Dallas Black Dance Theatre terminated its entire company of dancers Friday, according to a statement posted on social media by the labor union representing the dancers. A national organizer for the union confirmed Saturday that nine dancers were impacted.
A statement jointly posted on Instagram by the American Guild of Musical Artists and an account run by DBDT dancers responded to the company’s actions: “AGMA is aware that Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) leadership just terminated all their dancers, and we are appalled. This abrupt and shocking development is the latest in a series of actions the Company has taken since the dancers voted unanimously to unionize.
My understanding is that the only legal way to fire them for unionizing is to put on a charade of completely shutting down the business, and maintaining that closure for long enough to convince a court, before opening a “new” business.