- The SunTrapp announced it's indefinite closure amid unionization efforts.
- Employees claim unfair labor practices, sparking pickets outside the establishment.
- The unionization process has been stalled by the federal government shutdown; future of SunTrapp remains uncertain.
SALT LAKE CITY — The SunTrapp bar and dance club announced Friday it has closed indefinitely while its employees seek to unionize, but the owner says the ongoing government shutdown added a wrinkle in the situation.
"While we remain hopeful that we can find a path forward for the SunTrapp, right now, I am not certain what the path looks like," SunTrapp management wrote in a social media post.
The closure was announced nearly a month after employees launched a strike over what they called unfair labor practices. They said a "lead union organizer" had been fired in "direct retaliation" to their union activity, ahead of the first picket on Oct. 3.
Their termination had taken place a week after SunTrapp Workers United, the proposed union, met with business owner Mary Peterson to discuss the potential of having the union voluntarily recognized, union officials said at the time.
Employees had started the process to unionize over a desire for a "fair workplace" and better working conditions. Organizers added that "retaliatory workplace policies" were also enacted after the meeting over union recognition.
"We will no longer stand for the abuse, harassment and intimidation from the owner and her friends. Our power lies in our unity, and we are taking a stand tonight to show that an attack on one of us is an attack on all," said Natalie Jankowski, a member of the SunTrapp Workers United organizing committee, when the strike began on Oct. 3.
Several pickets have taken place since then, with plans to picket every Friday and Saturday at one of Utah's oldest LGBTQ bars. Organizers wrote online that multiple employees had been fired, including some who were rehired and fired again since the protests began.
Peterson acquired the bar last year after it had surrendered its liquor license. It had been closed for months over building issues before its previous owners gave up their liquor license, QSaltLake reported in 2024.
She shared her side of the recent situation in an 18-minute video posted to social media on Oct. 10, explaining how she ended up with the business and how it has struggled to remain profitable at times over the past year. She said she's supportive of unions, but she doesn't believe they could work successfully in SunTrapp's model.
"The narrative that I am rich and I don't care about my staff members, and I don't care about workers' rights, that I'm anti-union — those statements are absolutely false," she said, later adding that the business was in "imminent danger" with the protests outside.
In its statement on Friday, the business added that the next step in the union process would be a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, but the federal entity has been closed since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1.
That's a challenge that's played out across the country since the shutdown, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The progressive economics think tank points out that all efforts to unionize are on hold until the shutdown ends.
It's unclear what's next for SunTrapp or its employees as the shutdown enters its second month, but the business said the "financial impact of consistent protests" led to the closure.
"We will do our best to provide an update on the future of the SunTrapp as soon as we have more information," the statement added.
