A scene from the 2012 Republican National Convention
The Cleveland 2016 Host Committee, the non-profit existing to help the Republican Party put on its 2016 convention, has learned a tough lesson: You don't get to pay
substantially under minimum wage for a full-time job just because you slap the label "fellowship" on it.
The Host Committee's listing for a "volunteer coordinator fellow" described what is by any standards a regular full-time job, with extended hours in the run-up to the convention next summer. For this, they were offering $1,000 a month—working out to $5.76 an hour in a state with an $8.10 minimum wage—and no benefits.
An official with the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee initially said on Wednesday evening that the position was intended to be a paid internship. But David Gilbert, president and CEO of the Host Committee, said in a Thursday email that the organization will pull the listing after NEOMG asked about the position's low pay. [...]
"We did post the position before consulting with legal counsel, something we realize should have been done," Gilbert said. "While the position was meant to be a fellowship, after checking with our legal counsel and further discussion, the decision has been made to re-post the position as a full-time staff function with compensation that reflects the job description. We are removing the listing on indeed.com and will be re-posting the position soon. We apologize for any confusion that has resulted."
The thing about paid internships is you have to at least pretend they're going to be educational for the intern. Spending a year "recruiting volunteers and providing direction, coordination and consultation for all volunteer functions" full-time is just work. Which means trying to get away with paying less than the minimum wage would be illegal, so really they should be grateful for getting away with mild embarrassment in the media.
But what else do you expect from a party in which many leading politicians don't believe there should even be a minimum wage?