‘Along for the Ride’: Harvard Residential Group Faces Fractures Ahead of Union Recognition Election
Two months ago, the Harvard Union of Residential Advisors began to unionize — but even as the group has publicly sped through the recognition process, tensions have steadily built within the union.
Updated April 12, 2024, at 2:51 p.m.
Two months ago, the Harvard Union of Residential Advisors began to unionize — but even as the group has publicly sped through the recognition process, tensions have steadily built within the union.
HURA began quietly organizing in May 2023, but went public with its unionization push on Feb. 27. The next week, it filed a petition with the NLRB on March 6, and less than two months later, it is gearing up for elections this month.
But privately, several residential advisers — both those in favor of and opposition to the union — have felt friction, noting disconnects between proctors and unions, as well as an overall failure of communication.
‘Taints the Whole Thing’
Abhishek Raman, a proctor in Lionel Hall, said information gaps have persisted, and “the unionization as a process was not on people’s radar.”
“Having been in this role for close to a decade, I only found out about it by reading an article in The Crimson,” Raman added.
Straus Hall proctor Hasani J. Gunn said the lack of publicity is something “pro-union and anti-union proctors completely agree on.”
“The fact that some folks didn’t learn about this unionizing effort until a Crimson article, and now that they’re implicated in this — that was not good,” he said.
Hansenard D. Piou — a tutor in Quincy House who joined HURA before its public launch — said he “found out through word-of-mouth, and outreach has been similarly just talking to other people about it.”
Some advisers also said they have felt intentionally excluded.
A house aide, who spoke to The Crimson on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said it is a “weird feeling” that “kind of taints the whole thing.”
“We’re working on something that will materially change my working conditions permanently and will change my relationship with my bosses and with my colleagues,” they said, but HURA “not only never asked my opinion about it, but set out specifically to not let me know about it.”
“It makes it harder for me to believe that this is a venture in trying to make the work environment better for everybody and not trying to make the work environment better for a more selective group of people who are involved in the process,” the house aide said.
In an internal HURA document obtained by The Crimson, organizers wrote that “senior tutors, tutors who are very aligned with administration” should not be contacted until “later.”
In a statement to The Crimson, HURA organizers wrote that since the group’s formation, “dozens upon dozens of tutors, proctors and house aides have shaped the union’s priorities.”
“Even at the earliest stages of organizing, when the personal risk of employer retaliation was greatest, proctors and tutors tirelessly gathered input from as many colleagues as possible,” they added.
The union’s organizing committee wrote in a follow up statement on Friday that before “HURA built the required support to request an election and campaign publicly, workers had no legal protections from employer retaliation for union organizing.”
“Organizers were concerned that colleagues who work most directly with supervisors were especially vulnerable to retaliation, and made a strategic decision not to impose that risk upon our co-workers,” the committee wrote. “As soon as the union had enough support to trigger legal protections for all workers, we have provided information about HURA, answered questions and facilitated discussion among our colleagues about unionization, which has been HURA’s goal since day one.”
The union’s troubles with communication have also permeated into in-person interactions.
Though Raman said “people know how to disagree in a civil manner,” others have claimed that group meetings have become increasingly not conducive to open dialogue.
Gunn said that though there is “full participation,” issues arise when “sometimes people will not be as respectful as they should be.”
“Some folks that are particularly anti-union can be quite vocal and can take up a lot of the time,” Gunn added.
Piou alleged that much of the disagreement is due to incorrect information surrounding the upcoming union elections.
“Reasonable people can reasonably disagree,” Piou said, “but a lot of these concerns seem to be based off of premises that are just patently untrue.”
“That’s made dialogue very difficult, especially when a lot of these arguments are circulating within their own little pockets and then bubble out,” he added.
But the frustrations around lack of open discourse are battled by strong fears of conflict between close colleagues and neighbors.
“I can’t leave,” a house aide said. “I live with them. I live in the same building. I eat with them every day twice a day.”
“The fear of having a problem with somebody far outweighs my desire to debate this on an open stage,” they added.
‘Already a Good Deal’
Beyond concerns surrounding the union’s inconsistent communication, some advisers are also skeptical of the push to unionize at all.
One house aide suggested that some advisers may be taking their positions for granted.
“It seems to me it’s already a good deal for most people — the vast majority of people — and that they’re sort of pushing it,” they said. “You’re incentivizing the University to replace you or to make you cheaper.”
