Resident Assistants at Tufts University announce union with OPEIU Local 153

Medford, MA — A supermajority of Resident Assistants (RAs) at Tufts University have announced their intention to form a union, the United Labor of Tufts RAs (ULTRA), with the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153. ULTRA has requested voluntary recognition from the University.

RAs at Tufts University have spent the last few months organizing their union of 145 RAs across the many on-campus residential halls and University-run houses. These student workers will join the growing number of undergraduate student workers represented by OPEIU. They also join the larger surge in organizing across higher education institutions, including recent public union campaigns among grad students all over the country.

For the past several years, RAs have been bringing forward concerns and requests to the Tufts Office of Residential Life & Living (ORLL) and are often met with inaction. This was particularly exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when RAs were faced with the duty to enforce COVID-19 policies within the residential halls amid the health risks that the ongoing public health emergency introduced into the job. Concerns voiced to administration were met with mixed responses, and Residential Assistants weathered the pandemic with inadequate support and no additional hazard compensation.

“We feel there’s a lack of support from the university–it’s been taxing on a lot of my fellow RAs, but we suck it up because we need the housing,” says RA Clarence Yeh. “Being an RA is an important position and responsibility, so it’s important that we also have a way to make our voices heard.”

Despite the valuable work they do for the Tufts community, RAs continue to receive no wages or any fringe benefits beyond a room credit and are required to attend 80 hours of unpaid training annually. To cope with this inadequate compensation, many Tufts RAs seek second or third jobs on- or off-campus to meet their needs.  RAs have further experienced a lack of flexibility in scheduling around training and RA Council meetings, while in turn being expected to be readily flexible to the requests of the Office of Residential Life & Living (ORLL). Resident Assistants have little to no say over their employment contract, which contains ambiguities and is subject to unforeseen changes at the discretion of the ORLL. Many RAs seek the position because they cannot afford housing without the room credit offered by the job, leaving them to choose between housing security and the job risk of speaking up for change. The University has committed to ensuring equity for its marginalized communities, but has sadly fallen short of this duty with regard to its Resident Assistants.

“We are amazed by the tenacity of these workers who not only work day and night to protect and build community for their peers, but who do so while completing rigorous coursework, participating in clubs, competing on athletic teams, and more,” says OPEIU Lead Organizer Grace Reckers. “They answer calls in the middle of the night. They handle incidents of alcohol poisoning, mental health crises, roommate conflict, and everything else that keeps the resident halls running. Union representation will ensure the protection these workers deserve to speak up for themselves and their coworkers and to earn the kind of compensation necessary in such a strenuous job setting.”

The United Labor of Tufts RAs, or ULTRA, has a rally planned for Monday, November 14th, at noon. They await the University’s response to their request for voluntary recognition. Otherwise, it’s on to a secret ballot election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Follow ULTRA on Twitter and Instagram at @tuftsraunion and check out its website at tuftsraunion.com.

OPEIU Local 153, a local of the Office and Professional Employees International Union, represents employees in nonprofit organizations, technology, credit unions, hospitals, insurance agencies, colleges and universities, hotels, administrative offices and more. OPEIU is committed to advancing economic justice for working people no matter their occupation. Most recently, OPEIU Local 153 successfully won a union with the Wesleyan University Residential Life student workers and have an upcoming election with the Barnard University RAs.