Senate will vote on whether they will support the creation of a RA union on campus.
Student Senate will vote whether to support the proposed formation of a resident assistant union at Ohio University at its Wednesday night meeting.
Senators will hear a presentation from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, otherwise known as AFSCME, the union that represents all service workers at OU.
Senate’s resolution to support the union argues that because RAs are first-responders in dorms, they should have a say in their contract negotiations.
“Being an RA is your life. It’s not just a nine to five job,” said Jacob Haskins, vice commissioner for Residence Life and an RA in the Cady, Foster, Brough complex.
“It’s been generating some buzz,” said Gabby Bacha, a South Green senator. “I just have a lot of questions and I think we need to look at this more critically than we have been.”
Bacha, an RA, plans to abstain from voting on this resolution because of a conflict of interest but hopes that the AFSCME presentation will help clarify details.
The push for unionization of RAs comes after an increase in the stipend and benefits for resident assistants. Next year, RAs will be given a 5 percent increase in their stipend and the full costs of their rooms will be covered. The increase in benefits is expected to cost the university around $300,000, Pete Trentacoste, executive director of Residential Housing, said in a previous interview.
“I’m really glad that they’re responding to the needs of the RAs, but I think that they (RAs) deserve a lot more,” Senate vice president Caitlyn McDaniel said in a previous interview conducted after the benefit packages were increased.
@mayganbeeler
mb076912@ohio.edu
