Swarthmore College Resident Assistants file for union recognition with OPEIU-153

Today, 93% of Swarthmore College’s Resident Assistants submitted a petition to President Valerie Smith to announce their formation of a union with OPEIU-153 and to demand voluntary recognition.

Swarthmore College Resident Assistants (RA’s) are undergraduate student workers who have been hired by the College to live in the dorms and oversee anywhere between 20-40 residents. Although the College Admin claims that this job requires 15-20 hours per week, as stated in the RA Manual, RAs have seen the position become an overwhelming, 24/7 job. Meant to serve as a touchstone between residents and campus resources, RAs live where they work and often feel the edges between their personal and work lives blur out of their control.

To maintain their jobs, RAs are required to arrive early on campus during holidays, attend weekly mandatory staff meetings, biweekly one on one meetings with Area Coordinators, design and create monthly bulletin boards, create ‘sociograms’ which map the social and highly personal relationships of residents, hold monthly programs, weekly office hours, work “On Call” shifts from 8PM-8AM several times per semester during which RAs are expected to walk through as many as 5 dorm buildings at 10PM and 2AM, and attend monthly training sessions on the weekend in addition to their academic responsibilities. During summer training sessions, RAs were expected to attend mandatory presentations and training workshops, some days running 12-hours back-to-back. The College defines this job as a RA’s “principal non-academic commitment” which should be prioritized over engagement in student volunteering or other activities. Due to the position's expectations and demands, RAs seek the approval of their supervisor Area Coordinators if they wish to be employed in other positions.

In addition to the work put in to maintain the job, if Resident Advisors are as little as one minute late to staff-meetings, Area Coordinators assign them an extra 12-hour “On-Call” shift. Moreover, RAs have consistently been treated with disrespect and belittlement from their supervisor Area Coordinators, who fail to acknowledge the academic and personal lives beyond RAs commitment to their jobs. 

“As a first time RA this year, I entered this position with strong enthusiasm and excitement, as I have learned the importance of building community and being a real accessible mentor for freshmen living away from home for the first time. After the first few months, those feelings have been dampened with frustration and disappointment not only at the (lack of) compensation, but the way my work has been dismissed by my supervisors. The lack of understanding, warmth, and consideration on behalf of the administration, coupled with the outright disrespect towards RAs during training sessions has forced me to question whether my efforts are worth it. As a school that prides on itself for its forward thinking and progressiveness, the irony in this experience has been tangible. My hope is that through working in solidarity, we can earn dignity and respect for our labor as both workers and students in this institution.” 

– Leia Immanuel, Swarthmore College Resident Assistant, since 2023

Despite all of this work, the position is unpaid - instead, the College compensates them with a stipend meant to cover housing (excluding board fees). However, the total amount falls short of the cost of room after tax, with no guarantee that RAs will be able to maintain the position throughout the year. When an RA is assigned an extra shift, has to deal with a resident in crisis, or covers for a sick colleague, there is no additional compensation or support. Further, many students take on the RA job as a means of financial assistance to allow them to attend the College, where tuition is over $60,000 per year. 

By unionizing, the Swarthmore Workers Union hopes to gain more power over their labor, achieve security and stability for themselves and for future Resident Assistants. This will be the first group of unionized workers in the century and a half long history of Swarthmore College

“We, the RAs, are moving as a whole to take power into our own hands. The current work contract that RAs are under is incredibly unjust and ensures that RAs have very little control over their own work conditions. It gives broad, sweeping power to our management, the Area Coordinators (ACs), which makes them feel comfortable flippantly disrespecting us, assigning us extra work well beyond what is specifically listed in the work contract, and dishing out disproportionate punishments that pit RAs against one another. 

The RA position is a precarious one, where our housing in school dorms is dependent on our ability to keep the job. The ACs have now implemented a mid-year performance review, where it is emphasized we could get fired for not meeting incredibly vague criteria, and it's frequently and casually used to threaten the RAs.

I am tired of the disrespect and disregard for the RAs' time and energy. This union is a way for us to establish our self-worth on our own terms. The union gives the power to student-employees, allows us to negotiate with the school for what is just. Our power rests in our collectivity, and it's about time we exercised this power.” – Christopher Folk, RA since 2021

There is a rally scheduled for Friday 11/10at 1:00 pm in front of Parrish Hall where RA’s will be speaking out about their working conditions and demanding that the Swarthmore administration recognize their union with no delays.