Posted on 04/06/2010 8:11:56 PM PDT by JohnRLott
The Obama administration's top law enforcement officer at the Labor Department, M. Patricia Smith, is targeting companies that give young people unpaid internships. She claims that internships are rife with abusive practices and that serious violations of labor law are widespread. Arguing that interns should get paid at least minimum wage, Ms. Smith and the White House risk destroying a valuable steppingstone that gives many young Americans training they need to get jobs they want in the future.
Unpaid internships are valuable for many reasons. Most simply, they help people test whether they are a good fit for a particular industry. If interns like the type of work at particular companies, internships can help them get the training and contacts they need to make their career aspirations a reality. The short time that interns spend at jobs - often just two to three months - makes it difficult for firms to both train these young people and get much work out of them. From manufacturing to nonprofits to media companies such as The Washington Times, hands-on opportunities open through internships are almost endless. . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
>>I’m sorry but that’s just not correct. College students do it all the time. Many are considered falling behind if they don’t have an internship on their resume.
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Correct. At my university, it was mandatory. Sure, I hated not getting paid, who does? But if you do not intern, you do not recieve your diploma, period.
That's ridiculous. Interns in technical professions, espeically those around for a short time, really don't contribute much. The time experienced people spend keeping them busy detracts from their own work, and what the intern produces is often of less value than that foregone work. Companies are doing a public service letting unproductive kids hang around and get their feet wet.
The slavery thing is just dumb. Isn't the whole idea of slavery is its involuntary nature? The intern can walk out the door anytime. And did the experience an old South slave gained in the cotton field, set him up for a cushy, highly lucrative plantation manager position down the road?
just another Democrat POTUS trying to screw interns
- Sarcasm -
Good intentions are more important than the havoc it will wreak on those that need to be “helped”.
- End of Sarcasm -
“Good intentions are more important than the havoc it will wreak on those that need to be “helped”.”
Sarcastic or not, you provide valuable insight into how the liberal mind works.
Unpaid labor is unpaid labor. If companies will not hire without having them go through unpaid internships, then the companies are benefitting from free labor. The intern doesn’t get the choice of working with pay or working without.
As for the slavery... alright, then - indentured servant is a more accurate.
And if you’re so keen on the idea, why not give up your pay for a month or two?
All congresscritter and senate creeps have unpaid interns.....so?
The list, ping
“Interns in technical professions, espeically those around for a short time, really don’t contribute much. The time experienced people spend keeping them busy detracts from their own work, and what the intern produces is often of less value than that foregone work. Companies are doing a public service letting unproductive kids hang around and get their feet wet.”
Actualy this is very true. We had hired an inexperienced young lady. Our boss came to me: Find out why isn’t she answering her email.
She hadn’t selected her “Inbox.” Other mistakes included letters referring to “sir name” and “sir reply.” Need I say more?
If you are training someone it requires that you set tasks & check everything and that is double the effort for staff.
Internship is free school.
Forced volunteerism isn’t a good thing, it’s closer to slavery than not.
And before you go and say that no one is forcing a person to be an intern... well, that’s the same as saying that no one is forcing adults to try and get a job, they could just laze about and suck off Maw Gubmint’s tit.
Fact of the matter is that adults need to get jobs, so we’ll do d@mn near anything to get one. Forcing free labor out of prospective hires is appalling. For the basic tenant of the labor market is that work=pay.
And this completely destroys it.
Look at it another way: it’s free schooling.
U cannt spel.
How many jobs has M. Patricia Smith ever created?
Sir name, literally?
boy, Bhoy.
So what if they don’t contribute much. New hires never contribute much until they’ve been shown the ropes.
By not paying them, the company no longer has any incentive to maximize their productivity... ie: no incentive to train them to do anything.
Which actually sound quite a bit like your workcenter.
Internship is work without pay.
(I’m thinking the toxic effect of having cheap, illegal labor has now infected the hiring ideals regarding the hiring of new, legal labor. Work ‘em for like a slave for a month and then kick ‘em to the curb! Ha, we don’t even have to pay the sap!)
Really? So the company provides food, clothing, and shelter while the intern learns? Or is that all out of the intern’s pocket without seeing a dime to cover it?
Free schooling my @ss.
NO....they ARE being PAID....with EXPERIENCE. Motivated people will make it happen...and they’re probably the best to be hired in the future. MINIMUM wage these days is WAY too high anyway.
That is, you guys are helping eliminate the ability and willingness of tradesmen to say "sure, you can hang out here for free and see what we do, and how we do it," if you want.
Who urinated on your Eggo? If I have the choice of paying $5000 in tuition to get into job X, or not paying $5000 in tuition to get into job X, all else being the same, I don’t want the choice to be taken away, you busybody you.
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