SALEM, Ore. — Around the country, strippers have intensified their fight for better working conditions. Some are suing. Others have filed complaints with state regulators. A handful have unionized. But the effort in Oregon to work directly with the Legislature, with the support of lobbyists, is unique.
The dancers and lobbyists have settled on a handful of improvements they’d like to pursue. Ideally, they want to see strip clubs comply with mandatory health and safety standards — clean stages, structurally sound poles and adequate security. But that could be a tough sell in the Legislature.
More realistically, they plan to push for a mandate that clubs display a poster outlining dancers’ rights with a hotline they can call to ask questions or report abuses. They want the hotline to be staffed by people with experience in the industry, not bureaucrats or law enforcement.
