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?
Because I have options that the skills I possess give me. Skills that were partially gained long ago at an unpaid internship; an internship that turned out not to be unpaid at all.
No - indentured servitude is also not correct.
Interns are not required to stay on for a specific time frame to pay off a specific debt.
Do you believe candy stripers should be illegal? That is the position you have espoused, in my view.