What if I told you there’s a multi-billion dollar industry that pays its laborers pennies on the dollar?
What if I told you these laborers work 50-60 hours a week?
What if I told you these laborers don’t receive workers compensation for being injured on the job?
What if I told you these laborers are overwhelmingly from minority backgrounds?
What if I told you many of these laborers come from the lowest-rung of the socioeconomic ladder?
What if I told you the supervisors of these laborers have salaries that average $2 million a year?
What if I told you the executives of this multi-billion dollar industry make over $1.5 million a year?
What if I told you these laborers have a maximum wage, instead of a minimum wage?
What if I told you these laborers sometimes don’t have enough money for food?
What if I told you these laborers can be punished for receiving “improper benefits” such as too much pasta?
What if I told you these laborers have a higher than average chance of suffering brain damage from their job?
What if I told you these laborers have no say on their working conditions?
What if I told you these laborers can’t leave their job and get a new one within one year because it is against the industry’s rules, not the law?
What if I told you these laborers are in higher demand than people with Harvard degrees?
What if I told you these laborers must wear promotional uniforms to make their supervisor money, but they see none of that money?
What if I told you these laborers are used in marketing campaigns, but receive $0 in compensation?
What if I told you these laborers meet the definition of indentured servants?
What if I told you economists from Stanford consider this industry a cartel?
What if I told you this multi-billion dollar industry received tax-exempt status from the government?
What if I told you this multi-billion dollar industry was the NCAA?
Sean Fitzgerald
senior
Dillon Hall
April 11
