Michigan RAs overwhelmingly vote in favor of unionizing

The overwhelming majority of residence staff at the University of Michigan voted to unionize, and will now form a group calling themselves the “ResStaff Allied Organization” (RAO). 

The vote took place on two separate days, with the union being formed after RAs voted in a 141-8 vote, as reported by The Michigan Daily. 

”This election has come after a year of organizing work by the RAO because we feel that as the representatives of the residential communities on campus, that we deserve a voice in the policies in our dorms, and we also deserve more of democratic communities,” one student organizer told The Michigan Daily.

The RAO had posted multiple messages on its Instagram account going back to December, urging residence assistants at the university to unionize. 

In one post found on the group’s account, the RAO cited specific reasons that students must unionize as a result of poor “communication” with university housing leadership, receive “40% of the campus minimum wage”, and RAs’ “lack formal harassment protections.” 

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The vote comes after an April 8 announcement where the RAO claimed in an Instagram post that more than 100 RAs obtained union cards and pledged their support for the RAO. 

On Aug. 5, the RAO released a statement that the group would seek to unionize, stating that “[a]fter four months of talks” the “RAO and University representation finalized the parameters for a union election.” 

On Feb. 9, the RAO also posted an update on social media about their efforts to unionize, taking a screenshot from a prior Michigan Daily article, which outlined that the group is seeking legal harassment protections and higher pay, two items which the group claims that they “deserve.”

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Campus Reform has extensively covered similar developments relating to residence assistants and student workers. 

Earlier this year at the University of Tampa, RAs considered a hypothetical scenario in a training session that had them assess how to aid a student who complained about feeling “unsafe” due to his roommate having a Make America Great Again flag.

Campus Reform reported in February that a student graduate workers union at Fordham University had protested in downtown Manhattan outside of a university event to demand more pay and benefits.

Campus Reform has contacted the University of Michigan for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.