Los Angeles strippers want to unionize
- Dancers at a Los Angeles strip club have filed to unionize with the Actors’ Equity Association.
- If approved, it would make them the first group of strippers to join the national union that represents theater actors.
- Performers at Star Garden in North Hollywood submitted a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking a union election.
- The initiative comes after months of staging protests outside the venue raising concerns about workplace safety and labor rights.
Fellows, ‘Street Outlaws’ cast member, dies
- Ryan Fellows, a street racer and cast member of the Discovery series “Street Outlaws: Fastest in America,” died in a car accident in Las Vegas.
- Nevada OSHA is investigating the incident.
- Fellows, age 41, died while filming for “Fastest in America” after he lost control of a Nissan 240z lost control, rolled over and caught on fire.
- Onlookers were unable to pull him out of the car.
First lawsuit settlement with vaccine mandates
- A $10.3 million settlement was reached in a class action lawsuit that challenged a private healthcare employer’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.
- More than 500 current and former healthcare workers at NorthShore University Health System in Illinois will receive a share of the settlement under an agreement.
- The employees in the case sued the health system because its vaccination policy did not allow them to opt out for religious reasons.
- Liberty Counsel, a non-profit representing the plaintiffs, said that the settlement is the first involving a U.S. private employer that did not grant accommodations or exemptions to its vaccination mandates.
‘No Confidence’ vote for L.A. County Public Health Director
- Torrance officials passed a vote of no confidence in Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
- The decision stems from the restrictions she imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic violated people’s freedom and hurt businesses in the city.
- The Torrance City Council voted 4–1 in favor of the item brought forward by Councilman Aurelio Mattucci on Aug. 9, with Councilmen Mike Griffiths voting “no” and Asam Sheikh abstaining.
- Mattucci said Ferrer, as an appointed official, shouldn’t have excessive power over other people’s lives and that it’s important for the city to send her a message.