On Fri, Apr 1, 2011 at 7:34 PM, Mr. X <from_alamut at yahoo.com> wrote:
> people who work for capitalists for free are scabs and should be treated as
> such.
>
>
> peace
>
> Jim Davis
> Ozark Bioregion, USA, Planet Gaia
> check out my books at:
> http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=141735
>
> --- On Fri, 4/1/11, c b <cb31450 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> From: c b <cb31450 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [lbo-talk] Von Hayek was wrong
> To: "lbo-talk" <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>, "Forum for the discussion of
> theoretical issues raised by Karl Marx and the thinkers he inspired" <
> marxism-thaxis at greenhouse.economics.utah.edu>
> Date: Friday, April 1, 2011, 9:51 AM
>
>
> As Christopher Carrico says:
> "The challenges of hiring and managing modern day serfs"
>
> So
> turns out that Friedrich von Hayek was wrong. It is capitalism, not
> communism, that is the road to serfdom."
>
> Charles
>
> http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/25/unpaid-jobs-the-new-normal/
>
> Unpaid jobs: The new normal?
> March 25, 2011 12:33 pm
>
> While businesses are generally wary of the risks of using unpaid
> labor, companies that have used free workers say it can pay off when
> done right.
>
> By Katherine Reynolds Lewis, contributor
>
> FORTUNE -- With nearly 14 million unemployed workers in America, many
> have gotten so desperate that they're willing to work for free. While
> some businesses are wary of the legal risks and supervision such an
> arrangement might require, companies that have used free workers say
> it can pay off when done right.
>
> "People who work for free are far hungrier than anybody who has a
> salary, so they're going to outperform, they're going to try to
> please, they're going to be creative," says Kelly Fallis, chief
> executive of Remote Stylist, a Toronto and New York-based startup that
> provides Web-based interior design services. "From a cost savings
> perspective, to get something off the ground, it's huge. Especially if
> you're a small business."
>
> In the last three years, Fallis has used about 50 unpaid interns for
> duties in marketing, editorial, advertising, sales, account management
> and public relations. She's convinced it's the wave of the future in
> human resources. "Ten years from now, this is going to be the norm,"
> she says.
>
> Why do people work for free?
>
> The benefit unpaid labor offers to a business is pretty clear, but it
> can also give employees needed experience, a reference letter or even
> a self-esteem boost in a depressing economy.
>
> Cassie Johnson, a 27-year old in San Marcos, Calif., lost her job as
> an enrollment adviser for an online university in 2009 and was
> receiving unemployment benefits for a year before finding an assistant
> manager position at a Starbucks (SBUX) that's so far from her home she
> spends most of her pay on gas. Since starting a public relations
> internship in February, she feels a renewed sense of purpose.
>
> "I'm learning a lot and I feel really good about it. I'm happy. I feel
> relevant. I'm not making any money, so it's tough, but I feel it's
> setting me up for a career," Johnson says. "I only have $1.50 left in
> my checking account right now but I'm living with my boyfriend and
> he's been really good about supporting me."
>
> Sometimes, gratis work can even lead directly to a paid opportunity.
> Theresa Potter had been a marketing executive for 30 years when,
> during a career lull, she agreed to work on a few marketing
> initiatives for free at Coalescence, a Columbus, Ohio-based custom
> spice blending firm.
>
> "You have amassed a lot of this information and you like to share it.
> You like to see companies become successful," Potter says.
>
> Potter's year of volunteering at Coalescence paid off when the
> company's founders asked her to take the reins as president -- a
> salaried position. She felt comfortable taking the job because she'd
> become so familiar with the corporate culture and business goals.
>
> But is it legal?
>
> Unfortunately for many employers hoping to use unpaid labor to advance
> their business goals, there are strict federal and state rules that
> workers must be paid the minimum wage and paid for overtime, and must
> abide by other provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which
> applies to about 135 million people working for 7.3 million employers.
