Resident Assistant Unionization: The Shift from Student Leadership to Student Labor by Brendon Soltis and Christopher Stone-Sewalish

Student leadership positions in colleges and universities have been a defining aspect of the college experience (Renn and Reason 2021). Often linked to greater rates of persistence and retention to degree completion, common practices in student affairs encourage undergraduate students to become club leaders, peer mentors, resident assistants (RAs), student government representatives, and more (Astin 1993; Renn and Reason 2021). Framed as an opportunity, leadership positions in college promise the development of transferable skills; building of community and relationships; a sense of belonging and purpose; and an experience that can be showcased on a resume or in a future job interview (Blimling and Baumann 2019; Boone 2018; Lukens et al. 2022; Renn and Reason 2021). Although financial needs and obligations are among the prominent reasons for college students seeking paid student involvement opportunities, compensation for labor is often left out of student development discourses and practice (Boone 2018; Cooper et al. 2021).

Higher education environments have become increasingly complex. For example, undergraduate students come to college with greater rates of diagnosed mental health conditions, including anxiety, mood disorders, and substance use (Auerbach et al. 2018). Even so, colleges and universities are often unprepared to provide adequate student support (Schwartz and Kay 2009). Accordingly, student leadership positions have shifted to meet the demands of this new complexity (Boone et al. 2016), placing additional expectations and burdens on student leaders. Additionally, labor policy has shifted into the foreground over the past decade, entering the higher education sector through the proliferation of faculty and graduate student unions (Chanvisanurak et al. 2007; Gonzalez 2016; National Labor Relations Board [NLRB] n.d.). Undergraduate student staff unionization has not received the same attention and has only recently impacted a small portion of the undergraduate workforce (Kuimelis and Mayer 2022). However, similar to the proliferation of graduate student labor movements, colleges and universities will continue to see undergraduate student leaders moving towards unionization. Due to the increased complexity of the higher education landscape and the resurgence in popularity of labor unions, college and university leaders need to manage this shift from leadership to labor to keep the promises of student development opportunities and engage in fair labor practices.

From Leadership to Labor

Changing Landscape of Higher Education for Resident Advisors

In an effort to support students in an increasingly complex environment, colleges and universities engage student leaders in a complex web of training, policies, and procedures. In the example to mitigate the impact of mental health conditions in residence halls, RAs are often trained on topics of substantial consequence, including suicide intervention, substance use, first aid, mental health, and academic support (Boone et al. 2016; Thombs et al. 2014; Reingle et al. 2010). This model of student support relies on the initial interactions RAs have with students in the residence halls, rather than the expertise of trained mental health professionals and first responders.

Complimenting the increase in diagnosed mental health conditions is the increased demand for counseling services (Auerbach et al. 2018). Despite this increase in demand, colleges and universities are often woefully understaffed and underfunded in counseling and psychiatric services. This results in a general lack of preparedness and inability to serve the needs of students (Schwartz and Kay 2009). Without proper structures and staffing in place, the increased demands and expectations are placed on RAs to intervene, mitigate harm, and ensure students are safe when in crisis. The mix of increasing mental health needs, along with inadequate institutional preparedness, has dramatically changed the nature of the RA position and forced them to play a role not previously conceived of by university leadership. Given the severity of need, why are student leaders/employees being relied upon as essential first responders? Further, if the needs are identified as so critical to the function of the college or university and to student safety, is the role of RAs still appropriate in the current landscape? And what is the motivation of institutions to maintain RA positions given their clear recognition of student needs (Cooper et al. 2021)?

Labor Policy and College Student Labor

Changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 2016 forced colleges and universities to reconsider the classification of staff, like RAs, and their relationship to their status as employees (Asimou and Adams 2016). Classification of labor determines consequential outcomes such as wages, overtime requirements, benefits, and more. While many universities have opted to classify RAs as employees not eligible for overtime under FLSA, the discussion prompted a reevaluation of the role RAs play, the labor they contribute, and how they are compensated as a result (Department of Labor 2016; NRLB n.d.). FLSA marked a watershed moment in the RA position by calling into question whether RAs are student leaders, employees, or something entirely unique. The Department of Labor (n.d.) offers clear guidance on what “hours worked” might look like for these positions, though they do not offer guidance on the nature of the work compared to compensation or position within the organization. These questions about fair compensation and labor practices are traditionally asked by staff looking towards unionization (Warner et al. 1978).