Raman, the Lionel proctor, also said proctors already receive support in their roles, praising the College’s Dean of Students’ Offices for being “receptive and welcoming and amenable to feedback.”
“I feel that I can address concerns that I have within the existing structures, so that’s why I’m still unclear about the question around representation within HURA,” he said.
The swirling doubts haven’t escaped HURA’s notice, with union organizers attempting to explain their mission to colleagues.
“What we’re trying to explain is, ‘Hey, we’re really happy that this works for you,’” Gunn said, “‘but currently, all of that can flip on a dime.’”
Piou, the Quincy tutor, also pointed to the ability of a union to bring equality of opportunity and benefits to all residential advisers.
“The benefits and security and joy and pride I have in my work aren’t consistently felt across the College,” Piou said. “The big thing for me is that the union offers the possibility for there to be a floor because we’re at-will employed, and all of these benefits can be taken away at a moment's notice.”
Tensions have also been heightened by differences between proctor and tutor status at the University, both of which HURA has included under the same bargaining unit. According to Harvard’s websites, there are currently about 200 tutors and 60 proctors across campus.
“Lots of proctors are worried about ‘Okay, well, tutors outnumber us, tutors are leading this effort,’” Gunn said, making proctors feel they’re simply “along for the ride.”
According to the statement from HURA, the organizing committee has “grown by several members — including proctors” since their February public announcement.
Still, according to one proctor, “most of the proctors felt like they were placed on this train, the train has left the station, and there’s no way to get off.”
‘A Stain’
On Wednesday, HURA’s internal tensions received attention from the University.
In an email to proctors, tutors, and house aides obtained by The Crimson, Harvard College Dean of Administration and Fiance Sheila Thimba wrote that the University has received “complaints concerning HURA’s conduct.”
The email — which stressed that administrators “strongly oppose this conduct” — pointed to “a message suggesting that HURA will remember those who opposed unionization when it comes time for collective bargaining.”
The statement seemingly referenced an internal proctor Slack message obtained by The Crimson in which a proctor wrote that when bargaining begins, “there will be very recent memories about who was helpful.”
HURA denied the allegations in an email to proctors, tutors, and house aides later that day, writing that they “denounce any form of coercion and intimidation.”
“We denounce in the strongest terms the university’s use of employee-wide email lists to circulate misinformation about unionization and allegations regarding HURA’s conduct,” the email read.
Both Thimba and HURA organizers encouraged people to contact the NLRB if they felt their rights had been violated.
The email from Thimba also acknowledged a formerly public list of all proctors, tutors, and house aides who had not signed a union card, along with their house and phone numbers. According to the list at the time, 185 members of the proposed units — out of a potential 345 — had not signed.
In a later Slack message obtained by The Crimson, a HURA organizer said the list “existed before the union filed so that people could reach out to folks who didn’t sign to have a conversation about the union.”
In an emailed statement to The Crimson, Brandon M. Martinez ’20, a HURA organizer, said the list became public after “someone dug back into the email archive, came across an archived database, and decided to share that database outside of the union’s membership.”
Despite HURA’s apology, Gunn acknowledged that the incident was less than helpful for HURA’s mission.
“I think one of our chief tasks is to inspire competence,” Gunn said, and “that is a stain on that effort, irrespective of the apologies and the lessons learned.”
Despite lingering pressures within the union and across residential advisers, some acknowledged that HURA leadership has since attempted to course-correct.
One proctor, who spoke to The Crimson on the condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation, pointed to organizers changing the time of a town hall following feedback that the original time prevented Muslim proctors from attending due to fast breaking.
Gunn also spoke broadly to HURA’s shifting approach to organizing, saying “they’ve owned up to everything.”
“They’ve not only issued apologies, but they’ve completely revised their strategy,” he said.
“At this point, I think they’ve overcorrected,” Gunn added. “They’re really going out of their way and I appreciate it.”
But as the union recognition election looms, some have remained unconvinced by HURA’s remedial efforts.
“I do not trust HURA, and I do not trust them to represent me at the bargaining table,” one proctor said.
Clarification: April 12, 2024
This article has been updated to clarify that while the Harvard Union of Residential Advisors publicly launched its unioniziation push on Feb. 27, the group had been quietly organizing since May 2023.
—Staff writer Aran Sonnad-Joshi can be reached at aran.sonnad-joshi@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @asonnadjoshi.
—Staff writer Sheerea X. Yu can be reached at sheerea.yu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @_shuhree_.