Since 1999 the San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival has provided a forum for sex worker film and video makers to screen works about sex workers and sex work, businesses, industries and trades around the world. The Festival has expanded to become a vibrant venue for performances, workshops, visual arts, political organizing, skills sharing and ever expanding events. The Sex Worker Festival recognizes and honors prostitutes, dancers, porn performers and other sex workers from diverse communities, who have been dynamic and integral members of arts communities since time immemorial.

St. James Infirmary is NOW HIRING a P/T Harm Reduction Coordinator.  Go here for more info.

On May 15, 1993, over 30 dancers from Market Street Cinema in San Francisco attended a meeting to discuss working conditions at the strip club. That meeting initiated a movement that would eventually lead to the unionization of one club, class action lawsuits against other clubs, the birth of an advocacy organization promoting the labor rights of exotic dancers, and peer-based community healthcare for all sex workers. We’re proud to say that we organized the first meeting of Exotic Dancers Alliance twenty years ago, but we still have a long journey ahead of us in obtaining fair treatment for all sex workers.

Market Street Cinema was definitely not considered a “gentleman’s club” by anyone’s standards. The exterior of the building appeared as though it hadn’t been updated since the 1950’s, and the interior looked and smelled like it was permanently stained with bodily fluids and cigarette smoke. Fights would occasionally break out during shifts, either between dancers, between customers and dancers, or between managers and dancers.

The dancers who were working at Market Street Cinema were anywhere from 18 to 50 years old, single mothers, married, San Francisco natives, immigrants, students, artists, recreational or chronic substance users, or maybe just trying out a new scene for a while. Dancers worked as “independent contractors” and were responsible for providing their stage performance and collected tips from customers on and off stage. However, the actual job only required 1-2 stage performances per day; the remainder of your time was spent providing lapdances for customers.JB DP pic_2_resized

In 1992, management had decided to implement a “stage fee” of $10. They justified the fee as a necessary revenue source for making improvements within the club, though nothing really changed. Shortly thereafter, when the stage fee increased from $10 to $15, dancers started to speak out about their frustrations with the new policy and the unpredictable climate in the club. Some dancers were suspended or fired on a whim, and many feared losing their jobs if they complained. Ironically, the customers now paid less to get into the club than the dancers did to work there.

After hearing many of our co-workers’ complaints for several months, we decided to organize a meeting for the dancers to address issues with management. We drafted a proposal on behalf of the dancers in attendance at the meeting and sent it to management, certified mail. The proposal included a request for a reduction in the stage fee from $15 to $10, and improvements throughout the club in terms of overall cleanliness. Management did not respond.

We organized a second meeting, but this time invited members of C.O.Y.O.T.E (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) and S.E.I.U. (Service Employees International Union). C.O.Y.O.T.E. was founded by Margo St. James in the early 1970s and was the first sex workers rights organization in the United States.

Many dancers felt discouraged, although not completely shocked by the fact that management had completely ignored our requests. We asked our guests from C.O.Y.O.T.E. and S.E.I.U. for guidance, and they said that we could always unionize if we wanted to. There was only one problem: with the exception of one strip club in San Francisco (Lusty Lady), all exotic dancers were considered “independent contractors” by management — not employees. In order to obtain the support and representation from a recognized union, such as S.E.I.U., the dancers at Market Street Cinema needed to be employees.

So we filed wage and hour claims with the State Labor Commission against Market Street Cinema regarding employment status, back wages, and return of stage fees and management appropriated tips. We also submitted complaints to the State Department of Fair Employment & Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for sexual harassment and discrimination. The following spring, the Labor Commission’s ruling was announced. Management would have to pay the dancers as employees, return the money that they had illegally taken from us, and we would therefore have the right to obtain union representation. Unfortunately, our victory was short-lived— Market Street Cinema appealed the Labor Commission’s ruling and increased the stage fee to $25 per shift. But other dancers soon joined our efforts — a class action lawsuit was filed by dancers against Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theater regarding employment status. A movement had begun.

In 1996, we received calls from dancers at the Lusty Lady Theater, who discovered they were being filmed illegally by customers. Though the dancers feared retaliation from management, they attended a C.O.Y.O.T.E. meeting to connect with sex worker advocates.

We met with S.E.I.U. and Lusty Lady workers in May and a few weeks later they announced their official organizing status and S.E.I.U. representation to management. In April 1997, in a historic first for San Francisco, the Lusty Lady unionized and the Exotic Dancers Union, S.E.I.U., Local 790 was formed.

We heard from dancers across the nation who wanted to file wage and hour claims and/or participate in collective organizing efforts to improve their working conditions. The legal battles were arduous, but there were victories. A tentative settlement was finally reached in the class action lawsuit against Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theater in the amount of $2.85 million, and later over 60 dancers from Market Street Cinema and other clubs were awarded over $600,000 in back wages and “stage fees.”

In June of 1999, we joined C.O.Y.O.T.E. and the San Francisco Department of Public Health in creating the St. James Infirmary—the first Occupational Health & Safety Clinic for Sex Workers in San Francisco. This established a community space for all sex workers, where safety and healthcare was regarded with the upmost importance, which, in and of itself, is a radical political concept.

Unfortunately, we still have a great deal of work ahead of us. Dancers continue to battle management over stage fees (some of which have increased to hundreds of dollars per shift). And in an increasingly wealthy city with growing conservatism, sex work has become even more stigmatized. City regulations across the nation — including one that allows police to use condoms as evidence against sex workers in solicitation cases — threaten to make sex work even less safe. Trafficking laws are written so broadly as to further criminalize workers they were supposedly enacted to protect. The underlying theme? Those writing the laws refuse to listen to the voices of those of us most affected.

