[liberationtech] Internships available at leading Palo Alto tech startup

[Warigia Bowman]

This is a well written point by Griffin!

On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 10:40 PM, Griffin Boyce <griffinboyce at gmail.com>wrote:

> Leigh Honeywell <leigh at hypatia.ca> wrote:
>
>> Unpaid internships are illegal and discriminatory.  In terms of "white
>> collar" labour practices, few things piss me off quite so much.
>>
>> I'm not a lawyer, but the California Department of Industrial Relations,
>> Division of Labor Enforcement is pretty clear about what companies are
>> allowed to use unpaid interns for
>>
>
>   I don't have a problem with nonprofits having small part-time unpaid
> internships.  These are effectively volunteer positions, and everyone goes
> into it with their eyes open.  No one expects 40+ hours a week from an
> intern at a non-profit.  It's a labor of love on both sides.
>
>   I have a serious problem with a tech company that decides to *stop
> paying* for interns, who are expected to work 40-50 hours a week (or
> more).  And let's get one thing straight. It's not *just* unpaid.  These
> interns are paying for the privilege of working for a company who does not
> value their time, and they are spending both time and money to compete for
> these already-unpaid positions.
>
>   At 28, it's been repeatedly suggested that I give in and take an unpaid
> internship at a large company. Completely ludicrous.  I'm happy to work
> with a non-profit that is making a difference in AIDS.  But I'm not going
> to work for a company who is making a profit from my work but can't find it
> in themselves to pay me.
>
>   The unpaid internship "bubble" for Fortune 500 companies should have
> burst five years ago.  Not only is it bad business practice, it's unfair to
> the interns who are put in that position.
>
> ~Griffin
>
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-- 
Dr. Warigia Bowman
Assistant Professor
Clinton School of Public Service
University of Arkansas
wbowman at clintonschool.uasys.edu
http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
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View my research on my SSRN Author page:
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