The members of the United Brothel Workers are in the fight of their lives.
When Jupiter Jetson found out she’d been fired, the first thing she did was pound on the roof of her van and yell “let’s go!”
It was the day after the United Brothel Workers had informed Sheri’s Ranch of their unionization, with a supermajority of courtesans asking for voluntary recognition. They had deep concerns about a new contract they were supposed to sign, but Jetson hadn’t been on her way to meet with the owners or start any good faith negotiations. Instead, she was picking up her fellow courtesan and UBW organizer, Paloma Karr, who’d been told she was fired earlier that day.
Jetson didn’t have the full story yet, but she did know something wasn’t right. Her profile had unexpectedly disappeared from the website, she says, and when she texted the brothel’s madam, she says she was told to check her email. And that’s how she found out she’d also been fired from Nevada’s most prominent legal brothel.
“My first thought was, ‘They are in so much trouble,’” Jetson says, adding that she’d half-expected some retaliation in terms of email glitches and booking issues. “But I never would’ve guessed that they would fire me outright,” she says.
Of course, she was angry, but she wasn’t exactly grieving. She pauses for a second, searching for a word to describe how she felt before settling on “vindicated.” After all, her firing brought more attention to what she alleges is nefarious behavior at the brothel “than any amount of picketing we’d have done,” she says. And now, the public is closely following the first unionization effort of legal full-service sex workers in American history.
The push to unionize began on a Discord server, shortly after the courtesans received a new independent contractor agreement in December. While the courtesans have always been considered independent contractors, according to the UBW, this contract contained something different.
Immediately, Jetson says she sent the contract to her lawyer, who flagged a section containing clauses about power of attorney and ownership of intellectual property. The bottom line was that the terms would allow Sheri’s to effectively own the courtesans’ likenesses and any other work created during their stay on the property. Even post-mortem.
Alarmed by the lawyer’s analysis, Jetson shared it with the other women, who then began contacting their co-workers and asking management for a meeting. But Sheri’s “ignored us and kept plowing along,” Jetson alleges, “saying this is the contract and you can either sign or leave.”
Then, they found the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, one of the largest and most powerful unions in the country. “They looked at our situation and said, ‘Well, they’re classifying you [as independent contractors], but you’re definitely not under any circumstances,’” Jetson says. So, the CWA offered them the opportunity to join, after which Jetson and a small group of organizers collected union authorization cards from over 70 percent of their co-workers.
From almost the beginning, the CWA has been supporting the courtesans’ unionization by filing multiple board charges on their behalf with the National Labor Relations Board. According to the UBW and Marc Ellis, president of CWA Local 9413, the federal agency is currently processing several cases against Sheri’s over the alleged discharge and retaliation against organizing activity, alongside a refusal-to-recognize charge.
Since Karr and Jetson’s dismissals in early February, the UBW says five more courtesans have been fired. Among them is Molly Wylder, who says she was let go a week after appearing with Jetson in the Associated Press. “I was fired for doing an interview with a news outlet about the unionization effort,” she says, before adding that she “never actually refused to sign” the contract.
“It’s the most blatant union-busting I have ever seen,” Ellis says about the firings. “Sheri’s thinks they can intimidate these women. They made a huge mistake.”
Per a copy of the contract reviewed by Playboy, the terms assign Sheri’s “entire right, title, and interest throughout the world” for all photos, videos, writings, inventions, ideas, concepts, and “know-how” created at the ranch. That said, the line between on-duty and off is murky when workers live on the premises for weeks at a time, Wylder explains, with many courtesans also running their own businesses during their downtime.
“People have written books, people have made tons of pornos, all that kind of stuff,” she says, pointing out that as an independent contractor, “the only work product I do is have sex for money.”
One section, though, was particularly alarming to the UBW members. Buried in the intellectual property provisions was also a clause about power of attorney “coupled with an interest,” which would give Sheri’s the right to sign courtesan’s names on documents if they can’t be reached.
In contract law, power of attorney coupled with interest is often irrevocable. As long as Sheri’s can claim a financial interest in a courtesan’s likeness or intellectual property, Jetson says they could continue to act on their behalf indefinitely. But in an industry where your identity and physical presence is literally the product, the idea of other people owning those things in perpetuity felt to Jetson and her coworkers like an attempt to control their futures. “And they could continue to do so forever, past our working relationship and my time on Earth,” Jetson says. “They could continue signing my name long after I’ve signed off.”
Another section also states that Sheri’s will have “irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license” to use, modify, distribute, and “prepare derivative works” from any preexisting materials. The company can also choose to sublicense those rights to other entities without the worker’s approval, and for “faceless” courtesans like Genevieve Dahl, the implications are terrifying in the age of AI. As she says, Sheri’s already has photos of her face, which are cropped before posting to protect her privacy. However, Dahl alleges the new contract means that there will be nothing preventing Sheri’s from honoring her anonymity and using the full shots in whatever way they choose.
