Inslee signs bill giving strip club workers workplace protection

A dancer performs during a press tour of Dream Girls, the Déjà Vu chain's newest strip club at 1530 First Avenue South, next to Safeco Field on Thursday. The club caused controversy when the Mariners baseball club tried to block the club from opening next to the stadium. less A dancer performs during a press tour of Dream Girls, the Déjà Vu chain's newest strip club at 1530 First Avenue South, next to Safeco Field on Thursday. The club caused controversy when the Mariners baseball ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo, Seattlepi.com Photo: Joshua Trujillo, Seattlepi.com Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Inslee signs bill giving strip club workers workplace protection 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

The state's strip club workers have clothed themselves in influence with legislation signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jay Inslee.

The Governor put his name to HB 1756, which gives workplace protection to exotic dancers and keeps out abusive customers.

"This bill signing might very well mark a first in Washington state legislative history, the first law affecting people who work at strip clubs that was actually initiated by people who work in strip clubs," Working Washington, a workers rights group, said as it celebrated the signing.

HB 1756 is a classic workplace safety bill, tailored to on-the-job dangers.

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It requires that dancers receive know-your-rights training and education. Panic buttons will be required in VIP rooms where dancers are sometimes alone with patrons. Clubs will keep a blacklist of abusive and threatening customers who generate fear among dancers. And an advisory committee will track workings of the legislation.

The legislation was lobbied in Olympia by the workers, several of whom were on hand as Inslee signed the bill. Its chief sponsors were Sen. Rebecca Saldana, D-Seattle, and and State Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines.

Inslee signed multiple bills on Wednesday, from giving nurses guaranteed lunch time to year-round daylight Time (if Congress goes along) to banning fracking, to protecting Puget Sound's endangered orca whales.

The Governor used his Twitter page to gush over the orca whale legislation and the ban on fracking for oil and gas.

State Senate Democrats touted the fracking and orca legislation in news releases.

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The stripper safety bill was signed more quietly, with only Working Washington out front to celebrate the workers who made it happen. They made it happen by traveling to Olympia and testifying at several hearings.

Amber, a dancer and lead advocate of the legislation, explained:

"We're just doing our jobs and trying to make a living for ourselves and our families. We shouldn't have to deal with assault on a regular basis because of insufficient security measures.

"Strippers are workers and we deserve the same safety and security measures that other kinds of workers enjoy."