The Boston University ResLife Union began its strike Aug. 31, as students began moving into residence halls for the fall semester. The first day of undergraduate move-in was Aug. 28.
Since December 2023, the union has participated in 15 bargaining sessions with the University, according to a BU Residence Life FAQ. The most recent bargaining session was held on Aug. 5.
Liv Tambascio, a graduate resident assistant in South Campus, said that the union has yet to sign a contract, despite reaching some agreements during bargaining sessions. She said this strike, unlike the four-day Boston Marathon weekend strike, will be indefinite.
“Until we have a contract, we won’t reap any of the benefits,” Tambascio said.
The strike was authorized on Aug. 30 with 90% of union members voting in favor, according to an Instagram post from the ResLife Union. ResLife workers began their strike at 9 a.m. the next morning.
BU Dean of Students Jason Campbell-Foster wrote in an email on Aug. 31 to all students living on campus that the University’s “focus remains on ensuring that [students] receive a high-level of service and care” as they move in for the semester.
“Not all GRAs, GHAs and RAs will withhold their labor during the strike,” Campbell-Foster wrote in the email. “Some will choose to be available to you as they always have been, while others will not.”
Resident assistants may direct students to professional staff in each neighborhood who will remain available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Campbell-Foster.
When asked for comment, Campbell-Foster referred The Daily Free Press to the Aug. 31 email to students living on-campus and statements made in BU Today.
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that RAs who chose to work and residence life staff assisted with move-in.
Bridgette Bennis, an RA in Warren Towers, chose not to participate in the strike but said she fully supports her coworkers who do. She voiced concerns about the timing of the decision to strike, which she felt was “rushed” and left insufficient time for her to inform her residents about its implications.
“The timing was well-thought-out because BU needs us for move-in,” Bennis said. “However, these freshmen are coming to us, and this is likely their first time ever moving into a dorm.”
“I want to give them the support that they might need,” Bennis continued.
The services of security assistants and the BU Police Department will not be impacted by the ResLife strike, according to Campbell-Foster. Facilities-related issues can be directed to 617-353-2105, and other essential phone numbers can be found on the back of students’ Terrier Cards.
Tambascio said that while residents will have access to emergency services, they might miss out on community events and guidance in the absence of striking RAs.
“If we’re unsupported, we can’t create those events for them,” Tambascio said. “We’re hoping that we can get a contract soon so that we can foster that community early on in the semester.”
After the Boston Marathon weekend strike, BU agreed to the union’s proposal for Narcan training. This was a significant concession, as ResLife workers had not previously been offered this type of training and were prohibited from administering life-saving care to residents in an emergency situation.
“While I’m grateful that my employer has decided that I can, in fact, try to save peoples’ lives, it’s not enough,” Bennis said.
Bennis said the University was “dragging their feet” on articles regarding “deadnaming” — calling a person by a name they no longer use — and workplace harassment.
Tambascio said the union has many RAs who are transgender and have different preferred names, or who are international students and go by a different name in the United States.
Campbell-Foster wrote in the email to on-campus students that “significant progress” has been made at previous bargaining sessions and that the University is awaiting counterproposals from the union.
On Aug. 29, the union presented seven articles to the University. Currently, BU is waiting for a response from the union on 10 articles, according to the FAQ.
Riley wrote that the University’s goal is to “reach a fair agreement on a contract” at tomorrow’s bargaining session with the union.
Tambascio said the union is hoping to address as many articles as possible at tomorrow’s bargaining session, and that the University will provide additional bargaining dates for the future.
“It will be up to the workers to decide what goes down and when we want to stop striking,” Tambascio said. “I know that the BU community wants to see the RAs succeed.”
