Intern Advocacy Groups Target Fashion Week 2013

[New York/London] March 4, 2013 - In a series of back-to-back actions at the New York and London Fashion Weeks (February 7-19, 2013), activists from Intern Labor Rights (New York), SUARTS (the Student Union of the University of Arts London) and Intern Aware (London) collaborated to campaign for fair, paid internships within the fashion industry.

The actions were met by extensive press coverage and commentary (see below for links).

“Devil Pays Nada” campaign activists bring their “Pay Your Interns” tote bags to Somerset House in Aldwych, London during London Fashion Week, February 15, 2013.

In New York, Intern Labor Rights modeled its action on the common fashion industry practice of handing out promotional “swag bags.” The group prepared hundreds of such bags containing robin-blue boxes inside of which were “Pay Your Interns” buttons, paper slips with campaign-relevant Twitter hashtags and “What’s Wrong with Unpaid Internships?” flyers. The bags were distributed outside shows at both the main Fashion Week tent at Lincoln Center and in the Chelsea arts district. “Frankly, I was expecting lame pantyhose or maybe chapstick or something when I opened the box,” wrote Fashionista.com blogger Tyler McCall, “Instead, there was a pin that read “Pay Your Interns” and some folded up literature about why unpaid internships are wrong and how you can get involved in the movement.”

Activists from Intern Labor Rights performing a “‘Pay Your Interns’ Swag Bag Drop” at the Kenneth Cole show in Manhattan’s Chelsea Arts District, February 8, 2013.

According to Chloe Wyma at Blouin artinfo.com, “The most common criticism of Occupy Wall Street is that it lacked a coherent ideological program and tangible objectives. But the goals of Action Against Unpaid Internships are straightforward. Coupling high-level litigation with grass-roots advocacy, they aim to end the epidemic of unpaid internships once and for all.” (Intern Labor Rights is a subgroup of Arts & Labor, a working group that formed during Occupy Wall Street.)

In London, the “Devil Pays Nada” campaign orchestrated by SUARTS, working alongside Intern Aware created hundreds of “Pay Your Intern” tote bags that they filled with a variety of materials advocating for fair, paid internships and information for interns on their working rights and the National Minimum Wage legislation. The bags were distributed at Somerset House in Aldwych, London, to guests of the events. “We underestimated the popularity of the totes,” says organizer Fairooz Aniqa, “We ran out incredibly fast, and the bags were extremely popular not just with the interns working (for free) at the event, but also with people who owned their own businesses and worked in senior positions in various fashion houses. We have built up a great momentum and this is now a topic on everybodys lips, and it is essential that we keep pressuring employers to reconsider their use of unpaid interns.”

SUARTS and Intern Aware activists making their point at London Fashion Week, February 15, 2013

“The campaign has collated information from students and fashion websites to gain evidence of free work schemes at leading design houses,” wrote Vanessa Thorpe in the Guardian’s Observer webpage. “One design student told Intern Aware of an unpaid placement with a famous label, partly based in London, where the interns slept under the workshop table.”

In the midst of these outreach actions in New York and London, former unpaid intern Dajia Davenport filed suit for back wages from a major fashion world player, Elite Model Management, a modeling agency that has represented figures such as Cindy Crawford and Gisele Bundchen. The potential class action suit was filed in a Manhattan federal court on February 15, 2013 and if successful could reach $50 million in damages.

Declaring the Fashion Week actions a clear success in the campaign for fair, paid internships, Intern Labor Rights, SUARTS and Intern Aware will be working together to coordinate future campaigns in culture-producing industries.

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“Pay Your Interns” Swag Bags prepared for New York Fashion Week 2013.

The following groups have committed to supporting each other in the global fight to end unpaid internships:

Canadian Intern Association
Génération Précaire (Paris)
Geneva Interns Association
Hague Interns Association
Intern Aware (London)
Intern Labor Rights (New York City & Washington, DC)
Precarious Workers Brigade (London)
Students’ Union of University of the Arts London

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Selected Press:

“Occupy Movement To Protest Unpaid Internships At Fashion Week”
Buzzfeed.com, Amy Odell, January 31, 2013

“Occupy Wall Street Takes on Unpaid Internships, Will Protest at NYFW”
Fashionista.com, Dhani Mau, February 1, 2013

“‘The Devil Pays Nada’: Occupy Wall Street Protests Intern Abuse in Fashion”
Blouin artinfo.com, Chloe Wyma, February 7, 2013

“Occupy Wall Street Protesters Giving Out ‘Free Samples’ At Fashion Week”
Fashionista.com, Tyler McCall, February 8, 2013

“#devilpaysnada : les stagiaires piratent la Fashion Week”
L’Express, Le Boulevardiers, lilzeon, February 8, 2013

“#devilspaynada : interns vs fashion ancient elites”
hit-bag.com, February 8, 2013

“London fashion week demonstration will highlight plight of industry’s unpaid interns”
The Guardian (The Observer), Vanessa Thorpe, February 9, 2013

“Swag bag message to NY Fashion Week attendees: ‘Pay Your Interns’”
Minding the Workplace, David Yamada, February 13, 2013

“Unpaid Internships Are a Rich-Girl Problem—and Also a Real Problem”
The Atlantic, Phoebe Maltz Bovy, February 13, 2013

http://www.nrc.nl/carriere/2013/02/20/vandaag-in-het-katern-carriere-the-devil-pays-nada/
NRC Next magazine, Netherlands, Alex van der Hulst, February 20, 2013

Press Release: NY Fashion Week

Attention Press and Public

Intern Labor Rights (New York), SUARTS (the Student Union of the University of Arts London) and Intern Aware (London) have come together in mutual support and solidarity. We invite your attention and critical eye to the widespread use of illegally unpaid workers in the fashion industry. This rampant wage theft, international in scope, is now being met with an international response:

In anticipation of our one-year anniversary, Intern Labor Rights is lovingly preparing hundreds of Intern Swag Bags to be given out at Fashion Week events over the February 8–10, 2013, weekend. To get your hands on an Intern Swag Bag, or to help us distribute, email us at intern.labor.rights@gmail.com and find out where we’ll be during the weekend. To track our progress follow #devilpaysnada and #payinterns on Twitter, or find us on Facebook.

