Loyola’s RA’s and Desk Workers Could Follow UIC’s and Unionize

Desk workers and resident assistants at the University of Illinois Chicago announced Jan. 30 they’re filing to unionize with the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Their April 3 hearing, if successful, will result in officially joining the Office and Professional Employees International Union and getting representation. It’s possible Loyola’s RAs and desk workers could do the same.

UIC’s RA and desk worker unionization effort began when a few frustrated students gathered in November 2023 to discuss issues, including low pay, shifts with minimal support and inconsistent work schedules. The students decided the best way to meet these needs was to unionize with the OPEIU Local 39. 

Union organizers began gathering signatures from RAs and desk workers during student staff training in August and collected the 170 needed signatures by Sept. 1. The undergraduates filed for representation with OPEIU Jan. 30, though their effort wasn’t without struggles, according to union organizer Ian Talley, a third-year English and public policy major at UIC.

Talley said he reprioritized everything in his life to devote time to union organizing. 

“I quit some of my favorite student orgs because they were holding me back from doing what I thought was right,” Talley said. “Figuring out how to compartmentalize some of those things is not easy.”

The undergraduates also lost their OPEIU-provided legal team post election when the organization had to prioritize other labor issues. This slowed down the unionization process, but with a new OPEIU legal team the students were eventually able to file for unionization. 

“The University of Illinois Chicago is committed to fostering a positive and collaborative environment where students and employees feel valued, heard and supported,” Brain Flood, senior associate director of university communications at UIC, wrote in an email to The Phoenix.

Loyola desk workers and RAs aren’t unionized, but some students in these positions are interested in unionization as a way to change aspects of their campus jobs. 

The only existing union on campus is Service Employees International Union for non-tenured teachers who have contracts expiring this year. Graduate students voted to unionize with SEIU in 2017, but Loyola refused to recognize their graduate union, according to The Chicago Tribue. 

One point of frustration among desk workers is Loyola’s use of “secret shoppers,” a student desk worker who asked to remain anonymous told The Phoenix. Loyola sends people dressed in official Loyola clothing to try and enter buildings without scanning their card. If desk workers fail to stop them from entering, the secret shoppers will report them.

“It’s difficult for us to pick and choose when we have to stop that person versus when we let that person go,” the student desk worker said.

The student said they stay extremely vigilant and make everyone scan when entering buildings, even Loyola faculty members. They said sometimes people become frustrated with him for making them scan when they obviously work at the school, but he continues to make everyone scan for fear of being caught by a secret shopper. 

“Secret Shoppers are a part of our ongoing training and support efforts with our staff,” Residence Life Coordinator Brayden Turner wrote in an email to The Phoenix. “Residence Life student staff are compensated in accordance with Chicago’s minimum wage ordinance.”

He said it can be difficult for one person to monitor people entering campus buildings, especially in buildings with two doors to watch simultaneously. 

Natalie Ramirez, a fourth-year biology major and desk worker, said secret shoppers are unfair and thinks unionization would be useful in addressing the problem.

Though Ramirez said Loyola treats its desk workers well — addressing their concerns and paying well — she wants better pay for working over breaks and during weekends. Student employees are allowed to work increased hours over breaks but receive the same hourly pay. 

Rameriz said desk workers who work over breaks don’t have a chance to go home and deserve to be paid more for their sacrifice.

RAs face problems similar to those of desk workers. They also don’t get increased pay for working over breaks and, while they’re given a stipend of $20 for food each day, they’re restricted from using services like Doordash and Uber Eats and aren’t allowed to venture far from campus because they’re on call. 

Pay is an issue during normal school hours as well. RAs are paid $650 per semester their first year and $700 per semester during the following years. The stipend comes at the end of each semester, so some RAs said they have to work other jobs to make money during the year.

“I don’t think I know any RAs who don’t have another job,” a third-year RA who asked to remain anonymous said. “I work three jobs because getting paid at the end of each semester is not enough.”

There are mixed emotions among RAs and desk workers on the issue of unionization. On one hand, some support unionization as a path to improve working conditions and pay, but others said they fear unionization may be ineffective — even detrimental. 

“I can’t see a future where we ask for more money and they’re able to give it to us and I also can’t see it going well for us in general because of how much they already give us,” the RA said. 

She said Loyola Residence Life may be giving all the money they can to RAs, and in order to improve pay, more money would need to be allocated to Residence Life by Loyola.