{"id":692,"date":"2025-03-11T11:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetoptenwebhosts.com\/?p=692"},"modified":"2025-03-11T13:48:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T13:48:41","slug":"ra-union-begins-bargaining-negotiations-with-nyu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thetoptenwebhosts.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/11\/ra-union-begins-bargaining-negotiations-with-nyu\/","title":{"rendered":"RA union begins bargaining negotiations with NYU"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Student Workers at NYU kicked off its negotiations with the university on Friday, demanding that senior leadership compensate its resident assistants by establishing a stipend to mitigate disparities in their housing and job responsibilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Representatives of the bargaining committee, consisting of eight RAs across various residence halls, discussed SWAN\u2019s priorities in a meeting with lawyers and administrators, including Dean of Students Rafael Rodriguez and Executive Director of Residential Life Kate Baier. While the union did not propose any <\/span>specific articles<\/span><\/a> to include in the contract, committee members told WSN that they will present concrete demands in the upcoming bargaining session on April 1.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gallatin senior Mickey Morandante, a member of SWAN\u2019s organizing and bargaining committees, said a key demand was that NYU pay RAs with stipends, rather than maintain current practice and refund their housing and meal plans. She explained that a stipend could more accurately reflect the inconsistencies in the job, created by differences in each dorm hall, such as room costs \u2014 which can range from <\/span>$5,120 to $13,360<\/span><\/a> per semester \u2014 and the number of residence hall events that they are required to organize.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we really want is to have a clear limit on these inconsistencies so that no one is doing too much and no one is overburdened and spread so thin, simply due to this chance of placement,\u201d Morandante said in an interview with WSN. \u201cWe want not just a stipend, but an equitable one. We want to find a way that those with worse housing get more money, and those with more residents and more expectations are also compensated for that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just before the Friday meeting, over a dozen students, faculty and UAW organizers rallied outside Bobst Library in support of SWAN. Morandante and Jacob Remes, a representative for NYU\u2019s contract faculty union, gave speeches to the small crowd about the importance of RAs on campus and the union\u2019s demands for greater equity and transparency in the role.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After winning the <\/span>majority vote to unionize<\/span><\/a> in September, SWAN has referenced RA unions at other universities as they develop their own proposals for a contract. Tandon junior and bargaining committee member Ollie, who requested only to go by her first name due to safety concerns, cited that RAs at Boston University recently won a <\/span>$1,700 semesterly stipend<\/span><\/a> and Duke University\u2019s student workers each receive a <\/span>$1,500 yearly stipend<\/span><\/a> with an additional $13,000 to cover housing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bargaining committee members asked that NYU affirm that the RA position will not be eliminated in this process, following \u201cmultiple instances across halls\u201d in which residence hall staff reportedly told RAs that the university will disband the job if they move forward with unionization efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe university\u2019s aim is to achieve a fair agreement that recognizes the RAs\u2019 contributions to the university community,\u201d NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement to WSN. \u201cWe are pleased to have met the members of SWAN\u2019s bargaining committee and to have begun the bargaining process.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SWAN also raised concerns to administrators that many students lost some or all of their financial aid and work study eligibility after becoming RAs. Ollie explained that because the current compensation system decreases students\u2019 estimated cost of attendance, it is processed by NYU\u2019s Office of the Bursar as a lower financial need and results in a reduction of other types of aid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last semester, SWAN filed an unfair labor practice complaint against NYU for an alleged violation of its neutrality agreement with the union \u2014 however, it withdrew the complaint in early January. Morandante said that SWAN organizers were concerned the complaint could jeopardize their union after President Donald Trump took office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Days after his inauguration, Trump fired a member of the National Labor Relations Board \u2014 which certifies groups to unionize and investigates labor rights violations \u2014 leaving it short-staffed and unable to take any action. The NLRB member, Gwynne Wilcox, was <\/span>reinstated on Thursday<\/span><\/a> after a federal judge ruled that Trump did not have the authority to fire her. Several workers\u2019 groups at U.S. universities, including Dartmouth College, <\/span>withdrew their unionization proposals<\/span><\/a> ahead of the inauguration with concerns that the Trump administration could hurt their efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe love being RAs, but we are stretched too thin, and it\u2019s time for NYU to recognize our labor,\u201d Morandante said to the group of supporters outside Bobst. \u201cIt\u2019s time to make the RA role enjoyable, fair and sustainable. Not just for RAs right now, but for every RA who comes after us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact Aashna Miharia at amiharia@nyunews.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story RA union begins bargaining negotiations with NYU<\/a> appeared first on Washington Square News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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