8.31.2005
Going Toe-to-Toe
Today's Washington Post tells the story of Nikkia Parish, an accomplished ballet dancer who was fired from the Washington Ballet for her union activities. The NLRB is holding a hearing on September 12th investigate the matter.
The dancers who formed a union have real concerns, about pay and working conditions. This is another good example of "professional" workers turning to a union to improve their workplace conditions.
Parish's union, the American Guild of Musical Artists, has represented the Washington Ballet's dancers since last winter.
So Parish, who says that speaking up for better working conditions is what got her in trouble, is unusual. But she's used to that. Standing out is nothing new for her, a black ballet dancer in one of the world's least-integrated fields. Of the Washington Ballet's 22 dancers, she was the only African American woman.
The dancers who formed a union have real concerns, about pay and working conditions. This is another good example of "professional" workers turning to a union to improve their workplace conditions.
The dancers are getting older and don't want to live paycheck to paycheck," says dancer Erin Mahoney. "We've grown. People are starting to think of their own future. In the U.S., people automatically think 'artist' translates to suffering, starving, broke. Why should it be that way?"
Parish's union, the American Guild of Musical Artists, has represented the Washington Ballet's dancers since last winter.
As organized labor has become more and more disorganized -- witness the recent split in the AFL-CIO, reflecting unions' loss of influence and falling membership nationwide -- it may come as a surprise that a dancers' guild is trying to throw its weight around. Other unions may be losing might, but men (and women) in tights are organizing.
