There are reports that service providers in Canada will form a Guild. I can hardly wait for news stories about the group of Canadian Union of Nookie Traders.
New Guild in Town
- Thread starter Cock Throppled
- Start date
Worse ... it might be CUPE.
Sex-trade workers seek labour representation
MIKE KING
The Gazette
Saturday, October 09, 2004
The country's prostitutes, strippers, escorts, telephone sex-line operators and other sex-industry workers could soon be joining forces under the Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour.
While the proposed collective wouldn't be a conventional union, its goal would be to help push labour rights for those toiling in the sex trade.
"We're not seeking unionization for them per se, but labour representation," Montreal sex worker activist Jenn Clamen said of the ambitious initiative.
She and guild co-founder Kara Gillies of Toronto do have the support of the nation's largest union, however.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, boasting more than 500,000 members, passed a resolution in 2001 calling on Ottawa to decriminalize sex work.
Wayne Lucas, president of CUPE in Newfoundland and Labrador, went even further last month by publicly stating prostitutes should be unionized.
"Work is work," he told a St. John's radio station. "These are working people."
"Rights exist, but we have a society trying to deny those rights because they're sex workers," argued Clamen, a member of the Coalition for the Rights of Sex Workers in Montreal and Canadian representative of the London-based International Union of Sex Workers.
Besides the IUSW, at least four other countries have unionized sex workers:
The Red Thread in the Netherlands.
AMMAR, the Association of Woman Prostitutes of Argentina.
The Exotic Dancers Union, representing the Lusty Lady strippers in San Francisco.
Salli, the United Sex Professionals of Finland.
Clamen and Gillies are still in the process of writing the guild's constitution and working out the logistics.
She said their focus is to push for decriminalization of prostitution, establish codes of conduct, set up grievance procedures and persuade resource people like lawyers and healthcare professionals to donate or volunteer their services.
"Nothing like that exists in Canada now," Clamen noted.
Gregor Murray, an industrial relations professor at the Universite de Montreal and director of the Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work, says a sex-industry guild "makes sense to me."
Stressing that sex workers make up one of the most vulnerable groups of labourers - mostly women who face discrimination and danger of all kinds on the job - Murray said having them unite will provide a way to talk collectively about their working conditions and negotiate how they work.
"Fundamentally, it's no different from what you see in other sectors," he added. "The step-off point (in forming unions or guilds) is always about dignity."
That's an important aspect for Cassandra, a nude dancer.
"It's not who we are, it's what we do," the 25-year-old, who asked that her real name not be published, said during a break at a Montreal strip club. "It's a job. We're here to make money to better ourselves and our lives."
Noting she is "doing this to pay for university next year and get out of debt," Cassandra welcomes a guild because "if nobody speaks out, nothing will get done."
Valerie Boucher, spokesperson for the Stella drop-in and support centre for sex workers, said: "We're very, very happy with this idea. It shows the sex worker movement is advancing."
Sex-trade workers seek labour representation
MIKE KING
The Gazette
Saturday, October 09, 2004
The country's prostitutes, strippers, escorts, telephone sex-line operators and other sex-industry workers could soon be joining forces under the Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour.
While the proposed collective wouldn't be a conventional union, its goal would be to help push labour rights for those toiling in the sex trade.
"We're not seeking unionization for them per se, but labour representation," Montreal sex worker activist Jenn Clamen said of the ambitious initiative.
She and guild co-founder Kara Gillies of Toronto do have the support of the nation's largest union, however.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, boasting more than 500,000 members, passed a resolution in 2001 calling on Ottawa to decriminalize sex work.
Wayne Lucas, president of CUPE in Newfoundland and Labrador, went even further last month by publicly stating prostitutes should be unionized.
"Work is work," he told a St. John's radio station. "These are working people."
"Rights exist, but we have a society trying to deny those rights because they're sex workers," argued Clamen, a member of the Coalition for the Rights of Sex Workers in Montreal and Canadian representative of the London-based International Union of Sex Workers.
Besides the IUSW, at least four other countries have unionized sex workers:
The Red Thread in the Netherlands.
AMMAR, the Association of Woman Prostitutes of Argentina.
The Exotic Dancers Union, representing the Lusty Lady strippers in San Francisco.
Salli, the United Sex Professionals of Finland.
Clamen and Gillies are still in the process of writing the guild's constitution and working out the logistics.
She said their focus is to push for decriminalization of prostitution, establish codes of conduct, set up grievance procedures and persuade resource people like lawyers and healthcare professionals to donate or volunteer their services.
