WA bill aims to make dancing in strip clubs safer. What would change?

Dancers say working in Washington strip clubs carries a lot of risks, from the physical danger of aggressive customers to the thin financial margins that put dancers at an increased risk of sex trafficking.

To try and mitigate some of these issues, Washington legislators are considering SB 6105, or what some are calling the “strippers' bill of rights.”

If passed, proponents say the bill — brought by Strippers Are Workers, which represents hundreds of workers in Washington — would enact some of the strongest protections for dancers in the country.

"Some dancers say that there just really isn't security staff available at clubs when a customer or patron threatens them or says they won't pay," said Melissa Santos, a reporter for Axios covering the bill. "That puts the dancers in a really terrible position because if they can't get paid, they actually still owe money in general to the club owners for the privilege of dancing there, because they're all independent contractors."

SB 6105 would require dedicated security personnel at strip clubs in the state, a duty that often falls to other employees like bartenders. It would also create a system for dancers to report patrons for inappropriate behavior and require keypad locks on dressing rooms. On the financial side, it would cap the fees clubs are allowed to charge dancers to no more than 30% of what they make in a day.

RELATED: Strippers say Washington state is terrible for dancing. They want a 'bill of rights' to fix that

Strippers Are Workers successfully passed legislation in 2019 adding panic buttons for dancer safety and formed the work group suggesting the changes in this year's bill.

The more controversial piece of the legislation, however, is a provision that would open the door to the sale of alcohol in strip clubs. Currently, Washington state's lewd conduct law does not allow the sale of alcohol in clubs, and dancers say clubs' inability to profit off of liquor sales puts more pressure on dancers whose wages keep them afloat.

Opponents of the bill say that adding alcohol to the mix would work against the safety outcomes dancers are hoping for. They also question if SB 6105 is trying to take on too much by also attempting to change the lewd conduct law.

"I think there were some questions about whether that needs to be discussed sort of separately from this issue of the safety for adult dancers," sand Santos. "And I think that you'll see that come up again, probably in the other chamber."

The bill passed the state Senate and is set for its next hearing on Tuesday in front of the House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards.

Listen to the full Soundside segment by clicking the "play" icon at the top of this story.