University of Michigan Social Work Students Strike to Win Pay For Internships
World Socialist Web Site • By Tim Rivers • March 20, 2022
“Students at the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work (MSW) are walking out of classes today to demand compensation for their internships, which are currently unpaid and required for graduation. There are approximately 700 students in the social work program.
Matt Dargay, one of the organizers of the Payment for Placement movement at the University of Michigan, spoke with Tim Rivers from the World Socialist Web Site about Monday’s demonstration and the demands of the P4P organization.
TR: Matt, first, thank you for speaking with the World Socialist Web Site. Could you explain the situation that students of social work confront? What provoked your demonstration?
MD: The situation right now is that social work students must fulfill a field placement, which is basically an internship, as a condition for graduation. The vast majority of social work students work a minimum of 900 hours at our field placement site completely without pay. The majority of us are doing the type of tasks an MSW therapist or case manager or other social worker does.”
