Unions on Temple’s campus are showing support for the newly-assembled Temple Union of Resident Assistants after the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board stated it would not hold an election to recognize it as an official union.
The Temple Association of University Professionals and the Temple University Graduate Student Association have both issued letters of support for the recognition of TURA. Both unions were also present at a rally TURA organized by the Bell Tower on Oct. 21, 2024 to encourage the university to acknowledge it as a union.
“[Temple not responding] is a management tactic to get people to be tired and not have the energy to stick around,” said TAUP President Jeffrey Doshna. “They’ve got time on their side. This is kind of a typical labor busting tactic that we see all over the place. And Temple is no different in doing it. They’ll hold out as long as they can, until they’re compelled to engage on it. They did this with us. They do this with TUGSA.”
TUGSA’s letter highlighted both the university’s refusal to recognize TURA as well as alleged “intimidation attempts” after multiple members of school administration showed up to watch the RAs rally on Oct. 21. Members of the administration, like Vice President of Human Resources Sharon Boyle, were also in attendance.
“The university, again, has a choice,” said TUGSA President Jesús Fernández Cano. “Every single time that there is a labor action at Temple, the university has a choice to engage in good faith and try to solve it as soon as possible so there are no issues that arise in the future.”
TURA is still waiting to hear back from PLBR and Temple administration about a meeting. The legal team from the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153 are fighting PLRB’s claims that TURA is “inappropriately narrow.” OPELU stated it will continue to organize and work for a union election regardless.
NLBR outlines two ways a union can achieve recognition. Organizers can gather a petition that states at least 30% of workers want to form a union, after which the labor board holds an election. Unions can also be directly recognized by their employer. Once a union is recognized, the employer is required to bargain with a union representative.
TURA had 78% of workers sign agreeing to form a union, but NLBR still rejected TURA’s request for a union election.
“Our legal team is currently in the process of fighting PLBR’s claim against TURA being ‘inappropriately narrow,’” a spokesperson for TURA wrote in a statement to The Temple News. “This is unequivocally not true and what we believe is another attempt to hinder our organization efforts.”
Temple RAs have been rallying for university recognition since they filed to form a union with the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153 on Sept. 30, 2024.
The university has not officially responded to their request and put off any requests to meet with administration, TURA said.
“In this case, the PLRB determined that the request was not appropriate,” a Temple spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Temple News. “We understand that the Office and Professional Employees International Union is asking the PLRB to reconsider this decision. While the PLRB considers their request, the university will continue to work with and support our students to ensure they can be successful in their roles in Residence Life and as students of the university.”
TURA stated it will continue to fight for their recognition. As John Fry settles into his position as the university’s 15th president, the union hopes he will be the one to back their request. TURA issued a second letter, this time directly to Fry, on Nov. 20.
The letter appealed to Fry’s time as president of Drexel University, specifically discussing the RA union that formed during his tenure.
RA unions have been popping across the country as college costs begin to grow. In the past few years, students have unionized at the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University and Swarthmore College. OPEIU helped organize 11 RA unions and one student-worker union this past year. The closest one to Main Campus is Drexel University’s RAs, who were recognized by their university in Spring 2024.
“Our union colleagues at Drexel, the Drexel Union of RAs, have benefitted from your administration’s willingness to respect these student workers’ rights,” TURA wrote in its letter to Fry. “We hope you plan to continue that legacy at Temple.”
RAs have listed many reasons for unionizing, one being feeling overworked and not being compensated properly in return. Aside from room and board, RAs at Temple only receive a $200 stipend applied to their tuition at the end of the semester.
This system leaves the RAs without payment for the larger part of the semester, financially straining some of the workers, TURA members said.
“A lot of us couldn’t even buy our required textbooks for classes, because that $200 took a month after classes began to hit and it was only credit to a tuition account,” said Shannon Raymer, a junior psychology major and an RA at White Hall. “At that point we all had already paid our tuition because it had to have been in, and then if we needed a refund, it took another week or two.”
The student workers are attempting to unionize at a time when Temple’s on-campus housing is especially full. In November, University Housing and Residential Life was at 95% capacity for the Fall 2024 semester, with the remaining five percent of rooms left open for emergency moves, The Temple News reported.
Room change forms are also not open to students this year, leaving RAs and resident directors to help students work through any conflict that comes up within their living arrangements.
“Every worker at Temple University has the right and deserves to organize and advocate for what they want, and advocate for their working conditions, to advocate for their compensation,” Doshna said. “I think that it’s a false argument to say that they get free housing and that they should be subjected to changing work conditions and extended hours and a failed reimbursement policy.”
Mccaillaigh Rouse contributed reporting.
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