Undergraduate resident advisors at UPenn vote in favor of unionization
University of Pennsylvania undergraduate resident advisors successfully voted to unionize this week and will be represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union. University of Pennsylvania RAs state that they feel undervalued and underpaid by the university, and they chose to unionize to have the ability to negotiate with university administration for fair compensation and more employee protections and benefits. Many university presidents around the country have stated that institutions view these positions as training, rather than jobs, and the University of Pennsylvania management opposed the unionization movement. The university claimed that undergraduate RAs were not covered by federal labor laws regarding collective bargaining, but have expressed their support after the union organization election was held. University of Pennsylvania management and the newly formed union will begin contract negotiations soon, and resident advisors hope that an agreement can be reached in the coming months.
See "Undergraduate resident advisors at UPenn vote in favor of unionization", Alan Blinder, The New York Times, October 3, 2023