part of the problem which continuously sees an already judged, scorned, and often ridiculed class of individuals and workers, who just like the rest of us are doing what they can to earn a living through legal means continuously mistreated. If this state of being doesn’t strike a nerve with you socially, then maybe the fact that it’s a monopoly doing these things in San Francisco will strike a nerve in a business sense. Especially, since the monopoly is doing these things exactly because it can, because it’s a freaking monopoly.

What is certain is that at present, if some one wants to work as a stripper/adult dancer in the City of San Francisco, there is but one company you may work for. This is due to Déjà vu owning every single strip club in San Francisco, except for but one. This has given Déjà vu the ability to institute City wide policies for every strip club inside the City of San Francisco, which generally speaking shouldn’t be a bad thing. That is if this monopoly would choose to treat its employees fairly, pay well, and not seek improved employee performance through threats of being blackballed and being made to no longer work as a adult dancer City wide. However, when has an employer in a monopoly situation ever acted in a benevolent manner? Rest assured that Déjà vu is not seeking to set any trends by being the first monopoly to do so either.

No…. As one would expect, Déjà vu is acting like a monopoly. Doing all the things people accuse monopolies of doing. The policies its enacted are increasingly aimed at taking more pay from the dancers and making employment with Déjà vu increasingly stressful. Worst of all is of course the power it wields and the very real ability to black-ball dancers who speak out against the increasingly larger pay cuts, and increasingly intrusive management policies. There is in fact of course a spoken of, but never written down, policy of threats and intimidation of dismissal and City-wide black balling, for dancers who do speak out or try to organize the girls towards any collective bargaining ideas. This successfully and unfortunately routinely keeps the dancers sufficiently intimidated, not to organize or speak out against the Déjà vu policies as just like everyone else in this world needs and depends on their employment to pay their bills and live.

So, by now you may be thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute…. I’ve heard this story before about the treatment of the dancers on Broadway (Actually City wide). They sued Déjà vu in a class action and won a bunch of money. This story is old news!” If only it was that simple, and a fairy tale happy ending had occurred for the dancers whereby the righteous lawyers come in, take up the plight of the disenfranchised dancers, who then sue and win, and therefore not only get paid for the money Déjà vu has cheated them out of, but also caused Déjà vu to change its policies and treat its dancers fairly. Unfortunately, this is the real world, and things seem to almost never work out in favor of this group of hardworking and talented young women, whom are just trying to earn a living like everyone else. However, now that you mentioned it, at the end of the very public lawsuit is a good place to pick up this story at.

So, as you stated there was a very big lawsuit. However, according to an article at https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/dancers-accuse-strip-clubs-of-slashed-wages-retaliation, “Deja Vu Services Inc., a national chain of adult entertainment clubs that has 25 California locations, agreed in June 2017 to pay out as much as $6.6 million to settle claims it misclassified more than 28,000 dancers across the country. Several dancers have appealed the deal because it actually paid out less than $1 million to the dancers, said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the dancers’ lawyer.” So, even when the dancers sought out justice, they still got screwed over.

It’s unfortunately sad, typical, and morbidly ironic that the lawyers who sued Déjà vu for cheating the girls out of money, ended up themselves cheating the girls out of their fair share of the settlement money. I’m sure the attorneys that won that case “for the workers” felt no shame in taking $5.6 million of the $6.6 million dollar settlement. I’m sure they figured that the 28,000 dancers were supposed to split $1,000,000.00 of a $6.6 million-dollar settlement, was all the dancers deserved. After-all who cares who actually got hurt damnit, everyone knows the lawyers did all the work!!! What’s worse is the \policies Déjà vu instituted in the aftermath, which ended up then punishing girls who were never a part of the lawsuit. Those who sued all quit or were fired, leaving behind them a much shittier place to work, and an employer hellbent on instituting retaliatory policies on girls who probably don’t even know their employer was ever sued for mistreating the dancers. Sucks, right? You bet your g-string wearing ass it does!

