The MHC Collective is confident they will have the votes to unionize, meaning Mount Holyoke will likely join several other campuses whose student workers have joined together to form a union. Photo courtesy of the MHC Collective.
By Bryn Healy ’24
Staff Writer
In the second week of November, the MHC Collective, a group of 78 Residential Advisors and Residential Fellows, will vote as to whether they will form the first student union in Mount Holyoke College’s history. According to the National Labor Relations Board, in order to be recognized as a union by the Board, the majority of workers must vote in favor of unionization in an NLRB election. The vote only needs a simple majority of 40, not a super majority. The MHC Collective believes they have the numbers to easily reach this simple majority. In a statement to the Mount Holyoke News, the MHC Collective explained that they are “feeling confident going into this election. [They] have the numbers and determination from more than 80 percent of RAs and RFs.”
“The Collective is feeling confident going into this election. We have the numbers and determination from more than 80 percent of RAs and RFs.”
Unions can also be formed by gaining employer recognition if the employer — in this case, Mount Holyoke College — agrees to voluntarily recognize the union. A post on MHC Collective’s Instagram explained that the school has not pursued this course of action. Mount Holyoke states that “the College believes that an election conducted through the National Labor Relations Board’s well-established processes and procedures is the appropriate means of determining majority support for the UFCW among the Residential Advisors and Residential Fellows.” According to The Shoestring, this deviates from other institutions such as Wesleyan University and Grinnell College, which have already voluntarily recognized student unions this year. Because Mount Holyoke College has not voluntarily recognized the Collective, its only path towards unionization is through a vote.
Support for the MHC Collective has been growing within the Colleges. Alongside numerous posters around campus and an Instagram account with over 650 followers, they held an event entitled “S’mores for Solidarity” on Oct. 20 and a wear blue campaign on Sept. 29. In reaction to the “S’mores for Solidarity” event, the Collective shared on Instagram that they “had an incredible turnout and felt all the support,” and thanked attendees for coming. They also declared the wear blue campaign a success, even as it happened to fall on Mountain Day. “The amount of blue we saw [people wearing on Mountain Day] was truly incredible,” the Collective wrote on Instagram.
Mount Holyoke RAs have been driven to organize by poor pay and working conditions. Erin, an RA quoted on the MHC Collective Instagram, explains that “the current work conditions for RAs and RFs are unsustainable for everyone. We need a Union to have a voice in the work we do and to maintain consistency within the role / expectations for years to come.” Previously, the Collective negotiated for a “base salary of $7,493 for the academic year [for RAs] and … a base salary of $8,660 [for RFs]” according to their Instagram statement. This nearly doubled their annual pay, according to The Shoestring. Their demand for pay during training was also met. But the Collective feels that there’s still more work and negotiations to do for Mount Holyoke to meet all their demands. The Collective stated that without unionization, there “is nothing that prevents [the administration] from backsliding” on all progress thus far. Their demands, including those calling for a sole representative and better working conditions, have yet to be met.
In response to the upcoming vote, Mount Holyoke College has released a statement saying that “our student workers have a right to choose what they believe is best for them. We want them to have all the facts, to think through the issues carefully and to make a well-informed, autonomous decision about whether unionization is the best path forward.” On the Mount Holyoke College website, the party addresses questions they believe RAs may have like, “can student workers re-vote to de-unionize?” and “I am an RA/RF and do not wish to be represented by the [United Food & Commercial Workers Union]. What are my options?”
Students wore blue on Mountain Day on Sept. 29 to express their support for the MHC Collective. Photo courtesy of Maggie Coen '25.
If the vote succeeds, Mount Holyoke RAs and RFs will join the RAs of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Massachusetts Daily Collegian wrote that UMass Amherst made history in 2002 for being the first undergraduate labor union in the U.S. Mount Holyoke would join a small but growing group of undergraduate unions around the U.S. if the MHC Collective votes to become a certified union in November.