Boston University residential life workforce announced their formation of a union at a rally in front of the George Sherman Union on Wednesday afternoon.
Resident assistants, graduate resident assistants and graduate housing assistants publicly expressed that BU needs to improve working conditions, including more expansive worker protections.
Bill Marx, a member of the Service Employees International Union Local 509, a union organization that represents nearly 20,000 workers, said that although BU prides itself on promoting diversity of voices, workers’ voices remain unheard.
“[Workers’] voices are not heard, and they’re only heard when you come together, and organize and form a union,” Marx said. “The idea that BU out of the goodness of its heart is going to be able to do things they’re going to be beneficial for you and improve your lives … I can tell you through experience, don’t believe it.”
Jaira Koh, a BU graduate worker in solidarity with the RA union, stated that RAs are in an “unenviable position” where the University is both the landlord and the boss.
ResLife’s RA on-call system allows 24-hour, seven days a week and 365 days a year availability to the students. According to the BU website, the team “manages one of the largest and most complex residence life programs at any university in the nation.”
The RA rally brought to light the current issue this program faces, specifically among student workers. Rukaiya Batliwala, a RA at the Kilachand Hall dorms, said she currently lives in an “active work construction site” and added they were not consulted when their office was moved a block away.
“We’re not consulted in making decisions that directly impact us, and not only our working conditions but our living conditions as well,” Batliwala said.
Spencer Hart-Thompson, a RA on Lower Bay State Road, said that he was promised by supervisors that he would be “fully accommodated” for his medical condition. However, Hart-Thompson claimed to have his accommodations repeatedly denied, even after appealing, and was retaliated against by his supervisor.
ResLife then restricted his ability to transfer to a location that would better suit his housing accommodations, he said in his speech.
“We have no medical leaves, no worker protections, no ability to take a second job without permission,” Kira Levenson, a GRA said.
The ResLife union said they hope to continue their efforts under the help of SEIU 509, the same union organizer that recently aided the BU Graduate Students Union.
“For ResLife workers, you have built a community here at BU, and now you’re going to build a union,” SEIU 509 President Dave Foley said.
Andrew Severance, a RA in Warren towers, spoke on the union’s next steps in an interview, including the potential of going to a National Labor Relations Board election.
“The number one barrier that I think is going to show up probably within the next few days is BU is going to not voluntarily recognize our union,” Severance said. “It just shows that BU isn’t ready for a solidarity effort among the [RAs] this year.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley did not respond to comment.
Campus Associate Editor Sophia Hebert contributed to the reporting of this article.
