CA Union Request Denied by Administration

The administration declined community advisors’ (CA) request to voluntarily recognize their union on Friday, in an email response sent to all CAs. In their response, President Michael Elliott and Dean of Students Angie Tissi-Gassoway wrote that while the college respects and supports CAs’ right to consider union representation, they recommended a formal election through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The administration added that they will “support such a timely election and will respect its outcome” in a letter to The Student.

An NLRB vote requires a formal federal process, with a third party officiating. Its future has become increasingly uncertain as President Donald Trump's administration threatens to roll back NLRB precedent and decline to fully recognize the employee status of students. Alternatively, voluntary recognition allows a union to form as soon as the college agrees that a majority of workers support it.

CAs requested voluntary recognition from the administration on Nov. 22, after 77% of CAs signed union cards in support of its formation. The organizers said that the move follows years of growing dissatisfaction with pay, inadequate respect for the role, and disjointed communication with each other and the administration. 

This year, unionization efforts reached a tipping point at an all-staff meeting on Nov. 19 announcing the new 2025-26 CA position description, which transitions wages from an annual stipend to hourly pay, eliminates 13 CA positions, and potentially no longer requires some CAs to live in the communities they oversee.

One CA — who remains anonymous because of a stipulation in their contract that “CAs should not speak on behalf of the department to any media outlet” — said they were “shocked and betrayed” by the changes because they were not communicated to the CA advisory board. The board was established last year — following an external review of the Office of Community Living — to help consider potential updates to the role, according to the administration.

The administration wrote in the letter to The Student that they would like to provide more context on the recent changes. In regards to the transition from a stipend to hourly pay, the administration wrote that the hourly model would “more accurately reflect actual work hours” and could result in higher earnings.

The administration added that an NLRB vote provides “that all CAs have the opportunity to understand what unionization entails, to discuss these questions as part of a democratic process, and to make individual choices through an election overseen by an independent third party.”

CAs also responded with a letter to The Student regarding the administration’s decision: “While we disagree that the process thus far towards unionizing has not provided the opportunity for CAs to learn about union representation and to participate in a democratic process to form one, we are happy to move forward with an NLRB election to quell any doubts in the benefits that unionizing would provide.”

The NLRB process requires filing a petition and documents with a regional office. Then, NLRB agents investigate the qualifications of the union and seek an election agreement. Once an agreement is reached, the regional director will hold a hearing and then may order an election according to the NLRB rules and decisions. 

For example, Mount Holyoke College’s resident advisors (RAs) unanimously unionized in 2022 through an NLRB election because Mount Holyoke’s administration also declined to voluntarily recognize the union. According to August Owens, a senior at Mount Holyoke College, their union’s bargaining units with the administration have been able to increase pay up to almost $16,000 per year and establish a clear and documented accountability process, preventing unjust terminations or repercussions. However, Mount Holyoke’s NLRB election took place under the Biden administration, when unions were viewed more favorably. 

Former CA Isabelle Anderson ’25 said she was “disappointed, but not surprised” by the administration’s decision not to voluntarily recognize the union. 

“If [the administration] really respected us and respected the very important labor we did for the school, they would not be denying our labor rights,” she said. “I hope people keep fighting.”