On Dec. 18, Fordham voluntarily recognized the Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC) resident assistant (RA) and resident first-year mentor (RFM) union, according to Associate Vice President for Media and Public Relations Jennifer Petra. RAs and RFMs at FLC are now officially a part of the bargaining unit represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153, along with the RA union at Fordham Rose Hill (FRH).
The recognition was fully executed following discussions between union representatives and the university, which began after the university acknowledged receipt of the RA and RFM’s petition to unionize in November.
Voluntary recognition means that the FLC RAs and RFMs did not have to request a vote facilitated by the National Labor Relations Board to be recognized by the university as a legitimate union.
We expect to meet with union leaders in late-January or February to discuss the differences between the roles on the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses. Jennifer Petra, Associate Vice President for Media and Public Relations
The FLC RAs and RFMs are joining an existing bargaining unit formed by the unionization of the FRH RAs and RFMs in 2023. The inclusion of FLC staff in the contract is an addition to the standing contract between the FRH RAs — represented by OPEIU Local 153 — and the university. According to Petra, discussions will continue throughout the semester to discuss the FLC staff’s inclusion in the current bargaining agreement, which expires on June 30, 2027.
“We expect to meet with union leaders in late-January or February to discuss the differences between the roles on the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses. Through those discussions we anticipate determining if contract amendments will be made prior to June 2027,” Petra said.
The FLC and FRH campuses each have their own Office of Residential Life through which residential staff on their respective campuses are hired. This leads to discrepancies between FLC and FRH, such as the RFM position only existing at FLC.
According to the FLC Office of Residential Life webpage, the difference between RAs and RFMs is that RFMs do not serve on-duty coverage, remaining on call throughout the night. The varying responsibilities between the two roles result in specific compensations for each position. While both RAs and RFMs receive a meal plan or check, RAs receive a single room paid in full for both semesters, and RFMs receive a single room paid for only one semester. Meal plans are given to RAs and RFMs at McKeon Hall, while meal checks are given to RAs and RFMs at McMahon Hall. Both positions are entitled to a taxed stipend each semester.
Fordham’s two-campus model creates a unique circumstance uncommon at other educational institutions where an employee union is made up of workers at two separate locations and employed by different offices.
Concerns over compensation were one of the reasons that led the RAs at FRH to unionize, according to an Instagram post from @fordhamraunion posted on Feb. 3, 2023. The compensation for FRH RAs was negotiated during bargaining sessions, which took place from August 2023 to April 2024.
The FLC union’s petition to unionize did not cite compensation as an inciting cause, instead mentioning concerns over disciplinary actions taken towards staff and a desire to establish “an equal working relationship with the Office of Residential Life.”
Fordham’s two-campus model creates a unique circumstance uncommon at other educational institutions where an employee union is made up of workers at two separate locations and employed by different offices. During the discussions, union organizers and university representatives will discuss how the FLC RA and RFM’s roles will fit into the standing agreement.
As FLC RAs and RFMs head into the new year having won union representation, New York City nurses, represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), are on strike after negotiations between the union and five privately-owned hospitals — four in Manhattan, one in the Bronx — failed to produce a contract. It is the largest nurses’ strike in New York City history.
A NYSNA picket line has been active in front of Mount Sinai West on 10th Avenue, just a block away from FLC’s McMahon Hall. As of Wednesday morning, the strike has been going on for nine days.
