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Hey, Friend-

Welcome to the fight to end unpaid internships. We’re so glad you’re here.

You might have been getting our emails for a while, or you might have just joined us. Either way, we’re snowed in here in DC, and we wanted to say “hi” because it’s great to have you standing with us. We’re going to be fighting unpaid internships in every state in the union: at for-profits, non-profits, and in the government.

Why? Because in America, economic opportunity belongs to everyone, not just those that can afford to work for free.

We know that too many people aren’t getting the paychecks they’ve earned, because they’re told they have to “pay their dues.” We know that even more people are having their dreams denied because they can’t afford to take the jobs that don’t pay. But we also know that people like you across America are standing with us, and are ready to fight for fair pay.

It’s going to be long fight, but we’re not backing down. We’re working hard to end unpaid internships everyday, come rain, shine, or snow. Can you chip in $5 to help fund our grassroots campaigns?

Thank you fighting with us. When we fight, we win.

Mikey Franklin
Co-Founder and Executive Director

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/Documents/fox_interns.pdf

NEW NONPROFIT ORGANIZES AGAINST UNPAID INTERNSHIPS: A new nonprofit dedicated to fighting unpaid internships is in the process of staffing up and organizing. Mikey Franklin and Kelley Stieh — both political organizers by trade — have formed Fair Pay Campaign. Franklin formerly worked on the Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign in 2012, while Stieh is a Minnesota-based labor organizer. Franklin was inspired to start the group while hunting around for work on the Hill — where he was told that an unpaid internship was the best route for someone who had no previous Hill experience. The group expects to launch in earnest in late summer — but it’s already received an early infusion of seed money and is running an early campaign in on New York University’s campus.

The group has no plans to register to lobby. “The legislation’s already there. We’re pushing for enforcement,” Franklin told PI. They aim to put (paid) organizers in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. — where the bulk of unpaid internships take place.