a for-profit enterprise should not be asking for volunteers for anything. that is a moral position i take.
second, the loss of dignity and monetary devaluation was referring to his day job. the one that he ostensibly makes a living from.
Why do you hate freedom? Think someone's going to steal your job? Are you one of those union members who freak out if someone is setting up at a convention center and plugs in their own laptop or moves their own chair? :P
(Now if they're fraudulent and misrepresent the volunteering, that's another matter.)
They are 'volunteers' in the sense they are not an event staff handled some company. Penny Arcade decided they wanted some event staff made up of people that were interested in making the event a success because they were also part of it.
Free work for a weekend seems quite different than systematic under compensation in your day-to-day job.