It’s been a turbulent year for the sex workers of the Pahrump-based legal brothel Sheri’s Ranch.
On February 6, the majority of its 74 workers filed a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as the United Brothel Workers (UBW) affiliate of the Nevada-based Communications Workers of America Local 9413—a historic first in the only state that permits legal sex work.
The movement began in December, when management asked workers to sign a revised contract giving the brothel sweeping control over workers’ content, image, and likeness, plus power of attorney to transfer their intellectual property without consent. After taking steps to unionize, seven of the most vocal union advocates were subsequently fired, according to UBW representative Scott Goodstein.
“They have good records, high earnings and never had disciplinary issues. The only thing that has changed is that they’re now participating in union activities,” Goodstein says of the terminated workers.
Their collective bargaining push also faces a major hurdle in the fact that Nevada’s sex workers have historically been classified as independent contractors and not employees. To be officially recognized by both the NLRB and Sheri’s Ranch, union members will have to convince the NLRB that their working conditions qualify them as employees under existing labor law.
In an email, Sheri’s Ranch communications director Jeremy Lemur noted that “Sheri’s Ranch has operated within that same framework for more than 50 years.”
“Nevada’s licensed brothel industry has historically operated under a system in which the women working at licensed establishments are independent contractors rather than employees,” Lemur said in a partial statement.
One fired worker, Genevieve Dahl, says this precedent needs to change.
“I see so much potential for what Sheri’s could be. And by working with us and hearing our voices and implementing the things that we know need to change, it’s going to make it such a better work environment for everyone,” Dahl says.
The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) presents the “ABC test” as a method of determining if someone is an independent contractor, with one requirement being that “the person has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of the services.” Because Sheri’s Ranch workers can reside on-site for weeks at a time and cannot work from home, the union argues they should instead be considered employees.
DETR also states that “a written contract, in itself, does not establish independent contractor status,” adding that the “burden of proof rests upon the employer to demonstrate” that independent contractors they work with pass the test criteria.
After filing a petition to unionize, the next step is typically to wait for the NLRB to administer an election in which Sheri’s Ranch workers would vote to make it official. Because it’s illegal to fire an employee for union involvement under the National Labor Relations Act, the union also filed a February 17 unfair labor practices complaint alleging that worker Molly Wylder was terminated for discussing the union with the media. The document also notably includes a request for a Gissel bargaining order, which, if granted, would allow the NLRB to legally bypass the election phase and directly order Sheri’s Ranch to recognize the UBW.
“I would like to return to my job, but not if they offer it back to the way it was,” Wylder tells the Weekly. “That’s no longer good enough for me. I want them to come to the table and negotiate with us in good faith, to actually believe us and address our concerns.”
Amid all these moving pieces, another unexpected development brought safety concerns to the forefront. On February 28, Sheri’s Ranch workers were startled by the sound of a shotgun firing just outside. One worker, who spoke to the Weekly anonymously to protect her job, says it was only through “pure luck” that no one was harmed.
“A repeat client who had some known mental health issues came to the ranch, I think, having experienced some kind of mental breakdown,” she says. “A door that is typically unlocked was locked fast enough, and shots were taken at the building. It was very scary and traumatic. I think the staff was operating on instinct, because they had as little preparation as we did.”
After a 71-year-old suspect was arrested by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, the worker says they were expected to resume working immediately—“as if nothing had happened.” The next day, management called a staff meeting.
In it, workers say they proposed metal detectors, bag checks and other measures that the anonymous worker says are common at bars and strip clubs.
“No resources were offered to us, and no sympathy was offered for our experience,” she says. “People were questioning the safety procedure, and the reaction was, ‘well, it worked out yesterday, didn’t it?’”
Citing OSHA’s general duty clause and Nevada law requiring employers to address foreseeable workplace hazards, the UBW believes these safety considerations could strengthen their push for recognition. One of the first to be terminated, an eight-year Sheri’s Ranch veteran who uses the stage name Jupiter Jetson, recently drafted a five-point safety plan that she hopes to use as a reference point if or when her former employer comes to the bargaining table.
The plan calls for securing the property with a perimeter fence, controlled entry points and reinforced doors. It also asks the brothel to separate the bar entrance, which currently opens directly into the main parlor and worker hallways. And because employees’ rooms have no functional locks, it suggests adopting a keycard system and installing discreet in-room panic buttons that workers can press to alert security when they feel threatened. The final point urges “clear security staffing and reporting protocols.”
“All of these are based on the safety standards that have become commonplace throughout the rest of the Nevada brothel industry,” Jetson says. “We’re not asking for anything the other houses don’t have.”
Jetson added that if workers ever encountered a violent client in their rooms, the only way to alert security is to knock the phone (that’s ordinarily used to inform management that they’re in a session) off the hook.
Wylder, who previously worked at Mustang Ranch near Reno before joining Sheri’s Ranch in 2018, says security policies there “completely dwarf” that of Sheri’s Ranch. She recalls Mustang Ranch having multiple armed guards stationed throughout the property, a perimeter fence with a staffed gate and a separate parking area for workers. Security was given 30 seconds to respond to a distress call placed via a hidden panic button in the rooms.
“That’s just the level of security I think we should all have,” Wylder says. “Truly, the absolute basics are so much better everywhere else, including some of the least financially well-off strip clubs in Vegas. They have these security features, but we don’t.”
While Lemur from Sheri’s Ranch declined to discuss specific safety measures publicly, he said safety remained a priority for the company.
“Sheri’s Ranch takes the February 28 incident very seriously. This appears to have been an isolated situation in which an individual fired toward a building on the property. Thankfully, no one was injured. We are cooperating with law enforcement and reviewing our security procedures as part of our response. Our focus remains on maintaining a safe environment for all guests, independent contractors, and staff,” Lemur said via email.
Like Wylder, Dahl and Jetson aren’t ruling out a return to Sheri’s Ranch, but only if the scales are balanced.
“I can’t go back,” Jetson says. “But I can’t wait to get to the negotiating table.”
The anonymous worker faces a different reality—she has to go back.
“I still have to work and pay my bills,” she says. “I just have to move forward the best I can and hope conversations like this push them to make changes so we can all feel safe.”
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