> The FLSA doesn't apply to companies with less than $500,000 in annual
> revenue unless they engage in interstate commerce -- which can be as
> little as accepting credit cards or placing phone calls to another
> state.
>
> "We don't have a system in this country where you can work for free,"
> says Jay A. Zweig, a partner who works in employment law at Bryan Cave
> in Phoenix. "The exceptions are very, very rare, and generally there
> are state laws that would fill in to say that, unless you meet
> specific criteria, you're going to get in trouble with the
> government."
>
> Unless someone is an intern, trainee or independent contractor, he or
> she has entered into an employment relationship when starting to work
> for a company. Federal and state authorities are alert for employers
> who may be taking advantage of the tight job market to skirt the
> rules.
>
> The Labor Department has a strict six-point test to determine whether
> someone is an intern or trainee and separate guidelines for
> independent contractors. An internship must primarily benefit the
> intern, who must work under close supervision and not displace
> existing staff. Independent contractors cannot work under the control
> of the employer or be economically dependent on the firm.
>
> "If a person has entered into an employment relationship with a
> company, they need to be paid for their work," a U.S. Labor Department
> spokesperson says. "We stepped up enforcement to ensure these
> businesses are complying with FLSA. We've hired an additional 250
> investigators."
>
> With the additional federal scrutiny, unpaid arrangements such as
> auditions or tryouts are even less likely to pass muster than in the
> past, says John Thompson, a partner at employment law firm Fisher &
> Phillips in Atlanta.
>
> "A lot of employers don't get that the law is not about personal
> responsibility or agreements between consenting adults; it's about
> getting the pay to people as the law requires," Thompson says.
>
> Companies that are found violating the law will likely have to provide
> back pay, monetary penalties up to $1,100 per violation and damages
> that equal the amount of wages, Thompson says.
>
> The challenges of hiring and managing modern day serfs
>
> Like others who have used unpaid labor, Remote Stylist's Kelly Fallis
> recommends beginning with a very specific job description and
> conducting a thorough hiring process to screen out people who aren't
> going to give their all for nothing.
>
> Candidates who respond to Fallis' postings on Craigslist and Facebook
> must fill out a detailed email questionnaire and undergo two rounds of
> phone interviews and three in-person interviews.
>
> Those who join Remote Stylist, whether they are students or
> out-of-work 20- or 30-somethings, must agree to a four-month run and
> sign a hiring contract. She asks interns to commit 30 hours a week;
> she has been burned in the past by people who were trying to juggle a
> paid job with their commitment to Remote Stylist.
>
> Believe it or not, the competition for some unpaid gigs can grow
> intense. John Lovejoy, managing director of multimedia fundraising
> company Nomadic Nation, received 300 responses for an editor position
> and 700 cameraman applications after only one week of advertising a
> project to drive from Germany to Cambodia in plastic cars. Not only
> were the positions unpaid, but successful candidates had to pay their
> own expenses.
>
> One editor and two cameramen ended up quitting before the end of the
> trek due to rough conditions and 16-hour workdays. In retrospect,
> Lovejoy says, "I would screen a little bit better and make sure they
> understood that this wasn't a vacation."
>
> Crystal Green, owner of Tallahassee-based event planning firm Your
> Social Butterfly, has had mixed results with unpaid staffers who
> didn't take their responsibilities seriously. She's even had to
> retrace the missteps of unpaid staffers and apologize to alienated
> business partners.
>
> "It's really hard as a single entrepreneur to babysit these people who
> need to learn. They're not making any money, so you have to be very
> patient," Green says.
>
> None of these employers said they were concerned that they were
> violating the law -- whether or not they actually are -- but most get
> what they pay for, raising the question of whether they'd be better
> off just going with the time-honored tradition of paying employees.
>
> "It's better to have one decently paid person than nine unpaid people
> who are making it so difficult because they're slacking off or they're
> difficult to manage," Green says.
>
> More from Fortune.com:
>
> * American teachers under attack
> * Stressed at work? How to move up or out
> * Federal jobs fast becoming an endangered species
>
> ------
>
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