Labor Justice: Unpaid Internships
Labor Justice: Unpaid Internship
By Nate Finegold
Unpaid internships or apprenticeships have been apart of our society for centuries, going all the way back to blacksmiths and how they taught the younger generation their craft. Learning how to do things professionally from someone who has mastered the craft is how knowledge is handed down from generation to generation and leads to progress in the human race. However at this point in our world, where every hiring decision is based on budget and experience, is having these unpaid internships still worth it?
After citing a loophole in the Fair Labor Standard's Act of 1938, which stated that railroad workers did not have to be paid during training, many companies have used the act to get free labor. This act is still in place but has been adjusted for the times. Workers are now entitled to a higher minimum wage, longer breaks and they do have to be paid anytime that they are on the clock, including training. However, the supreme court ruled 9 years later that unpaid internships are legal as long as they follow these 6 codes, "1. The internship must be similar to training that would be given in an educational environment; 2. The internship must be for the benefit of the intern; 3. The intern does not displace regular employees; 4. The employer derives no immediate advantage from the intern; 5. The intern is not entitled to a job at the end of the internship; and 6. The intern understands that he or she is not entitled to wages" (Waxman). If a company follows all of these rules, then they will legally be able to have free labor for a short period of time.
The museum industry has been one that benefits from these unpaid internships for a very long time. Being that many museums budgets can already be thin, adding another expense in order to train someone can seem a bit pricey. However many people in the museum industry are challenging this old ideal and are paving the way for unpaid internships to be banned all together, one being Jill Medvedow, a chairperson of the Association of Art Museum Directors (Greene). If people like Jill continue to come forward in protest of unpaid positions changes will start to take place within the museum industry which could open the door to many different people of all classes and stature. Frankly the museum industry is one which needs new voices and this might be the best way to get them.
Recently there have been many conversations to get rid of unpaid internships all together in many different industries. This is a movement started by unpaid interns who feel like their treatment in the workplace was unfair, as you can see in the picture above which shows a protest against the Department of Labor. Many of these exclusive and important unpaid positions are only given to well off people in the world. These wealthier types of people can afford not working for a Summer in order to gain experience. They see it more as an investment rather than free labor and it works out for them on many occasions. However if you look at the problem from a new view you can understand that these internships entirely leave out lower class individuals. Many people, especially young college students who are already in debt, can not afford to take multiple months with no pay and still be able to live a normal life. If someone, who is just as talented as an upper class student gets picked for the same unpaid position, they will physically not be able to support themselves so they cannot have the same opportunity.
Its this fact that has many people calling to boycott any and all unpaid internship positions. Professors have told students to not apply and the movement is growing stronger every year. However unpaid internships still have their supporters, who say that statistically speaking, a resume with an internship on it received an interview request 14% more than those who didn't (Towey). This is a statistic from all fields not just museums. This adds value and therefor does not technically count as free labor, as the intern is getting something out of it. However the class disparagement and a growing number of companies getting rid of unpaid internships shows that this type of thinking is going out of style. A great way around this problem would be for companies to offer jobs to people with no experience and simply train them at an entry level position. This would even the playing field for all applicants and could extinguish the class barrier created by these unpaid internships. As someone who has had a paid internship, I can first hand say, without the money coming in, it would've been a thousand times harder to manage on a weekly basis and I am grateful that I got lucky in that scenario.
Greene, N. (2022, August 2). The staggering cost of unpaid art internships. Cognoscenti. https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2022/08/02/unpaid-internships-art-museums-nikki-greene
Towey, H. (n.d.). Over 40% of interns are still unpaid because of this legal loophole. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/unpaid-internship-legal-loophole-intern-employement-lawsuits-2021-9
Waxman, O. B. (2018, July 25). Intern history: How internships replaced entry-level jobs. Time. https://time.com/5342599/history-of-interns-internships/
I think if the internship adds value, as long as it is a fair amount of time, then unpaid is ok. However, it certainly is more attractive and I am inclined to think people do a better job when someone is throwing them a bone, or at least getting some pay. The life skills are beneficial and not to be discounted but definitely money talks.
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