The youngest Congresswoman in U.S. history, representing the 21st district of new York, 29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called it a shame that many of her colleagues are hiring free interns.
The head of her staff Saikat Chakrabarti (Saikat Chakrabarti) told the Washington Post that they intend to pay their interns at least $15 per hour.
«It’s time to act – wrote Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter. – Very few members of Congress are in fact paying their interns. We will be one of these.»
Earlier this week, she urged Congress to provide more money to their employees «wages not below the subsistence level».
In his Monday tweet Congresswoman wrote that when she went for a late dinner, she was able to communicate with the staff. According to Ocasio-Cortez, many of them told her that they were members of Congress, but they have to do two jobs.
«It’s a shame. Congress needs to raise the [membership benefits], so we can pay staff actual wages for DC» — she wrote, adding that this situation has arisen only because the Republicans want to make a statement about fiscal responsibility.
It is unjust for Congress to budget a living wage for ourselves, yet rely on interns unpaid & underpaid overworked staff just bc Republicans want to make a statement about “fiscal responsibility.”
If that’s the case, they can cut down on staff to pay them well. Or raise the MRA.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 3, 2018
Cortez is an ardent opponent of the administration of the trump, and in this regard her contention was the address exactly of the Republicans. But according to a study conducted in June 2017 the company Pay Our Interns, but in reality, they hire unpaid interns less than their democratic colleagues.
The office of minority leader in the Senate Chuck Schumer told Rolling Stone that since January, they will offer a stipend to their interns.
Earlier Ocasio-Cortez lamented that he could not afford to rent an apartment in Washington (D. C.) before it in January to take the oath.
