"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."
On Sat, Apr 2, 2011 at 12:39 PM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
> I don't know that it's a question of desperation, you have to have a
> certain amount of money to work for free.
>
> Joanna
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mark DeLucas"
>
> Yeah, no sympathy for those desperate enough to do so.
>
> 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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> >
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