To our honorable elected officials,

As a performer who has worked in several Seattle Strip clubs over the last two years, I would like to bring to your attention a serious problem which is in need of a strong, sensible solution. Strip clubs in Seattle are known in the industry as some of the nations' absolute worst. Some of these clubs are like twilight zones where laws are thrown out the window, and reason and humanity are checked at the door. Drug dealers have been coming knowing they can conduct business without being caught, and staff turn their heads as crack is smoked in the bathroom. Violent assaults and molestation occur daily and are never reported and rarely acted upon. Sometimes, not so much as a security camera is put in place to prevent such acts. People are forced to work without pay and patrons rarely are even aware of it. Entertainers are frequently forced or coerced into performing sexual favors for customers and sometimes are encouraged to do so by management, while they can suffer mental & physical damage, catch diseases, and risk getting arrested, fined, and having a criminal record for being a victim of the seedy industry and these unnecessary pressures.

In Europe, Canada and Asia, Gentlemen's clubs and similar businesses often pay their performers and workers salaries from $2000-$3000 a month. It is not a necessity for them to so much as allow a customer to touch them, they just provide atmosphere and entertainment. (There is even a club in the U.S. Territory of Guam which pays its entertainers $450 weekly salary for performing on stage and gives 50% commission of drinks and private time to the performer.) In Portland, Oregon, they at least try to be fair by promoting, enforcing tipping/charging seating fees to customers and providing strong security at most clubs.

In America, it seems that the business is completely exploitative: The contracted entertainers must perform to the direction of the management (nude or semi-nude) several times a shift WITHOUT PAY or so much as tip enforcement or a cut of the ticket/door sales in order to be permitted to try to make sales of 'lapdances', in which they can be stiffed or the customer can refuse to pay on the grounds that no sex acts occurred during that time.

The clubs' contracts promise to advertise reasonably for the entertainers, yet they are required in some to pay extra for their own picture to be used in ads, and clubs never provide a place for the entertainers to promote their websites or sell photos. In Washington, tips are not expected, are very very rare, and are legally prohibited by the six foot rule, so there is no money made on tips- do not think that these performers are making hundreds a night this way. They would be lucky to get $5 in stage tips on any shift- Ask any stripper in Seattle! Some nights, they end up working for 8-10 hours and walking away with less than $30 despite a full crowd.

In any nightclub or performance venue, you would usually expect to be patted down or checked at the door. You would expect that some of the ticket sales go to the artists performing, and that there would be security on premises.

In most Seattle strip clubs, there is no security or inadequate security, and customers are not being checked at the door. Lights are too low to see faces and criminals can get away without any video evidence. With strip clubs being the target of drug dealers, sex offenders, and violence, there should be heavier security and more protection for the performers who are often the center of the bulls-eye. At any other venue, or even respectable club, you would expect distance between the stage and patrons and a pathway from the stage to dressing room which does not require going through the crowd, as well as a staff and performer entrance. No club in Seattle has this setup.

We are talented, skilled, hardworking performers who deserve to be paid for what we do and deserve respect and safety!

If you simply shut down the clubs, you will take jobs (and passions) away from many people, possibly forcing them into homelessness and you will take a large amount of tax money away from the city, state, and country. Doing raids to arrest people for the crime of selling or buying sexual acts or possessing drugs will not solve the problem, either- this has already happened plenty of times in the past and it does get to the real problem of exploitation and lack of safety. It also punishes victims and harmless people. Without new regulations in place, it will simply continue to happen. We need to CLEAN UP THE CLUBS and order this corrupt industry to change its ways! Let's improve the industry and create a safer environment for everyone who enjoys or performs erotic entertainment.

In order to discourage illegal activity, fairly compensate performers and workers, and bring classy attractive burlesque acts to the state which will deter abusive and seedy patrons and draw erotic and performance art appreciators, We the undersigned would like to ask that these ordinances be added to the current ones put in place and enforced for any 'Gentlemen's club', 'Hostess club', 'Strip club', 'Cabaret' or Adult entertainment facility (including peep show or lingerie modeling house) in Washington, with the clubs given adequate time to comply.

1. All Independent contractors or employee Artists/Performers with the club must be offered and paid at least the minimum salary set by U.S. wage law (currently 450 per week) for their work or an amount equal to 20% of that amount per shift or show date (for guest performers, independent contractors, and open schedules) if they are required to provide or perform any kind of entertainment for customers on the premises or appear or dress to any direction or standards to amuse customers. They must also be given at LEAST 50% commission of all their sales. Private rooms can be rented and time with an entertainer may be sold, but 'lapdances' or 'tabledances' may not. Payment must be accepted for the time or room rental up front and paid to a club cashier- This is to prevent stiffing and theft of service as well as further prevent coercion into illegal contact or occurrences of molestation, which are both extremely common under current circumstances. All money paid to the Entertainers must be collected first by a cashier at the club, and a receipt must be given with the amount after the club's fees are taken out which is recorded and reported on a 1099-misc or W-2 form (depending on the status they choose) and sent to the Entertainer and to the IRS each year.
2. A table for the entertainers' promotion and sale of goods such as webcams, personal websites, posters, and photobooks must be made available and in sight of the customers. The club may not require any extra fees from the Entertainers for doing promotion or allowing them to promote or sell goods.
3. The club may not require as part of the contract that any time be spent with a customer outside the club (such as a paid date) to protect the entertainers. (They also may not advertise it as a service or offer the entertainer any incentive for doing so.)
4. The club must have at least one licensed armed or unarmed security officer inside the club at all times, who must not also serve as another position such as doorman or manager and must be remain as a vigilant security officer at all times. If the officer needs a break, another must remain on guard in his absence.
5. Lights must be bright enough and proper color to see faces clearly when entering the building in the main areas and available to turn on in the VIP rooms or private areas. Security cameras must be in every private area or VIP room.
6. A staff member must be placed within earshot of the VIP rooms/Private rooms with the job of watching or listening for illegal activity and reporting such things to security and police, protecting entertainers, and possibly serving as a cashier for private room rentals, who must have constant access to camera surveillance of the rooms.
7. A dressing room with private bathroom and a passage to the stage without going through the crowd must be provided, in addition to a separate entrance for staff and performers which does not require going through the crowd or main floor, must be provided.
8. A personnel or outside doorperson must be paid for the sole purpose of watching the parking lot and watching over performers and staff as they go to their vehicles or to public transit.
9. A staff member must be placed OUTSIDE the club before the door to check anyone entering the club's bag and scan them with a metal detector to check for knifes, razor blades, or other hidden weapons. This may be the same person who oversees the parking lot.
10. All personnel and staff must be paid at least minimum wage and should not be tip reliant for income, to prevent slacking on an important job and to keep them paid fairly for their work.
11. There shall be no 'mandatory tip-out' system in writing anywhere or enforced in any way (a requirement or insisting that the Entertainers should pay any of the staff or the DJ.) The club should pay all of them fairly.
12. Clubs must be randomly inspected without notice at least twice a year for any of these infractions, and failure or refusal to comply with safety rules shall result in at least a $5000 fine to the club's owner and $1000 to each manager on duty to promote their compliance. (Higher than the current fine for failing inspections.)

These requirements, if enacted, would protect the community and the performers, from the dangers of sexual predators, drug dealers, violent criminals and exploitation while collecting several million in taxes per year from a currently under-the-table industry for social improvements in Seattle and the rest of Washington. (This estimate comes from a well-informed member of the industry but is not promised as exact.) It would also encourage respect for women & the arts, and healthy attitudes toward sexuality, while putting a dent in the spread of STDs. Please help the community and give safety and fair pay to these endangered workers!