Thanks to Jeff Wiggins for sending us this.
We call on the Department of Labor to crack down on unpaid internships. Sign the petition and tell the Labor Department: Interns should be paid for their work.
Each year, an estimated 2 million people intern in the United States. Of that group, just 6%–8% of Black and Latino students have paid internships, compared to 74% of their White peers.
And it’s estimated that an internship costs each student about $6,000 in housing, food and transportation costs. That puts unpaid internships out of reach for millions of young people, especially Black and Latino students.
The Labor Department has called for raising the minimum wage to reduce racial income gaps and has invested in apprenticeship programs as a job training strategy. But it also must set policies and dedicate resources to ensure all internships are paid.
Sign the petition demanding the Labor Department protect students from worker exploitation.
In Solidarity,
Team AFL-CIO