"Nothing like that exists in Canada now," Clamen noted.
Gregor Murray, an industrial relations professor at the Universite de Montreal and director of the Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work, says a sex-industry guild "makes sense to me."
Stressing that sex workers make up one of the most vulnerable groups of labourers - mostly women who face discrimination and danger of all kinds on the job - Murray said having them unite will provide a way to talk collectively about their working conditions and negotiate how they work.
"Fundamentally, it's no different from what you see in other sectors," he added. "The step-off point (in forming unions or guilds) is always about dignity."
That's an important aspect for Cassandra, a nude dancer.
"It's not who we are, it's what we do," the 25-year-old, who asked that her real name not be published, said during a break at a Montreal strip club. "It's a job. We're here to make money to better ourselves and our lives."
Noting she is "doing this to pay for university next year and get out of debt," Cassandra welcomes a guild because "if nobody speaks out, nothing will get done."
Valerie Boucher, spokesperson for the Stella drop-in and support centre for sex workers, said: "We're very, very happy with this idea. It shows the sex worker movement is advancing."
SWGuy quickly hides his Teamsters Canada Membership I.D. Cardhifisex said:have the Teamsters trying to organize the ladies......god help the ones who dare cross the picket line!
uhm... No Comment...
SWG
It seems to be more about forming an advocacy association, not about negotiating contracts and having strikes. If and when the federal government restarts the committee to examine changing the prostitution laws, they could send a representative to say their members want decriminalization so that their safety and working conditions can be improved.cancowboy2001 said:
It sounds like it could be a good idea to me. The opinions of the women who work in the business have been mostly ignored whenever the media or politicians discuss the subject, I suppose in part because the women are reluctant to publicly "out" themselves.
The audio of Jenn Clamen speaking to the NF CUPE members is available here. Scroll down to interview aired October 4.
http://stjohns.cbc.ca/onthego/
It's followed by someone described as a "local feminist", who also favours decriminalization. It's good to hear that not every feminist goes along with the usual B.S. that the sex trade is nothing but evil men exploiting women coerced into the business.
The title of a column by Naomi Lakritz in today's Calgary Herald:
"Hooker union: lunacy run amok"
The article is not free so I won't provide a link, but I think you can guess her attitude by the title of one of her previous columns:
"Deviancy has been given a degree of normalcy: With tax seminars and cell phones, hooking is just another career choice and those who degrade themselves are no longer whores but ``sex trade workers´´"
"Hooker union: lunacy run amok"
The article is not free so I won't provide a link, but I think you can guess her attitude by the title of one of her previous columns:
"Deviancy has been given a degree of normalcy: With tax seminars and cell phones, hooking is just another career choice and those who degrade themselves are no longer whores but ``sex trade workers´´"
I think it's important to understand that they are about organizing sex workers so they can collectively lobby for decriminalization. Now and for the foreseeable future, they are not about going on strike against anyone, and as far as I can see they don't collect dues from anyone.
http://www.eroticguild.com/
This is extremely important. There are thousands of sex workers in Canada, and very few are willing to speak up individually against all the moralists and pseudo-feminists who want the entire sex trade to be made completely illegal, as was done in Sweden.
Organizations like CUPE and the CLC can be very important allies in the fight for decriminalization, regardless of whatever other negative opinions you may have about them.
http://www.eroticguild.com/
This is extremely important. There are thousands of sex workers in Canada, and very few are willing to speak up individually against all the moralists and pseudo-feminists who want the entire sex trade to be made completely illegal, as was done in Sweden.
Organizations like CUPE and the CLC can be very important allies in the fight for decriminalization, regardless of whatever other negative opinions you may have about them.
I think it's a great idea.
There's a movie "Live Nude Girls Unite" about the true story of SF peep show workers forming a union.
There's a movie "Live Nude Girls Unite" about the true story of SF peep show workers forming a union.
There's an old joke about a guy who goes into a unionized brothel, and he has to take the 75-year old grandmother, because she has the most seniority...
It's unusual for a SP or former SP to endorse the idea of mandatory testing. Most are against it, or any other laws or rules for individual SPs such as licensing or registering. It seems to be pointless in the places that have it.Lolita said:
Are there really that many crazy escorts out there who are intent on making themselves and their customers ill? And what about the A-hole guys who will see a "certified disease free" declaration, then ask for unprotected sex?
Aren't the United Church ministers trying to organize a union too? What do you think would happen if both groups were represented by the same National Union? I can just imagine.