“I would have no protection from either the current owners or any future owners deciding that’s how they want to monetize my image,” she says.
For Dr. Lillian Jungleib, an assistant professor of sociology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas who studies sex work organizing, these terms represent something far more than a standard labor dispute. As she says, places like Sheri’s are “already profiting from individual workers advertising for themselves outside of the brothel,” before noting that “these higher-profile courtesans are doing their own social media marketing, becoming influencers and thought leaders in their own right.” So, the thought that a company would go even further and claim ownership of the workers themselves is a fundamental violation of what a labor contract is supposed to be, she says. And all the while, the UBW says they’ve had no meaningful way to push back, especially given how difficult it is to figure out who they’d even be up against.
For the past 25 years, the public face of Sheri’s has been Chuck Lee, a former Las Vegas law enforcement officer who purchased the property in 2001. As of May 2026, his biography still appears on the brothel’s site alongside his email address for public inquiries. Lee died in August 2018.
That said, initial research has found that Sheri’s is connected to at least 50 LLCs, both active and dissolved. The biggest players, though, appear to be Mid Valley Enterprises and Pahrump ICS LLC, which respectively own the property and control operations. The companies also share two officers — Resort Entertainment Companies and Coexist — both of which are LLCs that have previously sued each other over a since-dismissed contract dispute.
I would have no protection from either the current owners or any future owners deciding that’s how they want to monetize my image.
Other people and entities connected to Sheri’s have also taken their partners to court, including three investors who filed suit against brothel manager, David Frank, who’s been previously referred to as a co-owner alongside Lee, but no longer has any presence on the website. According to a since-deleted article recovered from the Las Vegas Sun, the 2011 suit claimed that Frank almost bankrupted Sheri’s by conspiring with his own companies and “improperly used the position of manager of that company to use the resources of the company for his personal benefit and the benefit of his other business interests.” They also alleged that Frank and his friends had free sex with some of the courtesans and provided illegal sex work services at parties in Las Vegas. In response, Frank and Mid Valley Enterprises issued a statement denying the allegations, saying that “the “plaintiffs have not produced a single witness with knowledge of any of the scandalous allegations.” Lee also stated that the allegations against Frank were untrue. Several attempts were made to directly contact Frank about the lawsuit, but all of Playboy’s requests for comment went unanswered.
For the UBW, the ownership structure has always been incredibly confusing and has made it difficult to know who they should talk to. “Sheri’s has always been very opaque about the ownership structure,” Jetson says. “It’s hard to tell who’s still in the business and who’s out.” Moreover, this opacity has made it difficult to escalate any concerns beyond whoever’s manning the premises, Wylder says, adding that the buck stops with the on-site manager, with the courtesans having no way of checking if an issue has been escalated. “Hiding behind a bunch of LLCs is counter to the spirit of good faith,” Ellis says. “You should always be able to bargain directly with your employer in a transparent way.”
This question surrounding Sheri’s leadership also matters because the brothel has always classified the courtesans as independent contractors. It’s a designation that informs everything from legal exposure to tax status. However, given the scope of their responsibilities, the CWA says the workers have been grossly misclassified.
Ever since the UBW started making headlines, Jetson says that Sheri’s has been issuing “the same response” to outlets like Mother Jones and The Nevada Independent. She says that the brothel’s marketing and communications director, Jeremy Lemur, has adhered to talking points about “how there’s a long, proud tradition of workers in Nevada being independent contractors and the freedom.” Jetson adds, “But I’ve never had a job where I’m required by corporate policy to sleep overnight when I’m an independent contractor.”
According to the Nevada Association for Employers, common misclassification triggers include when contractors perform employee-like duties and employers control the schedule and means of work. True independent contractors are supposed to set their own hours, charge their own rates, and use their own means and methods to complete their work. By that standard, Jetson and Dahl argue that Sheri’s workers don’t qualify. Instead, they claim there are strict dress codes and set shifts with required start times. Jetson also claims Sheri’s workers need permission to leave the premises, despite Nye County removing movement restrictions for brothel workers several years ago. Additionally, Ellis previously told the Associated Press that Sheri’s courtesans are required to charge at least $1,000 per hour, with the brothel getting 50% of what they earn.
“Why do I have to ask before I can go on a walk? We live there full-time, we have to ask to leave, and we’re not allowed to go home at night,” Jetson says. “If I was an independent contractor, I could wear blue jeans to meet one of my clients if I wanted to. I could wear flats, [but] I’m required to wear high heels.”
That said, not everyone agrees. After contacting Sheri’s for comment, Lemur — who didn’t respond to Playboy’s requests for a managerial statement — had some courtesans reach out to speak on the ranch’s behalf. One of them was Alice Little, who says she started working there after the firings at the end of March, despite recently claiming to have been at Sheri’s for the past 10 years to the Daily Star. Regardless, she still sees the independent contractor classification in a completely different way.
