Interesting: who and who doesn't pay their interns in Washington DC.

[a kennedy]

Yikes, Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar don't pay!!! Lotsa Democratic Senators don't....... here is a list (middle of the page)

https://www.scribd.com/document/352610861/Experience-Doesn-t-Pay-The-Bills?secret_password=goJvspMJ9qdDeaercjsG&irgwc=1&content=10079&campaign=Skimbit%2C%20Ltd.&ad_group=38395X1559799X11dd96c59366b4f2d238e991faca9499&keyword=ft750noi&source=impactradius&medium=affiliate

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. I'm guessing every office sets up an internship differently. According to the DOL, an internship has

to meet six requirements before it can be unpaid:

* The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;

* The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;

* The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;

* The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;

* The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and

* The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

So more accurately, these offices offer internships that are more educational and training-based than work-based. Assuming they're following the law, anyway. Lots of employers (and interns) are confused by the difference.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. And this is NOT to say that unpaid internships aren't problematic, or that an employer is prohibited

from paying an intern even if the six requirements are met. Unpaid internships exclude quite a large population and can create a pipeline of a certain class of people, reducing diversity of experience and thought in the position, etc.

[kimbutgar]

2. I did an unpaid internship in the 70's no shock there

And having that internship looked great on my resume.

[irisblue]

3. Document set to private. nt

[LakeArenal]

5. I had an intership....

Mine was a paid internship but there were many in the same place that had unpaid internships.

I am not saying that is the case here.. Just that it is possible to be a paid or unpaid intern.

[NightWatcher]

6. I was an unpaid government intern for a six month program

Two months after I was finished it led to me getting my first real job out of college. I was exposed to things I never would have otherwise nor would I have gotten the job after I completed it.

Also for years afterwards, I used the connections I made in that unpaid internship.

Sometimes the experience is worth far more than a little pay.

[MichMan]

7. All that would have still occurred if you were paid

Hypocritical to be a champion for a living wage and then not pay your interns. Makes it impossible for someone from modest means to live

[NightWatcher]

8. They were not offering a paid internship. It was seen as an extension of a college degree program

Other people in my program took their choice of a few paid programs and ended up doing work that was regularly given to entry level clerks. A friend of mine bragged about getting paid but he spent nearly 8 hours a day filing court paperwork.

There was a choice to take paid or unpaid. My unpaid internship paid me infinitely more returns than the people who got minimum wage to be a clerk.

Showing that you worked for a Senator looks better on your resume than clerking for a minimum wage position.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. All of what you say is true, and it's also important to acknowledge that not paying people for

interning reduces the pool of competitive prospects considerably, and reduces the diversity of that pool as well.

[mythology]

10. That still leaves it closed to many people who can't afford to not work.

It perpetuates as society where those who have, get more and those who don't are locked out.

[MichMan]

14. Do as I say not as I do apparently

Apparently it is OK to support a higher minimum wage as long as it applies to someone else. Yet you will pay your own interns nothing, zero, nada, zilch.

Really hypocritical to beat up business for not paying workers a living wage out of one side of your mouth, while not even paying your own workers any wages at all. Greedy bastards

https://www.franken.senate.gov/?p=news&id=2788

[pnwmom]

11. Young Democrats believe in giving to their country. Young Republicans won't do anything

unless they think there's something in it for them -- like a paycheck.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. This is not why some are paid and some aren't. And pretending unpaid internships are a measure of

one's patriotism is a gross road to go down, I would think.

[alarimer]

12. Shame on anyone who doesn't pay them.

Unpaid internships only reinforce the class divide by ensuring that only rich kids (or kids whose parents can afford to support them) can afford to take them and, thus, reinforcing the class divide within the Democratic Party.

People on this thread are saying they benefited from the connections made and I'm sure that's true. But if you cannot afford to take an unpaid internship because you have to work to support yourself, you cannot then avail yourself of those connections. So disadvantaged college students can remain disadvantaged when looking for jobs which require a lot of networking to land.

But then, Democrats are the party of upper middle class professionals these days.

[MichMan]

15. Totally disgusted by this

From the link;

House 3.6 % of Democrats pay vs 8% of Republicans

Senate 31 % of Democrats pay vs 51% of Republicans

Greedy bastards