Drexel University Resident Assistants file for union recognition with OPEIU 153!
Today, 80% of Drexel University’s 102 Resident Assistants submitted a petition to President John Fry to announce their formation of a union with OPEIU-153 and to demand voluntary recognition.
Drexel University’s Resident Assistants (RA’s) are undergraduate student workers who have been hired by the University to live in the dorms and enhance the student life experience by overseeing anywhere between 20-50 residents. Although this job is only classified as part-time, RAs have seen the position become an overwhelming, 24/7 job. To maintain their jobs, RAs are required to attend weekly mandatory staff meetings, respond to requests and emergencies during 12-hour duty shifts on weekdays and 24-hour duty shifts on weekends, write and file incident reports within 2 hours of the event, attend Fall and Winter training, attend Welcome week, assist in Resident hall move-in and move-out, communicate any resident concerns with the Resident Director, attend scheduled 1-on-1 meetings with the Resident Director, stay on campus for holiday break duty, complete weekly Community Development Reports, hold 1-on-1 meetings with each resident, design and create monthly bulletin boards, design and create name tags for each resident per term, hold several programs per term for residents, and “perform other duties as assigned” in addition to their academic or co-op responsibilities. The University reiterates that the only responsibility that comes before the RA position is academics or co-op yet requires that all Spring/Summer Co-op RAs resign 2 weeks early from their Co-op position.
“I didn’t become an RA for the housing or the dining. As most of the RA staff know, the compensation from the school is not worth it. I became an RA because I love mentoring other students and helping them through the same tough life decisions I faced in my freshman year. That’s the compensation that kept me going in this position. I dedicated a lot of my time in my college career towards this job because it truly made me happy, but putting your all into an organization who doesn’t reciprocate that same dedication into you is disheartening. All I wanted was to improve the first-year experience, but it seems that when I came to them as an individual they didn’t care. Hopefully now they’ll start caring more when their whole RA staff is united together.”
-Grace Knauss, class of 2024, RA since Fall 2021
Despite all of this work that is required for the position, the RAs are drastically undercompensated for their time and efforts. The University does not directly pay an RA for the hours they put into their job, but instead provides a compensation package. This package includes a dorm room for the academic school year (September-June), half of a meal plan, and a $1000 taxed stipend that is distributed over 10 months. The RAs receive no compensation for the time spent in training—2 week long training before the Fall term begins and a full day of training during a weekend in winter term. Each year during Fall training, the RAs have to fight the University to ensure that they are provided meals during their 8-hour long days. When an RA has to take an extra shift, deal with a resident in crisis, or cover for a sick colleague, there is no additional compensation or support. RAs who are required to work federal holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas do not receive any extra compensation, but instead the University encourages students who don’t celebrate those holidays to cover those shifts. Many students take on the RA job as a means of financial assistance to allow them to attend the University.
“Unionization allows RA's to better support students who live in the residence halls. Having the Drexel community stand in solidarity with us would mean the world. Help us by reading our instagram posts, having conversations with your RA friends, and engaging with content that unpacks what unions mean!”
-Izzy Curtin, class of 2025, RA since Fall 2023
Even when an RA excels in the building they are placed in and goes above and beyond all of their job’s requirements, they are not guaranteed any security in their preference for building placement. A returning RA has no power or control over where they are going to be living for the next academic year. All building placements for each RA is determined by the administrative staff based on “the needs of the department.” The performance of the RA is not considered during placement, but instead arbitrary rules dictate what staff an RA is placed. And despite the placement process taking a full day to complete, the University cannot provide a transparent response when questioned on their decisions. An RA has only 5 days to accept their placement or be left without housing 2 months before the academic year begins.
"RAs, in many ways, are the backbone of the Drexel community. We take on this role because we are dedicated to fostering inclusivity, building community, and supporting residents through a pivotal period of life adjustment. Although immensely rewarding in these regards, the RA position can also be tremendously taxing amid a disorienting lack of transparency and consistency, anxiety in the absence of job and housing security, and, ultimately, a disheartening sense that our concerns have repeatedly fallen on deaf ears. As RAs, we are adept problem-solvers, and our experience has placed us in a position of foremost insight regarding the changes that must be made. Our voices matter, and by declaring ourselves a union, we not only stand in support of our fellow RAs but commit ourselves to the improvement of the broader Drexel community."
-Haleigh Purich, class of 2025, RA since Fall 2023
By unionizing, the Drexel University Resident Assistant union hopes to achieve security, transparency, and respect for themselves and for future Resident Assistants.