United Brothel Workers Seek Historic Union Contract in Nevada
Posted on: February 15, 2026, 10:12h.
Last updated on: February 15, 2026, 10:12h.
- Sex workers at a Nevada brothel want to unionize
- Nevada is the only state where prostitution is legal in certain counties
- Prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas
The newly formed United Brothel Workers is seeking a collective bargaining agreement at Sheri’s Ranch, one of America’s oldest brothels in Nevada.
Nevada is the only state in the country where a person can legally pay for sex.
Brothels are allowed in 10 of Nevada’s rural counties, though that doesn’t include Clark County, home to Las Vegas. Today, there are 19 legal brothers. Among the closest to the Las Vegas Strip is Sheri’s Ranch in Pahrump, roughly an hour’s drive west.
The majority of the sex workers at Sheri’s Ranch are reportedly seeking to unionize to gain the same protections that unions provide to the state’s may casino workers. The United Brothel Workers wants to demand better safety on the job, improved working conditions, and more control over future pay.
Brothel Bargaining
The United Brothel Workers is a union that’s being represented by the Communications Workers of America Local 9413.
The union tells the National Labor Relations Board that a majority of the 74 courtesans contracted at Sheri’s Ranch support organizing. Leaders of the brothel organization say their employer recently introduced “coercive contract terms” that seize their intellectual property, including their names, likeness, and “creative work.”
The United Brothel Workers alleges that Sheri’s Ranch fired Jupiter Jetson and Paloma Karr, two of the top-reviewed workers, after they requested that management recognize the union.
Sex work is real work, and sex workers deserve real protection from corporate overreach. Brothels began as a collective, and we’re making history by restoring that collective power on our own terms,” said Jetson.
A spokesperson for Sheri’s Ranch told the Associated Press that the brothel provides a “safe, lawful, and professionally managed environment.” The business respects the right of workers to “express their views on workplace structure.”
According to a contract issued to one of the independent contractors at Sheri’s obtained by the AP, the brothel has the “irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license” to the woman’s name and image.
The union’s petition to the NLRB seeks the independent federal agency’s assistance in forcing Sheri’s Ranch to allow a union vote to be held. If majority support is fielded, the brothel would need to negotiate in good faith with the union on a collective bargaining agreement.
The NLRB enforces the National Labor Relations Act and protects the rights of private-sector employees.
The Culinary Union Local 226 is Nevada’s largest, with the gaming and hospitality organization representing some 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno.
Las Vegas Prostitution
In Las Vegas and all of Clark County, prostitution and brothels are illegal. Of course, that isn’t to say prostitution isn’t rampant.
Unlike with the highly regulated brothels, where sex workers are tested regularly for STDs and condoms are required, the underground sex industry carries much more risk. The US Justice Department has identified Las Vegas as a top destination for human trafficking because of Southern Nevada’s commercial sex trade.
Brothel workers are required by state law to submit a monthly blood test showing the absence of HIV and syphilis. Legal sex workers also take a weekly test to identify various other sexually transmitted infections, including gonorrhea and chlamydia.
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