Unpaid Internships Are a Rich-Girl Problem—and Also a Real Problem

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/02/unpaid-internships-are-a-rich-girl-problem-and-also-a-real-problem/273106/


Unpaid interns, as seen on Bravo's reality TV show 'Gallery Girls.' (Bravo)

Fashion-industry blog Fashionista reported earlier this month that Occupy Wall Street's "Intern Labor Rights division" had made plans to protest unpaid internships in the industry at New York Fashion Week.

Illustrating the story was a photo of former reality-TV-star-portraying-an-intern Lauren Conrad, cheerily steaming some clothes in Teen Vogue.

If we were to pick the major social-justice issue of our time, it would probably not be whether Conrad was properly compensated at her "internship." But that's part of the problem: The longer unpaid internships are associated with rich kids and chic but low-grade tasks like hauling designer clothing across Manhattan, the more those who complain about their proliferation are in danger of being seen as clueless, whiny, or spoiled.

To many people, the face of the unpaid intern is already that of a young woman whose survival (and possibly It-bag) needs are already being met, and there's a reason for that. Unpaid internships are mostly taken on by women: Madeleine Schwartz reported in Dissent that three-quarters of the unpaid workforce is female. Unpaid work is also popularly associated with the fashion industry, in part because of shows like The Hills, but also because of the especially glaring hypocrisy of unpaid labor at companies that are not only for-profit, but also producers of expensive designer clothing.

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. Unpaid internships for which people are NOT receiving academic credit are ILLEGAL

I'm not really sure why this is difficult for people to understand. Companies cannot have people working for free. It is against the law. Any unpaid internship requires that the intern be earning some credit at an accredited institution or through a recognized journeyman / apprenticeship program. Moreover, according to Department of Labor regulations, the internship should provide training equal to what you would receive in a classroom setting: if a company just puts an intern "to work" and provides no explicit training, it is not an internship, but illegal free labor, in violation of innumerable state and federal laws.

And here's the one that really surprises people: the intern, according to Department of Labor regs, should not be producing economic value for the firm for which he or she interns. Indeed, in a proper internship, the firm will be taking an economic LOSS by running the internship, since it is a training program that requires resources and prohibits economic gain. If an intern is simply replacing a paid worker, the firm is in violation of Department of Labor regulations. People are always surprised by this one: the firm offering the internship cannot gain by the internship? Um, no, it;s not supposed to. You offer the internship in order to contribute to the training of workers in your field of endeavor, not to profit from the intern's labor. That's the LAW.

[pipoman]

2. Too bad it doesn't work that way..

no, unpaid interns do tasks that if they were not there would necessarily have to be paid..the example in the OP of driving merchandise from one place to another..apparently that merchandise had to be transferred there by someone, no? Yeah, I have a problem, as a parent paying for graduate school credits I have a problem with both paying for credits and my kids working for a "for profit" enterprise free of charge...it makes those intern credits pretty pricey, IMHO..

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Oh, I know that the law is routinely broken

The problem is that we've had damn near no enforcement of the Department of Labor regs for the better part of a decade (pre-Obama). When the Obama Dep't of Labor revved up, all program directors and internship coordinators where I am had to meet with university counsel, who were all like "Hey, Labor's gonna start auditing this stuff, so we have to appear to be meeting the five point test." About time.

[Ganja Ninja]

4. Radio is all about unpaid internships.

But some people seek exposure if not fame so much they will line up for them.

I personally think it should be illegal or a company should have to prove a need and a benefit for them each time they hire one.

[dembotoz]

5. heard from a friend about our local zoo

unpaid interns being used and abused doing tank cleanings and scrubbing this and that
for a chance to MAYBE interact with an animal as some point if schedules work out etc.

so how is that degree in marine biology working out for you huh????

realize stuff needs to be done
budgets are limited

but damn

guess lincoln did not free all the slaves..........

[WCGreen]

7. The difference there is most Zoo's are non-profit organizations....

and depend on volunteers to augment the professional staff.

[exboyfil]

6. I would not go into an occupation that has unpaid

interns. My daughter was fence sitting between Broadcast Journalism and Engineering. I pointed out that engineering interns start at $10/hr. Broadcast Journalism interns ?? well I don't think they get paid. She quickly made up her mind for Engineering.

My younger daughter (15) wants to become a doctor. She is going to get certified as a Nursing Assistant at 16 and try to work in that area while in High School (we plan a progression through High School and college of CNA, phlebotomist, and EMT). She will do volunteer hours as well (part of the game) and doctor shadowing, but she will get patient contact hours in a paid profession.