Motivations for unionizing in what are traditionally considered public, white collar sectors include concerns over wages and benefits, job protection, and unfair management practices (Warner et al. 1978). Positive views of labor unions have been found to be associated with previous exposure to unions, political affiliation, and a liberal ideological orientation (Warner et al. 1978). Taking into account both motivations for unionizing and positive viewpoints of unions cultivated in the more liberal college environment, it is unsurprising that undergraduate RAs increasingly consider unionization (Kuimelis and Mayer 2022). The increasing expectations (Boone et al. 2016) of the role and the often progressive learning politics of college students (Kurtzleben 2016) sets up RAs to feel that unionization may be their only option for action when working for university leadership that may not fully understand the pressures of their position.

Compounding these reasons is the evolution of the progressive institutional mission. Some RAs seeking unionization have specifically cited the social justice orientation of their university’s mission as a reason for why institutions should support their action to unionize (Knox 2022). Through this perspective, RAs seeking unionization may see themselves as upholding the values of the institution despite resistance from the same leadership that crafted a progressive mission statement. Mission is a critical aspect of organizational culture in higher education and helps to define the experience of faculty, staff, and students (Hirt and Robbins 2016; Lune 2010; Tierney, 1988). As universities find success with orienting their mission towards social justice, they should also consider the potential impact to employee experiences, such as RAs, and the internal standards they are creating (Hirt and Robbins 2016).

A Look at Current Labor Movements in Residential Life

Undergraduate students’ movement towards unionization is not surprising. The current political moment combined with the changing needs of higher education institutions have placed greater demands on their student leaders. Student leaders, in turn, continue to remain invested in their college and university and have high expectations of their administration (Boone 2018; Tierney 1988). When students experience a misalignment between their institutional identity, their treatment in their leadership position, and the mission of the institution, students then look for outlets that do align with their values (Lune 2010; Tierney 1988)—in this case unionization.

Residential life departments have experienced most of the movement towards undergraduate unionization from their student leaders and workers (Gruen and Thompson 2022; Kuimelis and Mayer 2022). The Columbia National Labor Relations Board decision of 2016 opened the door for graduate and undergraduate employees of private universities to unionize (Fittzpatrick, 2021; Gonzalez, 2016). Since then, undergraduate RAs at many other colleges have voted to unionize. Examples include Tufts University, Barnard College, Mt. Holyoke College, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, and Wesleyan College (Kuimelis and Mayer 2022). The response from college and university administrations have varied. While some administrations acknowledge the movement towards unionization quickly (e.g., Wesleyan University; Kuimelis and Mayer 2022), others have resisted engaging with labor movement leaders until their RAs are officially represented by the local union (e.g.,Tufts University; Gruen and Thompson 2022). Needless to say, university leadership are seemingly unprepared to handle undergraduate labor movements.

Future Directions

Undergraduate unionization is under-explored in the higher education literature. Future research should investigate the motivations underpinning undergraduate labor movements and outcomes. Further, future research should interrogate the responses from colleges and universities to labor movements and calls for collective bargaining. Finally, future research should apply a critical organizational lens to empirically analyze the shift from leadership to labor. For example, applying the lens of critical behavioral management (Gonzales et al. 2018) unsettles our typical understanding of how organizational leaders set the goals for their workers in a top-down hierarchical environment. Drawing from critical management studies and collective leadership frameworks, we can begin to illuminate the practice of hiring and compensating RAs, the harms caused by relying on RA labor for critical university functions, and center student voices in the process (Gonzales et al. 2018).

As unionization grows more popular amongst college students, colleges and universities need to develop a strategy for the future of all student leadership positions in light of the widespread labor movements in higher education. The recent and highly visible faculty and graduate student strikes will only increase attention on labor movements in the university as well as scrutiny in how university administration responds. Thus, colleges and universities have an opportunity to proactively address undergraduate student labor before it reaches a tipping point.

First, administrators should assess the critical nature of student leadership positions and consider reorganizing departments and positions to cover essential job functions without the need for student leaders. This could truly change the nature of positions such as resident advisors to be a leadership opportunity rather than a job, This may also shift full time staff who are appropriately equipped to handle the needs of current and future students. Second, university leaders should proactively build relationships with student workers and student leaders to better understand the dynamics around the labor performed. If a movement towards unionization occurs, administrators will already have relationships with (future) union representatives to bargain in good faith. Lastly, if there is no significant change to student leadership positions, university leaders should expect a movement towards unionization and not hinder their students in pursuing fair labor practices.

About the Scholars

References

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