Contrary to what the UBW members say, Little claims she has the autonomy to set her own rates, run her small business however she sees fit, and market herself however she wants. “We pretty much get the last and final say over everything we do, who we see, and what we offer,” she says.
In her opinion, the union push represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what independent contractor status actually provides, with Little saying that “to go from working with the brothels to working for them is not the right way forward.” Her view is that the arrangement would result in “surrendering far more for a theoretical opportunity versus what’s already known” and expresses skepticism over what the union could realistically deliver. “Nobody can clearly tell me what it’s going to look like,” she says. “And yet, I’m expected to give up the rights I currently have.”
While Little’s stance reflects a genuine disagreement among workers, Dr. Jungleib thinks the question of whether Sheri’s courtesans are treated like independent contractors is fairly straightforward. The classification doesn’t hold up, she says, especially when it comes to Sheri’s supposedly dictating schedules, controlling appearances, and restricting movement. And while independent contractor status has been an ongoing issue for many gig workers, she argues that Sheri’s alleged misclassification is unusual because of what the business is trying to claim as a result. “Usually those things are just about being able to take more wages or have more control over schedules,” Dr. Jungleib says. “Getting into owning someone’s likeness or intellectual property, I just don’t have the words. It’s insane, that sort of reach.”
I was just angry that my job was trying to screw me over, and it’s kind of led me to this place where I might be able to help a lot of people.
Not only that, but “if they remain being wrongfully viewed as independent contractors, then Sheri’s believes they can continue to treat the women wrongly,” Ellis says. “But if they are rightfully viewed as employees, it guarantees them more rights and protections, including the right to organize” under the National Labor Relations Act.
For UBW members still working at Sheri’s, the inability to collectively bargain as independent contractors isn’t just an abstract problem, particularly when it comes to their safety. On the afternoon of February 28, Patrick Graham walked onto the grounds allegedly carrying a shotgun, according to the Pahrump Valley Times. The report says the 71-year-old fired at the gate in a supposed attempt to shoot off the lock before firing another bullet into the front door. According to the Nye County Sheriff’s Department, the case against Graham — who’s currently out on bail — is still pending.
While no one was hurt, it was exactly the kind of incident that Dahl says they’ve been trying to prevent for a long time. As the UBW’s proposed safety plan states, the courtesans live where they work, in rooms without locks or panic buttons. Guests have wandered in uninvited, and there is no formal system for reporting dangerous clients. Sheri’s is also the largest brothel in Nevada by acreage, they say, but it doesn’t have a full-perimeter fence to prevent someone from entering the building. Besides, the women also allege that there’s typically only one security guard patrolling the entire property, and Dahl says they’re often pulled away to cover bar service. So, the courtesans have to “use our instincts and our spidey senses,” she explains, “and we try to be really supportive of one another, but it’s kind of like we’re on our own.”
The courtesans say they’ve raised these types of concerns before, but the implied response has always been some version of Sheri’s is the best brothel you can work at, so be grateful. “Sometimes, there’s this energy of ‘it’s not going to get any better than this, so just be happy with what you have,’” she says.
For now, though, the UBW is still waiting. As their NLRB cases continue to make their way through the system, Jetson says she’s trying to have faith in the process, because “it feels like it would be a real miscarriage of justice if it didn’t go our way.”
What she didn’t anticipate, though, was what would happen in the meantime. Since the firings, her phone has kept buzzing with messages from sex workers of all stripes. Strippers, porn stars, dominatrixes. They all want to know what organizing might be able to do for them.
“It’s truly a surreal feeling. I’ve gotten teary about it,” she says. “I was just angry that my job was trying to screw me over, and it’s kind of led me to this place where I might be able to help a lot of people.”
Wylder also says what’s happening at Sheri’s has set an industry precedent, with other courtesans watching how things unfold. “They might not need it the way we needed it, because other brothels might shape up and actually treat them like independent contractors,” she says, adding that they could “actually give them the freedoms they’re supposed to have when they see Sheri’s as an object lesson in what happens when you don’t.”
Not only that, but Dr. Jungleib says the significance of what’s happening at Sheri’s extends well beyond one brothel in the Nevada desert.
“To me, it’s gaining legitimacy as workers,” Dr. Jungleib says. “To have the right to organize in your workplace for fair treatment is an incredibly American ideal,” she continues, and having the UBW will help with a “larger reframing of all women in sex work as victims of exploitation.”
For Dahl, however, it’s also personal, because the unionization means management will have to “recognize that we are not a home for wayward girls.” Because at the end of the day, “We’re serious businesswomen, and I want to see us be treated as such.”
That said, Jetson says she’s already started thinking about what comes next, adding that once they’re past this hurdle, it’ll only be a matter of time before another group of sex workers wants to unionize.
“Wherever there are workers who want the right to collectively bargain their working conditions,” she says, “I genuinely cannot wait.”
