Democrats addressing income inequality again.
Via Free Beacon:
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) reversed her policy last week of not paying campaign interns after 16 unpaid interns and three paid field organizers signed a letter earlier this month threatening to strike unless they were offered compensation for their work.
Jayapal’s campaign caved to their demands last week. It responded to the letter by agreeing to start a program to pay 12 interns an average of $18 per hour plus ORCA public transit cards, which satisfied the interns, according to Crosscut.
The letter focused on what has become an accepted reality among people concerned with equity: that unpaid internships create a privilege bias, with upper class and often white young people more able to participate than those who cannot afford to work without pay. Still, many politicians continue to rely on the unpaid labor of interns in search of experience, including some who acknowledge the harms of the practice.