Dive Brief:
- A Friday ruling by a National Labor Relations Board regional director would allow resident advisers at George Washington University to unionize, and the decision could impact many private colleges and universities, Inside Higher Ed reports.
- According to the ruling, RAs at the university met all the conditions for being employees, and the fact that RAs may benefit from educational or other ancillary benefits does not mean they shouldn't be considered employees, as the university argued.
- GWU has hinted it may file a legal challenge against RAs who do vote to form a union, and when vacancies arise on the NLRB, President Donald Trump’s choices may lead to more favorable recommendations and rulings for colleges opposing unionization.
Dive Insight:
The argument resident advisers at GWU submitted to the NLRB mirrors similar arguments from graduate assistants and college athletes, as universities and students alike try to determine how far the benefits from an education extend for a student who is offering a service to their school. Despite clear differences in their situations, athletes and RAs are both bound by the fact that the benefits they offer schools are also part of the reason many are able to continue their education.
Without the protection of an athletic scholarship, student athletes could feel anxiety that they would be forced to quit school if the scholarship was discontinued, while RAs often depend on the room-and-board offered for their services to cover the on-campus living expenses that might have made that college’s education cost-prohibitive. The ‘payment’ for the services they provide helps keep them enrolled, which can make the anxieties these students feel understandably potent, as well as making their situation feel more fraught than many of their peers.