With Voluntary Recognition from the University, ResLife Employees Expand Student Union Membership  

The University has made history by informing Office Assistants (OAs) and Head Residents (HRs) in the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) that it is moving forward with voluntary recognition of their union as part of the existing bargaining unit of ResLife student workers, the Wesleyan Union of Student Employees (WesUSE), as of Thursday, Nov. 5. This organization, which is represented by Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153, negotiates wages and benefits for over one hundred Resident Advisors, House Managers, and Community Advisors at the University. 

This decision came after a group of 12 ResLife student workers delivered a letter to the office of Director of Labor and Employee Relations Philip Murray at 55 High St. on Friday, Oct. 30, requesting voluntary recognition and integration of OAs and HRs into WesUSE. The response from the University came one day before the proposed deadline of Friday, Nov. 6. 

Representatives from WesUSE plan to enter discussions with the University in order to modify the existing agreement to add OAs and HRs within the next 60 days.  

“OAs and HRs organized to join the existing union after discussing shared concerns around wages, scheduling predictability, and lack of job protections associated with other ResLife jobs,” a statement from WesUSE read. 

Student workers emphasized the importance of extending membership to OAs and HRs, given their vital role in University housing and ResLife. Prospective members of the union said that wages and stability were among their primary concerns.  

“Upon having conversations with my co-workers, I’ve realized that we share similar concerns such as having predictability in income and job security given that we hold an hourly wage position,” Office Assistant Amber Shah ’29 said. “We are excited to join WesUSE because this will give us an opportunity to work together to create a better workplace for all of us and future Office Assistant employees.” 

About 95% of OAs and HRs at the Office of Residential Life signed the petition to bring themselves into the union, according to a statement from WesUSE. Student workers who were already a part of WesUSE are optimistic about the expansion of its membership.

“When Office Assistants and Head Residents reached out to us about joining our union, we were proud to support them,” WesUSE Chief Steward Trevor Brooks ’27 said. “Our co-workers deserve the same voice on the job as we do, and we are excited to welcome them into our union family.”

This decision is the most recent win for WesUSE in a series of victories for collective bargaining at the University. ResLife workers first won recognition in March of 2022 after concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic and the Butterfields flooding incident in 2021 strengthened calls for collective bargaining.

“This is my fourth year working at ResLife, and I have loved my time as an HR, but that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve the same protections and a seat at the table that our coworkers do in WesUSE,” Head Resident Paul Quach ’26 M.A. ’27 said. “In my past years working at ResLife, I have seen firsthand the benefits of a union, and I want to ensure future HRs can reap those benefits and feel supported in their roles.”

The success of WesUSE comes as other student workers at the University have pushed for union representation and won. Workers at WesWings and Red & Black Cafe finalized a contract with Ed Thorndike ’89 and Karen Kaffen-Polascik, the owners of both restaurants, in March 2025. 

Additionally, graduate students and Foreign Language Teaching Assistants at the University voted 86 to 7 to become part of Wesleyan’s Graduate Student Union in September 2024. They are represented by the same organization, OPEIU Local 153, as WesUSE.

“WesUSE made history as being the first union at a private university of Resident Assistants,” Lead Organizer for OPEIU Local 153 Scott Williams said. “We are proud of this union growing to include OAs and HRs. These workers want what every worker should have: a strong union and a seat at the table to work with management to make Wesleyan the best it can be.”

The full terms and conditions for OAs and HRs will be discussed during regularly scheduled negotiations between WesUSE and the University in the spring semester. Organizers hope that the University’s decision to recognize the union without the need for a National Labor Relations Board election will expedite the process. 

“This is a win for OAs and HRs and for our whole union. Wesleyan made the right call, and we’re thrilled to have these workers with us,”  WesUSE Chief Steward Luca D’Agruma ’27 said.

Miles Craven can be reached at mcraven@wesleyan.edu.