This is why, twenty years later, organizations like St. James Infirmary are so vital — and why sex workers need to be included in policy-making discussions that impact our livelihood. Twenty years ago, we fought for justifiable improvements in our working conditions; today, we continue to demand respect from our government and equal protections for all sex workers.

//   Johanna Breyer and Dawn Passar are the Co-Founders of Exotic Dancers Alliance and the St. James Infirmary. They continue to fight for sex workers rights in the Bay Area and beyond.

Photo Credit: Dawn Passar

Sunday, May 19th 7:30pm @ Center for Sex & Culture 1349 Mission St., SF 94103

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This event is ADA accessible. Childcare, translation and signing services are available upon request. We also ask you to assist us in making this a scent free environment.

St. James Infirmary is NOW HIRING a P/T Harm Reduction Coordinator.  Go here for more info.

Holistic services are also offered during our drop-in clinic on Wednesday nights from 6-9pm.

St. James Infirmary is located at 1372 Mission Street @10th Street, near the Civic Center Bart in San Francisco.  Our main number: (415) 554-8494

Our holistic services include both energy and massage bodywork:

Energy: Acupressure, Acupuncture, Cranio-sacral Therapy, and Reiki are offered. All of the energy based healing modalities, except full body Acupuncture, are performed with client fully clothed.

Massage: Swedish and Deep Tissue Massage are done with oil, the client is unclothed and draped; the part of the body being worked on is exposed. Trigger Point Therapy and Zen Shiatsu are done with client fully clothed. We contract acupuncture providers through the Immune Enhancement Project.

We need your help to get the word out about our clinic to the people who need our services the most. Our outreach program is seeking passionate and dedicated volunteers to assist with distributing resources and fliers on the streets, at strip clubs, at sex clubs, and online. We are looking for folks with experience in the sex industry who can commit to at least two outreach shifts a month.

We will be hosting an information session and interviewing on the spot for our Outreach Team.  Join us this Saturday 3/16/13 at the clinic from 2-4pm and bring a completed Outreach SJI Volunteer Application 2013.

If you can’t make it this Saturday, you can still join the team! Follow the instructions below:

Complete the SJI Volunteer Application 2013 and return it to the Outreach Coordinator. 

Specify on the application that you want to do Outreach!

If you are interested in the Programs Director position, go here and follow the instructions!!

Come join our peer-based Outreach Team and roam the streets and other venues, talk to folks and pass out harm reduction supplies and other goodies.

Complete the SJI Volunteer Application 2013 and return it to the Outreach Coordinator. 

Specify on the application that you want to do Outreach!

If you are interested in the Programs Director position, go here and follow the instructions!!

When: Sunday, January 20, 2013   7 pm – 10 pm

Where: Powerhouse
1347 Folsom Street  @Dore/10th

What:: Break out that military uniform, camouflage, fatigues, stern attitude and bring it the party, Brigade!!
* Go Go Recruits    * Mess tent    * Drills    * Jell-O Shots     * Live DJ

The Handsome Young Men present: Sissy Strut! a queer soul dance party

When: Friday, January 25th  10pm – 2am

Where: Underground SF
424 Haight Street @Webster/Fillmore

What: DJ’s Ponyboy and Durt spin soul, oldies, R&B, disco 10-Midnight
and hiphop, pop, contemporary top40 and booty jams Midnight-2am

Katie Duck pouring delicious and strong drinks all night

$5 cover = goes to SJI.

Missed anyone on your holiday shopping list?  We have just the items you are looking for.  AND we can mail it to that special someone direct with a SJI Card & extra goodie!! (Indicate in NOTES that it is a gift, who it is to and who it is from).

What better way to support your local sex worker clinic than with this fabulous design on a shirt, tank or tote?

Happy Holidays! We want to let you know about a wonderful opportunity to double your donation to the St. James Infirmary.

Every Holiday Season, each Peet’s Coffee & Tea store selects a charity as a beneficiary for their “Holiday Tips” Donation.

We are honored to announce that St. James Infirmary has been chosen as the beneficiary of the “Holiday Tips” Donation program by Peet’s Coffee & Tea Staff at Store #125, 692 Mission St. (Between Annie Street & 3^rd Street)

On December 24^th, Christmas Eve, Peet’s offers FREE coffee and tea to all it’s customers, and all the money collected in the TIP jar goes to the St. James Infirmary. Additionally, Peet’s will match donations in the tip jar up to $1,000.

How you can be involved:

1. On December 24^th, Go to Peet’s @ 3rd & Mission for your free coffee or tea BEFORE 4pm (Bring your Friends & Family!!).
2. Put a generous TIP of CASH or a Check made out to: St. James Infirmary in the Tip Jar.
3. Peet’s will send us ALL the donations in the TIP Jar AND Peet’s will match donations made, up to $1000.

We’re grateful to the staff at this store, for thinking of us & supporting St. James in our mission to provide free, nonjudgmental healthcare to the marginalized populations of San Francisco.

If you are unable to make it to Peet’s Coffee & Tea on December 24^th, you can make a holiday donation via Paypal. All the money donated will go directly to program services.

The staff, volunteer and participants of the St. James Infirmary want to thank you for your support, and wish you a Happy Holiday & a Merry New Year!