Kenney seeking unpaid interns while calling for higher minimum wage

Democratic mayoral candidate Jim Kenney's campaign is doubling down on an unpaid fellowship program it launched earlier in the summer. The campaign is now accepting applications for a fresh round of volunteers to work during the fall in the run up to the Nov. 3 general election.

Yet it's a strategy at odds with Kenney's platform. During his successful run through the Democratic primary campaign, he spoke about the need for a $15-an-hour minimum wage and the larger problem of rising income inequality.

The campaign defended the program.

"Our fellowship program offers educational opportunities, and in no way does the work of our interns substitute or fill-in for gaps in paid staff," said Kenney spokesperson Lauren Hitt. "The fellowship is designed for those who may be employed elsewhere and can volunteer under 20 hours a week."

Hitt noted that Republican mayoral hopeful Melissa Murray Bailey has also solicited unpaid volunteers.

Bailey's spokesperson acknowledged they employed "a couple volunteers" who worked on the campaign after hours but disputed the comparison.

"I think there's a big difference between our couple interns and their whole program. We're a small budget campaign," said Bailey's campaign coordinator Sean Michael. "They have a hundred times more funding than us because of their union backers."

Kenney spent much of that war chest during the primary — reporting in June that he had just $113,000 left over from the more than $1.3 million he raised.

But Hitt said the campaign was not looking for another round of unpaid interns because of financial stresses. She told Philly.com in an email that Kenney "now had more on hand than at the last filing."

"Our post-primary fundraising has allowed us to retain all of our staff on payroll and bring on new staff members," Hitt said.

However, she said the applicants to the fellowship program would still receive something of value.

"Our summer and fall fellowship programs teach Philadelphians of all ages from all across the city to become community organizers, so that after the program, they can make lasting change in their neighborhoods," Hitt said.

Citing the value of experience isn't sufficient for some critics.

Just this week, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was raked over the coals on Twitter and the New York Post's editorial section for offering her unpaid interns the "chance to make history" (while drinking loads of "free coffee") in return for working on a multi-billion dollar political campaign.

The Republican candidate Bailey's campaign saw at least one positive from Kenney's call for free workers.

"I guess we're now in the race if they're gonna start pointing fingers at us," said Michael.