The United Labor of Tufts Resident Assistants is bargaining for a successor contract following the ratification of their first contract in 2023. ULTRA argues that resident assistants’ current stipend doesn’t account for the rising costs of living and tuition over the last three years. The university has also proposed a restructure of the RA position, which the union says will impact their future responsibilities and pay.
“Tufts is open to earnestly evaluating all proposals put forward by the union, including those related to compensation, benefits, and working conditions,” Patrick Collins, executive director of media relations, wrote in a statement to the Daily.
ULTRA began bargaining with the university for contract renewal last April. The RA’s status quo contract was set to expire on Aug. 15 but was extended until October due to the prolonged bargaining process.
“Our philosophy’s always been that housing should be part of compensation because housing is just a necessary condition for us to do our job,” senior Victoria Lamoureux, ULTRA’s vice president and a second-year RA in Reservoir Quad South, said.
“It’s almost like our office, and you don’t pay for your office. So we’ve always kind of considered that as separate from compensation, whereas the university is always including that within compensation.”
For that reason, RAs consider their meal plan to be their main form of compensation, Lamoureux said. Most RAs live off of the meal plan allocated in their contract — 80 meals a semester, which amounts to about 5 meals a week. ULTRA is proposing a move toward full room and board compensation.
“[First-years] are on an unlimited meal plan, so it’s not like they have any incentives to keep the kitchen clean or usable. It does become very difficult to cook and feed yourself because even if you have the means to purchase groceries, which isn’t the case for everyone … there’s no real place to cook it and make yourself an actual meal that isn’t just ramen in the microwave,” Victoria Barriola, a senior and Latin Way RA, explained.
It’s difficult to quantify the day-to-day work RAs take care of, Lamoureux also argues.
“We’re expected to work 20 hours a week, but what that looks like is very different among RAs because a lot of the work we do is not during work hours. It’s after hours when I’m in the bathroom chatting with the resident or creating a work order at midnight for an overflowing toilet,” Lamoureux said. “[There’s] just a lot of things out there in the background that I think people don’t realize that we do.”
The university’s proposed restructure of the RA role, which would go into effect in fall 2027, could potentially include a decrease in working hours and compensation. In discussions with the administration, the union expressed its interest in maintaining the amount of work and responsibility that they currently hold.
“We’re not looking to change the title of RA. We’re not looking to delineate any work bargaining that is within our jurisdiction that we bargained three years ago,” Dan Ross, an Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153 business agent representing ULTRA in negotiations, said.
“If you’re looking to modify work duties that RAs hold, and you want to then designate it into another title within the structure of the contract, we’ll talk about that. But we’re not going to do away with any work that we already have jurisdiction over.”
In response to an inquiry about the university’s intentions in restructuring the RA role, Collins stated that the university would thoroughly consider changes. “Any proposed changes will be considered carefully through the lens of financial stewardship, institutional priorities and the long‑term health and sustainability of the university.”
In September 2023, Tufts RAs ratified their first union contract with the university, which Ross described as “not a substandard contract at all.”
“It’s a good contract, but it’s time to renew it. Cost of living is up, everything is up.” Ross said. “The employer has to know that, and that’s our job to extract that money out, so they can pay accordingly.
ULTRA’s next bargaining session will take place on Friday.
