Fired dancers protest union busting outside the Dallas Black Dance Theater. | Nathaniel Bullock / American Guild of Musical Artists

DALLAS – On Saturday, August 17, laid-off union dancers of the Dallas Black Dance Theater held a picket and rally in the Dallas Fine Arts District to protest the firing of the company’s entire cast of dancers because they voted unanimously to form a union with the American Guild of Musical Artists.

The action took place while the Dallas Black Dance Theater was holding auditions to replace dancers with scabs – anti-union workers willing to break picket lines.

On May 29, dancers at the Dallas Black Dance Theater unanimously voted to form a union. Immediately afterward, management began retaliating, said Griff Braun of the American Guild of Musical Artists.

The dancers organized themselves “because they wanted to have a voice in their professional lives, for themselves but also for every artist who follows them. They did it because they love this company and they love the legacy of this company. They wanted to make sure that DBDT is a place that supports artists and is a safe place to work.

“The dancers, being a union, decided to speak out publicly and in a concerted manner and let the world know that they were victims of union busting. When they did that, they were all fired, the entire company was fired.

“There is an audition going on in this building right now to replace these dancers. They cannot be replaced! We are here to make them understand that what they did was wrong and that they need to get their artists back. They need to stop union-busting and sit down and negotiate to make this place what it should be and what it claims to be.”

Many speakers spoke at the rally, including the fired dancers, representatives from the SAG-AFTRA union, a member of the American Federation of Teachers, Young Active Labor Leaders Chairman Lou Luckhardt, Secretary-Treasurer of the Dallas AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, State Rep. John Bryant, Dallas City Councilman Paul Ridley, and other members of the American Guild of Musical Artists.

Fired dancer Nile Ruff said she respects the DBDT for “providing a safe space for black dancers and people of color and giving a voice to people who are not always heard. We are the work of art that is on that stage!”

She said, “Dallas Black, you need us!”

The theme was that the dancers are the ones who create the art, who do the work. They are the heart and soul of Dallas Black Dance Theater and they should be brought back, respected and negotiated with.

“We are not only fighting for the artists in Texas, but for artists around the world who simply want to protect their right to have a say in their workplace and fight for better working conditions!” said Derick McKoy Jr., one of the fired dancers.

At the rally, about 200 people joined the dancers’ picket line. Slogans heard from the street by management and strikebreakers in the building included: “Dallas Black! Bring them back!” “Firing dancers? Not the solution!” “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” “What’s our mission? No auditions!” “Union strong! All day long!”

As a march got underway after the rally, people began dancing to the beat of a drum—line dancing, electric slides, and more. The released dancers joyfully began performing impromptu dance solos.

At its meeting, the Dallas AFL-CIO Central Labor Council expressed its full support for the DBDT dancers, and the Young Active Labor Leaders (YALL) helped lead the solidarity effort in support of the picket line and rally. Six of the fired dancers and their union organizer, Griff Braun, attended the council meeting and reported on their struggle.

“We organized for the people who came before us and for those who will come after us,” Elijah Lancaster told the workers’ representatives.

Sierra Jones reminded the audience that “it’s the artists who make the company.”

“It’s devastating and disheartening,” said dancer Gillian Clifford, “but I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Nile Ruff, another union official, said: “We just want respect for the efforts we make every day. What management doesn’t seem to understand is that people really care about us and that our voices count.”

State Senator Nathan Johnson sent a message to the rally: “The arts are not only vital to our community, but essential to our common humanity. As a member of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors & Music Publishers), I firmly believe that all artists deserve fair treatment, respect, and the fundamental right to organize for better working conditions.”

Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III, senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, also sent messages of solidarity: “As the father of a former student of Dallas Black Dance, and as someone who has always delighted in the rich artistic talents and gift that this institution represents to our community and city, I am deeply troubled by recent events that reflect a terrible injustice.

“The fine arts have always been a source of inspiration in the struggle for black freedom and for liberation and justice for all. It is disturbing to consider that an institution that has profited from and participated in the freedom struggle is now itself using instruments of oppression.

“To quote Dr. King, injustice against laid-off Dallas Black Dancers everywhere is a threat to justice for workers everywhere!”

The dancers at the rally ran a GoFundMe campaign to help them cope with their job loss.

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