Currently, sex workers are stepping up their organizing efforts around a campaign targeting their workplaces. SWAC has called for a sex workers’ strike on May 23, during the Formula 1 Grand Prix. They have several shared demands that unite them in their struggle, including the abolition of the “bar fee”—a flat fee that dancers pay to work in a club. The fact is that these workers are deprived of a salary and the protections that come with it, as they are wrongly categorized as self-employed. This deception allows employers to absolve themselves of the obligation to provide a safe and healthy workplace.

In the face of concrete struggles within the sex industry, union and community support can no longer wait! This statement of support is not merely symbolic. It is part of a broader campaign aimed at shifting union positions that have traditionally called for the abolition of the sex industry. This abolitionist perspective continues to portray people working in the sex industry as passive victims, devoid of any agency or control over their conditions. On the contrary, the strategic position of sex workers within and against the sex industry is the only one that allows us to combat exploitation and secure better working conditions.

Sex work is exploitation just like any other work in capitalist society, and it is precisely by unionizing that workers in this industry will be able to improve their working conditions. By supporting this statement, we hope to bring about a shift in union culture in Quebec and show solidarity with sex workers in their workplaces.

Sex workers share the same reality as other workers; sex workers sell their labor power just like all other workers. Recognizing this work as labor would entitle them to the same protections as any other worker: safety, dignity, and the freedom to organize collectively to improve their working conditions.

Our organization supports the demands of the Autonomous Sex Work Committee:

– For the abolition of bar service in strip clubs;
– For hygienic and safe workplaces;
– For employers to be held accountable for ensuring the safety of sex workers;
– For an end to discriminatory hiring and scheduling practices based on race or gender identity;
– For access to labor standards and unemployment insurance in the sex industry;
– For the decriminalization of sex work in Canada.

We stand in solidarity with the sex workers’ strike on May 23.