The history of journalism has almost always included internships — paid and unpaid. It's an excellent way for a novice journalist to learn more about reporting and writing while proving to the editor that they could handle the pace of a newsroom.
Internships are still prevalent in the journalism world, and it seems everyone else has caught on to the benefits. Interns get the opportunity to learn and work in their chosen field while companies can test-drive a potential employee.
President Obama along with many other Americans believe the internship situation has gotten out of hand. Some companies are abusing the relationship for free labor. Interns are people, too, and should not be taken advantage of because of the current economic crisis.
Unpaid internship programs in the United States are designed to be an educational experience for the worker. They are not meant to provide a free workforce. It is not fair that companies are exploiting the system and the interns without any intention of providing for the young people in their employ.
The New York Times last week reported tales of interns sweeping floors and spraying door handles with hand sanitizer during their time at companies. These type of tasks don't seem educational in the least.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unemployed persons in March was 15 million, and the unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent. Using interns to do the work that employees would do clearly displaces workers, which only leads to higher unemployment rates.
Students and unemployed workers are not going to stop signing up for and competing internships. Now more than ever they need the experience on their résumé to help with the continuing job search.
The data also shows that most interns will not report the companies that are abusing the program. It is too risky to file a complaint about a company when one is trying to find a job or at the least secure a positive recommendation.
The desire to compete in the workforce combined with that fear to report abuse of the internship program has resulted in negative consequences on top of the lack of pay.
Kathryn Edwards, a researcher at the Economic Policy Institute and co-author of a new study on internships told The New York Times last week "a serious problem surrounding unpaid interns is they are often not considered employees and therefore are not protected by employment discrimination laws."
She defended her statement with a story of a female intern who filed a sexual harassment complaint. Edwards said the case was dismissed because the intern was not an employee.
Unpaid employees, displaced workers and sexual harassment cases are all repercussions of internship abuse. We hope the exploitation of people ends soon before a program with solid benefits is eliminated.
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