We are 300 workers whose labor runs BU’s Residence Life! Our work ensures the safety and well-being of more than 12,000 residents who live on campus at BU. We are first responders to emergencies. We also ensure that residents’ housing needs are taken care of (including heat, water, and pest control), connect residents with campus resources, assist with lockouts and roommate mediation, plan community programs, and more.

We are currently in negotiations with BU for our very first union contract. Our current campaign began when ResLife workers voted to unionize March 2023, with 92% of those voting saying “yes”! We voted to affiliate with SEIU 509, who also represents the graduate workers, adjunct faculty, and salaried lecturers here at BU.

Why did ResLife workers form a union?

ResLife workers unionized so that we can improve our workplace conditions and better protect ourselves and each other by increasing our collective power over the University. We want to create a safe, healthy, dignified, and sustainable work environment so that we can be properly equipped to provide care to our residents. Our working conditions are everyone’s living conditions.

What we cannot change on our own, we can change with each other!

Our goal is to win a transformative first contract that will actually improve our job and our lives!

Among other things, we are fighting for dignified compensation that reflects the work we do, equity across various neighborhood assignments, meal plans so we don’t have to go hungry, access to proper training in life-saving care, and fairer and more transparent processes around corrective actions. See our full bargaining tracker here! 

We know that Resident Assistants are unionizing at many other universities across the country. Together, we can transform the landscape of essential resident care work in U.S. universities.

We stand in solidarity! Reach out to us.

Our elected bargaining team coordinates our contract negotiation process. The bargaining team is committed to representing the interests of all ResLife workers. Our bargaining team members are:

• Graduate Housing: Ace Coe
• Lower Bay State Road: Michael Arellano, Nathan Duong, Shre Venkatesan, Tami Ajibade
• South Campus: Jacob Leal, Jasmine A. Richardson
• Upper Bay State Road: Adam Shamsi, Lillian Droscha
• Warren Towers: Bridgette Bennis, Nik Swanson
  
• West: Henry Haase, James Roberts