After years of fighting for better wages and benefits, Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have unionized.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association announced Friday that the team has voluntarily recognized cheerleaders as a collective bargaining unit following a “meaningful discussion.” This gives the newly formed union the green light to begin negotiations. If successful, they would be the first NFL cheer team to secure a contract.
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It’s another victory for football’s biggest cheerleading brand, which last year got a 400 percent raise thanks to the massive success of “America’s Sweethearts,” the Netflix documentary series that highlights the athleticism and talent it takes to be a competitive NFL cheerleader – and the little pay that comes with the job.
The cheerleaders have worked together for years behind the scenes – at one point threatening to stage a walkout – to get higher pay.
During the show’s first season, former Cowboys cheerleader Kat Puryear revealed that her salary through 2022 was equivalent to that of a “substitute teacher” or a “full-time Chick-fil-A employee.” It helped reignite a conversation that led to every cheerleader on the team getting a pay raise last year; team veterans went from making $15 an hour to $75 an hour.
In the show’s second season, Kelli Finglass, the team’s director, called efforts to raise salaries “over 60 years overdue.”
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“Our efforts were heard,” Megan McElaney, one of the cheerleaders who led the fight for higher wages, said in the series finale. “I’m humbled to know that I was a part of it. Dancers are athletes. They have so much value.”
The push by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and now the recognition of their union, marks a sea change for the sport.
In 2014, Lacy Thibodeaux-Fields, then part of the Oakland Raiderettes, sued her team, alleging violation of the state’s minimum wage and labor laws. During the 2014 season, she earned just $1,000 for a job that included nine hours of practice per week, nine hours of overtime on game days and at least 10 community events per season.
His case, and several others that followed, resulted in settlements.
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For many, the situation has long symbolized the gender imbalance that has for years perpetuated very low pay for cheerleaders — lower even than team mascots. For decades, cheerleading was considered an “honor” rather than a job requiring skill, training and pay. But as Thibodeaux-Fields’ attorney, Sharon Vinick, pointed out during court proceedings in his case: “It’s an honor to be a quarterback, but they don’t do it for free.”
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are the only NFL team, other than the Buffalo Bills Jills, to have attempted to unionize. The Jills successfully voted to unionize in 1995, but their efforts ultimately disbanded a year later.
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