{"id":893238,"date":"2026-10-24T17:06:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T17:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/893238\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T17:06:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T17:06:19","slug":"dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders-unionize-after-years-of-fighting-for-fair-pay-dallas-cowboys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/893238\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders unionize after years of fighting for fair pay | Dallas Cowboys"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> cheerleaders have unionized, in a watershed labor victory that comes after years of fighting for fair pay.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association (DCCA) was voluntarily recognized by the Cowboys as the collective bargaining representative for the cheerleading squad, according to a Friday news release. The recognition came after \u201cmeaningful discussion\u201d between the Cowboys organization and the DCCA, and the parties are set to begin collective bargaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are an esteemed part of the Cowboys organization, deeply respected for the talent and dedication they exhibit,\u201d the DCCA said in a statement. \u201cThey remain one of the most sought-after opportunities for talented dancers worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Established in 1961, one year after the football team played its inaugural season in the NFL<\/a>, the Cowboys cheerleaders are among the most recognizable dance groups in the world. The squad\u2019s national profile rose as they were chronicled in a Netflix series, America\u2019s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which released its third season in June.<\/p>\n

For decades, the franchise has faced scrutiny over the cheerleaders\u2019 low salaries, despite their enduring pop culture relevance.<\/p>\n

The squad\u2019s compensation was largely shrouded in mystery until details spilled into the public view in 2018, when cheerleader Erica Wilkins filed<\/a> a federal fair wage lawsuit against the Cowboys. Wilkins claimed she averaged $15,000 during her seasons with Dallas and said she made less money than the team\u2019s male mascot. The Cowboys are the NFL\u2019s most valuable franchise at $17bn, per Forbes.<\/p>\n

The second season of America\u2019s Sweethearts followed oft-tense contract negotiations \u2013 including threats of a walkout \u2013 involving the 36-member team. Several squad members spoke of holding full-time jobs in addition to their demanding DCC schedule so they could pay their bills.<\/p>\n

By the end of the season, the dancers received a 400% pay raise, increasing the hourly rate for some members from $15 per hour for the 2024 season to $75 per hour. One squad member told<\/a> the New York Times that while the new contract increased wages for game day appearances, it did not provide health insurance.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys cheerleaders are not the first in the NFL to form a union. In 1995, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders could unionize. The Buffalo Jills, as they were known, joined<\/a> the National Football League Cheerleaders Association. The union was short-lived and the Jills squad disbanded in 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have unionized, in a watershed labor victory that comes after years of fighting for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-893238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}