A brief one to start off the day: the Columbia University Resident Advisors Collective have won their union election by 75-4, becoming the first independent undergraduate Resident Adviser union in the United States.
CURA was founded in May of 2022, and has quickly won major gains for the university's resident advisors. Prior to CURA's existence, RAs were paid a semester stipend of just $1,000 despite working for 35 weeks and while working as many as 24 hours a weekend. According to CURA surveying, this led to appalling conditions for some RAs: "one member of the student staff," they write, "stated that they were struggling to afford meals. At one point, they said they were having nothing but one serving of pasta, one serving of rice and beans, and a scoop of peanut butter each day. This nutrient deficiency caused them to start losing their hair, they said." Thanks to pre-unionization organizing, however, the stipend was increased to $13,000 and later $14,000 a semester, and working hours were reduced to a maximum of 11 during weekends.
With unionization, they expect to be able to fight for a living wage of $14,700 ($21 per hour) indexed to inflation, better benefits (as RAs can be fired at-will), protections against harassment, and more. Congratulations!