California City

Imperfect Paradise: Strippers Union: Part 4

Part 4: Half a year after Star Garden reopens as a union club, the dancers are still negotiating a contract. LAist producer Emma Alabaster brings you the latest. Plus, some of the dancers have set their sights on a different dream: a worker-owned cooperative strip club.  Here are some resources that informed our reporting: <a href="https://lacooplab.com/">LA Co-op Lab</a> <a href="https://www.usworker.coop/en/">U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives</a> <a href="https://democracy.institute.coop/2021-worker-cooperative-state-sector-report">2021 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector Report</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@YesAStripperPodcast">Yes, A Stripper Podcast</a> <a href="https://laist.com/news/shows/imperfectparadise/star-garden-unionization-effort-origins">For more resources</a>  Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at <a href="http://shopify.com/paradise">SHOPIFY.COM/paradise</a> Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Deep in the Mojave Desert, there is a little town with a big name and a bizarre history: California City. For decades, real estate developers have sold a dream here: if you buy land now, you’ll be rich one day. Thousands of people bought this dream. Many were young couples and hard-working immigrants looking to build a better future. But much of the land they bought is nearly worthless.  In this new podcast from LAist Studios, host Emily Guerin tells a story of money, power and deception.