While the attempt to unionize adult performers never spread far outside the small circle that began organizing meetings soon after Darren James was diagnosed as HIV-positive, the movement hasn’t completely fizzled out; in fact, there will be another talent meeting tonight – an innovation that came out of the unionization movement.
The meeting tonight will be at Str8-UP Studios, whose Northridge building has served as an unofficial meeting hall for the unionization movement.
The meeting was called for to give AIM Healthcare Foundation’s Dr. Sharon Mitchell, PhD, a forum to answer questions from adult talent regarding health issues facing performers as well questions about what happened during the HIV crisis that began in April. Mitchell was originally scheduled to speak at a talent only meeting on June 8, but personal reasons caused her to reschedule.
Mr. Marcus, the organizer of the meeting, says that Nina Hartley, who is a registered nurse as well as an AVN Hall of Famer, may join Mitchell in fielding questions but had not confirmed with him as of yesterday afternoon.
Marcus has been working the phones to bring more people to the meetings, which have usually pulled between 30 to 50 performers each time, a small fraction of a talent pool that ranges from 900 to 1,200 performers during any given month.
Marcus is the first to admit that attendance at talent meetings needs to include more people, and more veteran performers whose names would add credit to the movement. Part of the problem is a lack of a cohesive agenda for talent to rally around.
“In making this union, you have to make decisions for the common good. Everyone has their own take on this business and that makes it hard to determine what the common good is,” Marcus said. “You have to find a real common ground. It’s just a matter of talking to people and doing right thing for everyone.”
Marcus, who began organizing talent meeting at Str8-UP Studios in April, also confirmed that some adult performers, including himself, have been talking to various union representatives for advice in forming a union.
“There are people that have talked to unions, people who have talked to people in unions about how they created their union, “ Marcus told AVN.com. “Some strippers in San Francisco created a union, we’re talking to them to see if what they did will work for us.”
Bill Margold called AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and requested assistance – but Margold doesn’t feel that they took his request very seriously.
“I don’t see why they wouldn’t. We’re performers just as much as anyone,” Margold said. “I told them, ‘All we want is instead of being slapped in the face is getting a hug and hugging you back.’ They kind of patted me on my head and sent me on my way.”
Sources informed AVN.com earlier this month that the CWA, Communication Workers Association, has reportedly extended an offer of aid to unknown members of the union. Marcus was unaware of the CWAs involvement, but noted that Tony Tedeschi, who has been a very vocal critic of production companies in regards to labor relations, has been talking to an unnamed guild.
Marcus hopes that with the support of a mainstream union, adult performers will be able to collectively bargain for better working conditions, noting that unlike the last unionization attempt, which Marcus states was led by the female performer Johnni Black in 1999, this time the focus isn’t an attempt to raise talent rates.
“We agreed that no one would accept work under a certain rate,” Marcus remembers. “ Unfortunately we already saw there were people who would undercut that rate. Within a month people were undercutting that rate. It’s the nature of the industry we’re in.”
Topics being considered for a core agenda include raising the minimum age of performers to 21, a concept that has the support of a number of people within the industry, and has quietly gained momentum lately, including a petition that was being circulated for a while by RayVeness.
“I was against that for a minute, because I was working with 18 year olds and some of them I like. It’s a nice thing for a male performer,” Marcus said.
Yet reflection of his role as a father led Marcus to question whether or not he would approve of his own children entering the adult industry. “I would if they had a positive experience, but can you trust an 18 year old to have a positive experience, to make the right decisions?”
Accepting a condom-only policy is something that talent seems to still be divided upon. “It’s going to be hard to force the condom-only part because there’s so many ways around it. We have to push these issues, but we have to be realistic about it.”
Yet Marcus notes with a touch of hope that more companies than Vivid and Wicked now use condoms, including Playgirl TV, Seymore Butts, Outback Productions, and a handful of others.
“This isn’t just about talent. This is about the industry as a whole. Are we going to evolve or devolve? How are we going to make it safer? What about the argument of sexual ability, how does that play into condom use. It’s not a simple problem with a simple solution. We need participation.”
But for tonight, the talent meeting will simply be the opportunity for talent to ask Mitchell questions regarding the safety of their chosen profession and to find out first-hand what went on during the HIV crisis.
The talent meeting tonight will begin at 8 p.m.
Str8-Up Studios can be contacted at 818-709-4935 for its address.
