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Porn Valley- Nearly 20 years in the talking stages, the talent of the adult industry has formed the Adult Performers Association. The new group, which was formed at a meeting last week, in Woodland Hills, is led by producer/director Nica Noelle [pictured] and performer January Seraph.
Its website that outlines APA’s goals was launched this week at www.AdultPerformers.org.
The APA says in its Mission Statement that, “APA endeavors to create a recognized community of adult performers whose wellness interests are addressed and supported by the APA.”
Noelle in an interview with XBiz stresses that it’s not a union.
“It’s working to become a trade organization for adult performers and will hopefully attain 501(c)(3) status within the next year,” she said.
“We won’t enforce work standards or make demands, but we are aiming to earn the good will and cooperation of those in the Industry who want better resources and a healthier workplace for everyone concerned. We believe adult performers want to make informed decisions, and we’d like to help facilitate that process.
“Involvement is voluntary, but through our efforts we hope to earn the confidence and trust of our fellow Industry workers, and influence change accordingly.”
According to Noelle, among the goals is to find a suitable group healthcare plan that industry workers can opt into if they choose.
“Many performers don’t have health insurance because as independent contractors they don’t have access to a group plan, and individual plans can be prohibitively expensive,” she says.
“In recent years we’ve seen many beloved, legendary performers fall ill and lose everything they own simply because they had no health insurance or other benefits in place.
“We also hope to create a network of Industry and other professionals (medical, psychological, legal) to educate and assist performers. Our website will feature regular articles on issues that concern performers most. We’ll also have a “Performers Only” forum where we can debate, discuss or just chat with each other, away from fans and ‘lookiloos.’
Noelle, a five-year industry veteran, acknowledged there have been some early naysayers about what APA is setting out to do, but she assured, “our intentions are good.”
“We’re getting so many pieces in place right now and figuring out who’s going to do what over the long term. Once a couple of the key pieces are in place we’ll hold a more formal meeting.”