BINDING ARBITRATION S&M GALS DIG IN THEIR HEELS WITH UNION BID

It's about time.

BINDING ARBITRATION S&M GALS DIG IN THEIR HEELS WITH UNION BID by By REBECCA ROSENBERG October 6, 2008 in New York Post.
"New York's dominatrixes have been getting spanked by the economy recently - and now, they're lashing back.

Already reeling from a series of local prostitution raids, dommes have also had to grapple with disobedient clients who can't afford to pay for their punishments.

To address the double-whammy hitting their industry, many of them want to form a political-action committee and union to represent their interests.

"It's never been worse. Business is down 70 percent," said Mistress Johanna, owner of Chelsea's Le Salon DeSade. "We've had all these busts, and now the economy is out of control. The uncertainty is torturing us."

On Thursday, 10 dominatrixes at DeSade were dressed to the hilt - in red corsets, latex minis and thigh-high boots - with no one to flog.

On what used to be one of the house's busiest nights, only two customers came in, and the phone barely rang. The few clients who still trickle in have scaled back their sessions.

Most houses on Dungeon Alley, the cluster of S&M clubs in Midtown, complain of similar woes.

Mistresses say the economic downturn and recent spat of busts - namely of Rapture NYC, Rebecca's Hidden Chamber and Avalon - has created an atmosphere of fear and panic.

More than a dozen dominatrixes and dungeon owners have retained John Campbell, partner of the Tilem and Campbell law firm.

"This isn't like the escort industry, where there's a lot of illegality and everyone knows it," said Campbell, who also represents escort agencies. "In the BDSM [bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism] industry, virtually everyone was operating under the belief that what they were doing was legal."

The law is unclear, and this poses a major challenge to dominatrixes who want to run legal businesses but can't figure out what is and isn't allowed, said Campbell.

So now, they've taken matters into their own hands. About two weeks ago, the industry had an emergency meeting. The women discussed forming an informal union to represent their interests.

Johanna's business partner, who requested anonymity, is laying the groundwork.

He's drafting paperwork to start DomPAC, which will lobby lawmakers to rewrite prostitution laws to protect BDSM practices.

Dommes hope this will pave the way for them to unionize, so that one day, they can have 401(k)s, health insurance and unemployment benefits.

"Ultimately, this is about America . . . This is about having the right to express yourself in the lifestyle of your choice," Mistress Johanna's business partner said."