You may be thinking to yourself,” That’s good that they are now employees.” Wrong! Déjà vu has found ways to ensure that none of the girls are fulltime employees, and thereby becoming eligible for medical or unemployment insurances or benefits. What’s more is that the hourly pay the dancers do get paid, is minimum wage, and then still the club seems to find a way to add additional “claw backs” or “club fees” to be taken from the part time minimum wage paychecks of the dancers. Additionally, the dancers were strapped with a $160 lap dance minimum which they must sell every night, and failure to “make quota” on even one occasion can be or is grounds for dismissal. To add insult to injury that $160.00 goes straight to the club, before the dancers are allowed to begin to keep a single dime of the mandatory lap dance sales.

After the $160.00 mandatory quota, the dancers experience a 60/40 split in favor of the club. Meaning any dollars, they make after the $160.00, 60 percent of those dollars goes to the club. The other 40 percent the dancers are allowed to take home at the end of the night. The dancers are also allowed to keep all their stage tips. However, here again the dancers get screwed over as it is industry standard for the dancers to then tip out all the securities, dance trackers, the DJ, the manager, the house mom, and any number of other employees which number anywhere from five to ten in number. Moreover, the term “tip” is a complete misnomer, as it is in fact a payment which is expected and often even demanded from the dancers, whom are often given a very hard time or even fired for failing to properly pay out these “tips.” Often times the dancers will leave work having made no money on any given night, having had to pay out these “tips” to every employee whom the girls are expected to “tip” out.

Several of the girls interviewed for this article were almost in tears explaining their absolute frustration about their plight. What is most devastating is the girls actually see or know how much money they do earn or what they are actually worth, only to have that money taken from them at the end of every night in the $160.00 mandatory quota, the 40 them/60 club pay split after the first $160.00 to the club, and then having to tip out a minimum of at least $5.00 for the ten employees the dancers are required to tip out. Personally, I couldn’t fathom going to work all night, having to deal with the sort of crap these hardworking women have to deal with from customers and fellow employees alike, only to have to watch as the cash and money you earn to be taken from you in such large and unfair amounts. Could you imagine???? Not even a 50/50 split. No, Déjà vu has the nerve to take a 60 to 40 split in their favor, but only after the $160.00 quota. I’m surprised none of the dancers haven’t gone postal yet personally.

What’s truly dumbfounding is the fact Déjà vu is so hellbent on instituting these retaliation policies that they are willing to do so, even at the cost of making way less money. So much less money in fact that they’ve had to close the smaller clubs on Broadway in less than two years-time period, since instituting the retaliation policies. In what seems almost like a fit of rage Déjà vu instituted policies that leave the girls so little money that the only reason lap dances are sold, is to not to get fired and to make the “quota” which has been instituted. Where girls used to have an incentive to sell as many lap dances as possible, because every dance sold was a 40/60 split in favor of the girls. Now, the only incentive is to make quota, and then usually not a dime more. Why make Déjà vu more money, selling what little pride the now impoverished girls have left? Then Déjà vu can’t understand why even though they’re demanding and taking more pay from the girls, why they are making less money than they ever have? I don’t know, who wants a lap dance from a grumpy stripper? I’m first… Sign me up for that ride please…. Lol.

So, there’s the problem, but then what is the solution? Another lawsuit? Sounds good in theory, but the first lawsuit panned out oh so well for the dancers that more of the same bad medicine seems likely to remedy the patient. So, what then is the answer? Mandatory unionization passed as an ordinance by City Counsel. “Wait a minute… Mandatory unionization is illegal!” Yeah… So are monopolies, but the City seems to have had no problem allowing a complete monopoly over the entire strip club industry. There is in fact an off the shelf ready made San Francisco City Charter solution, which should indeed be utilized in this situation.

San Francisco City is a chartered city, this allows for several different Citizens Committees. These Citizens Counsels have different authorities vested in those committees. As such, as a union is most likely unobtainable due to a lack of organization and fear of reprisals from Déjà vu, the City Council can create a Citizens Committee, and grant it authority over the nightclub permits belonging to Déjà vu. If not the permitting, then vest the Committee with proper authority to set wages and work conditions inside strip clubs. While some may claim this is an extraordinary action to be taken, some would argue so is the existence of a monopoly over an entire industry inside the City of San Francisco. In point of fact, monopolies are unlawful exactly for the reasons now being experienced by the dancers working for Déjà vu inside the City of San Francisco. The other option is to allow the City Attorney to file the proper lawsuit to break-up the monopoly inside City limits.