Photo courtesy of The Massachussetts Office of Travel and Tourism via Flickr
By Shira Sadeh ’25
Science and Environment Editor
On Sept. 28, 2022, Mount Holyoke College’s residential advisors and fellows filed for union recognition with United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1459. As explained by the Mount Holyoke Collective, a campus group fighting for change for RAs and RFs, the roles of Residential Life student leaders have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as expectations fluctuate the group wants to ensure they have sufficient power to continue advocating for themselves.
The Collective explained in an Instagram post that the act of unionizing was not one meant to instigate conflict between themselves and the school administration. The post stated that their goals were to continue improving on their communications and to commit to improving working relationships between themselves and the school administration. Additionally, the students in the Collective explained that unionization discussions have been happening for two years, but have only now come to fruition. The Collective requested that the College voluntarily acknowledge their legal status as a union, adding that this recognition would ensure a continuation of good-faith bargaining. They added a message to the larger student body as well, requesting support in the coming weeks as they undergo negotiations with the College.
A second-year RA and Collective member in their first year of the job explained that the group was founded by RAs and RFs for the purpose of fighting for better working conditions. Many student ResLife workers are a part of it, and it’s been successful in the past, they said.
Several RAs and RFs readily shared their perspectives with Mount Holyoke News. A first-year RA in Pearsons Hall and member of the Collective explained that the group was successful in negotiating a small salary increase last year. “However, this year during training, we learned that our workload and responsibilities were significantly greater than in previous years; this defeats the purpose of our pay increase. As of now, our wages only reflect 15 hours of work a week, which is not accurate to the hours we actually put in,” they explained.
A second-year RA who is also a member of the Collective spoke to the goals of unionization. “We are hoping to gain more of a voice when it comes to the work we do. Being residential supporters on the ground, we know our community’s needs pretty well. Additionally, we want our jobs to have a level of insurance,” they said. “The role of being an RA and RF has drastically changed from a pre-pandemic world. The amount of expectations and responsibilities placed upon us has increased a ton, and we want to improve our working conditions.”
When asked about the decision to join the UFCW, the second-year RA explained that some of the Collective members met with a union representative last spring at a Western Massachusetts Labor Federation May Day event, where they learned more about the union. “[The representative] listened to our goals and joined us on this endeavor. Ultimately, we wanted to be involved with a union that would understand our needs and know how to support us as student workers,” they said.
However, some Collective members have expressed hesitation when it comes to unionization. One source explained this in a recent interview with Mount Holyoke News, stating, “[I initially felt] caution and fear because we weren’t sure how it would be received by administration. I am a FGLI student so this job is quite important to me,” they said. But after seeing the progress made last year in negotiating for higher pay and Personal Protective Equipment, they expressed more confidence about unionization.
The Instagram post detailing the file for unionization requested students show their support for the Collective by wearing blue on Sept. 29. “We asked everyone to support their RAs’ and RFs’ efforts to unionize by wearing blue the next day. Coincidentally, our coordinated effort fell on Mountain Day. The plan was for all the RAs and RFs to wear blue and we just hoped students would show up for us — and they did,” the second-year RA said. “Being at the top of Mount [Holyoke], I have never been more proud to be a student at Mount Holyoke. There was blue everywhere. Despite being at the top of a mountain, we were surrounded by seas of blue.”