Intern Nation

by hermeticist Thu May 19, 2011 8:32 pm

This is an interesting piece in the current London Review of Books on the growth of intern labor.

http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2011-May/129846.html

On Perlin’s estimate, corporate America enjoys a $2 billion annual subsidy from unpaid internships. He also confirms that a large number of full-time
jobs have been converted into internships, while formerly paid internships have morphed into unpaid ones.

Disney pioneered the art of subsisting on intern labour. Since its Magic Kingdom College Program was established in 1980, its Florida theme parks have been largely staffed by an army of sign-ups, many of whom now come from China, paying their own way to Orlando to end up cleaning toilets outside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.