Ohio Democrat advertises unpaid fellowships while pushing minimum wage increase
Ted Strickland, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, on Wednesday encouraged Ohioans to apply for the state Democratic Party’s unpaid, often full-time summer fellowships, despite having made “fair wages” and a federal minimum wage increase a cornerstone of his campaign.
The Ohio Democratic Party, which is supporting Strickland in his campaign to unseat incumbent Sen. Rob Portman (R.), is currently soliciting applications for summer fellowships to help Democrats “up and down the ticket” win in the November election.
Individuals awarded the fellowships will be expected to commit to no less than six non-consecutive weeks of work over the course of the summer months. Candidates can apply for either a part-time fellowship, which would involve 12-15 hours per week, or a full-time fellowship, which would require a commitment of 40 hours per week.
Strickland’s endorsement of the unpaid positions appears to run counter to his commitment to a “fair wage” for Ohioans and Americans across the country. Strickland says he supports increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 and will fight to protect and strengthen overtime wage laws if he wins election to the Senate.
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No position that brings value to an organization should be called an "internship" and treated as free space labor. I don't care how "valuable" that "experience" is, if an organization benefits or profits from that person's work, they should pay them for it.
ReplyDeleteOnly someone independently wealthy, or living off their parents who support them, can afford to indulge in an "internship". Anyone else who has rent or bills to pay, let alone a family to take care of, is not going to have the luxury of "volunteering"' instead of receiving a paycheck.
Isn't this special?
ReplyDelete