Earlier this year, the state Senate actually passed the bill with bipartisan support, and the House labor committee recommended the bill pass as well. Sharon Wylie D-Vancouver and Rep. Shelley Kloba D-Kirkland declined to give the bill a hearing before a key deadline. Without the legislation, Washington remains the only state without some form of alcohol service in clubs.
Without alcohol sales, generating revenue becomes the sole responsibility of dancers, which leads to a toxic dynamic between club owners and performers, said Madison Zack-Wu, campaign manager for Strippers Are Workers.
The dire situation means dancers work all week in clubs with very few protections, and they just barely manage to scrape by, she added. But on Wednesday at the Cha Cha Lounge, the community reminded the dancers what the future of clubs in Washington could look like. People cheered as dancers performed upside-down splits on the pole, jiggled their asses, and showed off all the athleticism and grace required to make hoisting your body weight onto a pole look sexy.
The dancers wore pasties and thongs to keep the event modest enough to avoid running afoul of laws preventing adult entertainment in bars.
Ten dancers performed for the event, including one dancer with the stage name Cedar, who was five months pregnant and a crowd favorite.
