Washington state is considering a set of legislative proposals to provide adult dancers with compensation protections and mandatory security, the Associated Press reported.
The set of proposals, dubbed the “strippers’ bill of rights,” is the product of years of advocacy from Strippers Are Workers (SAW), an organization operating in Washington state, according to the AP. The group “fights to empower the dancers of Washington state so that they can strip safely, positively and lucratively” in order to “keep stripping low barrier entry and accessible to a marginalized and stigmatized group of people who seek upward mobility,” according to its website.
One proposal being considered would cap the fee strippers pay clubs to either $150 or 30% of what a stripper makes during a given shift, the AP reported. The proposals also include a number of security measures, like mandatory keypad codes for dressing rooms, sexual harassment training for employees and requiring security guards at clubs. (RELATED: Blue State Dems Introduce Law That Could Jail People For Using Gas Powered Lawn Mowers)
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Strippers are worried that the new regulations could result in strip clubs shutting down absent the revenue from alcohol sales, the AP reported. SAW is pushing to legalize the sale of alcohol in strip clubs, which is currently illegal in Washington, a measure not included in the current slate of legislation.
“Alcohol service has been found, by strippers and scientific research, to actually make clubs safer and more equitable,” according to SAW.
Madison Zack-Wu, a campaign manager for SAW, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that strip clubs are already dealing with patrons getting drunk before coming in and that her groups supports allowing clubs to serve alcohol so that consumption could be more easily regulated.
Speaking to the necessity of the strippers’ bill of rights, Zack-Wu said that adult dancers in Washington pay abnormally high rates to work in clubs relative to other states and that clubs aren’t currently incentivized to kick out customers who make dancers uncomfortable.
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