Sanders, Booker pledge to pay campaign interns

Presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) announced they would pay interns working for their campaigns.

On Wednesday, Sanders became the first presidential candidate to sign a pledge committing to paying the interns working on his 2020 campaign.

.@BernieSanders was the first #2020 candidate to sign our #2020InternPledge. Sen. Sanders was the only candidate paying his campaign interns in 2016 and has been a leader in offering paid internships in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/q96tvUJk4F

— Pay Our Interns (@payourinterns) May 8, 2019

Sanders wrote on Twitter that unpaid internships are “fundamentally unfair to the many bright young people who simply cannot afford to work for no wages.”

Unpaid internships are fundamentally unfair to the many bright young people who simply cannot afford to work for no wages. We must recognize that work is work and every worker must be paid a decent and living wage. https://t.co/lIsEEJZrt8

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 8, 2019

Booker followed suit on Thursday with a photo of him signing the #2020InternPledge.

“Justice for all isn’t possible if we continue to support a system of unpaid internships—we need to level the playing field to ensure everyone has an opportunity to achieve upward mobility,” Booker wrote on Twitter.

I am proud to sign the #2020InternPledge to support @payourinterns. Justice for all isn’t possible if we continue to support a system of unpaid internships—we need to level the playing field to ensure everyone has an opportunity to achieve upward mobility. pic.twitter.com/5paHbvliWu

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 9, 2019

{mosads}Both Booker and Sanders already paid their interns before the pledge, HuffPost reported.

The initiative was unveiled Wednesday by Pay Our Interns (POI), a nonprofit advocating for paid internships and expanded youth workforce development.

The pledge was sent to all confirmed presidential candidates, regardless of party, the group said in a statement.

The two-part pledge commits signers to offering paid internship opportunities as well as raise awareness around the issue of unpaid internships.

“Unpaid internships create a systemic barrier for individuals that prevents them from taking advantage of opportunities their rich counterparts can afford,” POI co-founder Carlos Mark Vera wrote in the statement. “We also know that the prevalence of unpaid internships disproportionately affects people of color. Pay Our Interns looks forward to working alongside the candidates that decide to sign onto our pledge. Their public commitment will push this issue to the forefront of the ongoing national conversation.”

Spokespeople for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, confirmed to HuffPost that they would also sign the pledge.

A spokesperson for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told the outlet that the campaign internship program will be paid once it is launched.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro’s campaign in January pledged to pay all campaign workers, even interns, at least $15 an hour.