WEST VILLAGE — A group of young activists who work in the fashion and retail industries stormed Fashion's Night Out Thursday in protest of what they call the industry's over-reliance on the labor of unpaid interns.
The Retail Action Project's first-ever Interns' Night Out crashed champagne-fueled street parties in the West Village and Meatpacking District with chants of "pay your workers" and songs by ragtag activist marching band Rude Mechanical Orchestra.
"There are fewer and fewer entry-level positions in the fashion industry, and paid workers are being replaced by unpaid interns," said RAP's executive director, Carrie Gleason. And the problem is more than just the result of a tough economy, she said.
"Internships are great, but they're supposed to help you move up," Gleason said. "What we're seeing, though, is that there's reliance on interns to do essential work."
The Midtown-based group, which has 1,200 members, passed out "goodie bags" filled with information about interns' rights and wore white T-shirts that read "Starving Intern: Hungry for Opportunity," and other slogans.
The band played Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and stopped to chant "pay your workers" between verses.
RAP member Barbara Guzman, 28, said she has an associate's degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology and wants to work in fashion showroom sales, but that she has been unable to land anything but unpaid internships.
"I thought, 'What am I doing wrong?'" she said. "I did everything I thought I was supposed to do — went to school, got internships, everything."
Under the Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act, internships should be educational, should not displace regular employees and should not "derive immediate advantage" from interns.
A 22-year-old unpaid intern for a stylist, who declined to provide her name, threw her arms over her head and screamed "I'm an intern!" when she heard the band and saw the group's signs.
"Interning sucks," she said. "At least people are coming out and having fun."
RAP member and clothing and accessories designer Pierre "Bedazler" René, 37, said he has heard countless horror stories about fashion interns being used almost exclusively to run errands and work in warehouses. But he said they should speak up and ask for the experience they want.
"Interns don't realize that they are in a power position," he said. "They're the ones who will be leading these companies in a few years."
A representative from Vogue, who said the company had a street permit for the block of Bleecker Street where RAP set up a table, asked the group to leave. They ultimately relocated to the Meatpacking District.
Gleason said the flash mob was not targeting Vogue.
"The whole industry is responsible for setting standards," she said.
RAP hopes to make the protest an annual event.