And to join in the fight for what’s right, to insist that those who profit from labor pay for its worth, to make your voice heard… email us and find out when and where our next weekly meeting will be, or join our group on Facebook.

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Intern Labor Rights is supported in the New York Fashion Show “Pay Your Interns” initiative by SUARTS and Intern Aware, who are making London Fashion Week plans as part of the long-running and successful “Devil Pays Nada” campaign.

The following groups have committed to supporting each other in the global fight to end unpaid internships:

Canadian Intern Association • Génération Précaire (Paris)
Geneva Interns Association • Hague Interns Association • Intern Aware (London)
Intern Labor Rights (New York City & Washington, DC)
Precarious Workers Brigade (London) • Students’ Union of University of the Arts London

PDF of the Press Release:

Report back from NYU Outreach!

Packed with pamphlets and our  increasingly popular “Pay Your Interns” buttons, on September 6th, 2012, the ILR team set out to hit the grounds of the  NYU Kimmel Center, host of their Fall 2012 Job & Internship Fair.  Stationed strategically outside the building, we found ourselves encountering a diverse array of responses towards our efforts. Our goal wasn’t necessarily to stop folks from taking on an unpaid internship, but to simply raise awareness about rights, regulations, and resources related to the issue. And well, being as this was our first-ever outreach event targeted specifically towards students, we were nervous, too.  So…how did people react to our presence?

 “Thanks, but this is the only way to get a real job! There’s no point in your work!”

Caution and irritation. What they forgot was that, according to one of the only known U.S. studies on this matter, unpaid internships lead to fewer job offers than paid internships .

“Yeah, I agree it’s messed up…but what else can we do?”

Helplessness. A majority agreed it was unfair, but just saw no other alternative or way around it. International students seemed to be the most interested, expressing that, other than an on-campus job, this was the only other option they could explore for job prospects (as instructued by the school).

“Sure it’s unfair, but it offers so much opportunity! I’m excited to learn something new!”

Perhaps it offers opportunity, but what kind, and at what expense? Will you be doing coffee errands, or learning how to write policy briefs? Do you live around the area you’re applying to, or will you have to find housing? How *guaranteed* are you to get connections, and a job?  Some students stated that NYU compensates for unpaid internships, and/or receive credit. Wait a minute…

• If you are getting credit,  you are paying your college for your unpaid internship.
• If your college is paying for it, they are simply taking the load off employers who do not want to pay you entry-level salary.

It is also very well possible that those who can afford housing and other expenses in an unpaid internship might just possess a class advantage over those who cannot afford such expenses. 

 “YES! I’ve had [or known someone] with a bad experience. How can I get involved?”

Need we say more? =)

Regardless, many people seemed open to share their stories, be they fair attendees, or strangers on the street. We learned a lot from a ton of people, and we can’t wait for our next adventure! If you or anyone you know is heading out to another internship fair in the NYC metropolitan area, please contact us! Or, if you have a story, resources, or similar efforts you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you.

Interns: Know Your Rights! Outreach at NYU Kimmel Thursday 9/6 11AM-3PM

NYU students: Your Labor is Valuable!

NYU’s Wasserman Center for Career Development promotes their Fall Job + Internship Fair as “our largest fair of the year,” which “attracts NYU students of various majors interested in part-time and full-time opportunities as well as internships.”

While universities cultivate relationships with employers, offering inexpensive or free labor in exchange for legitimizing overhead-free credits, they neglect to inform their students of their due from the internship: a significant educational experience, and in certain cases, pay. Many students haven’t been exposed to an alternative view of the internship experience, one that takes account of the broader implications of the internship economy into which their school presses them.

Join us outside the Kimmel Center (60 Washington Sq. South, between LaGuardia Place and Thomspon St.) during the hours of the Internship Fair (11AM–3PM). We’ll be talking to anyone who’s curious about the rights of interns and the effects of internships on the workforce. We’ll also be handing out flyers, and distributing our outrageously popular “Pay Your Interns” pins!

Intern Happy Hour! Thursday, June 28, 6PM

Current, former, and future interns and sympathizers – JOIN US FOR A DRINK!

$2 beers? 2-for-1 well drinks? Yes please!

On Thursday, June 28, 6-8PM we will meet at Double Down Saloon (14 Avenue A, at Houston) to chat about unpaid internships over appropriately affordable drinks.
Come swap stories about past and present internships, learn about intern rights in the workplace, and what we can each do to make the internship a better (and legal) experience in the long run.

Drop by if any of the following applies to you:
Are you an intern now? Were you ever an intern? Do you work with interns? Would you like to learn more about the rights of interns? Do you want to meet people who have come together to learn about legal internships?
…in other words, you’re all invited!

We’ll see you there!
(Look for us in the back patio, weather permitting)

Intern Labor Rights, OWS Arts & Labor