In 2022 and 2023, RAs at Barnard and Columbia made history by becoming only the eighth and ninth RA unions in the country. This semester, current and former members of the Barnard RA Union and CURA Collective sat down with Bwog to tell the story of their eventful first years.

After winning its union election with a 95% “yes” vote, the Columbia University Resident Advisor Collective has officially become a legally-recognized independent union, the first RA union of its kind in the United States.

On Monday, RAs and their supporters rallied on Low Steps before marching to President Bollinger’s house to gain recognition for a Columbia RA union.

On Sunday, January 15, the Columbia University Resident Adviser (CURA) Collective announced on Instagram that Residential Life has cut the RAs’ weekend duty shifts down from 24 hours to 11 hours, effective this past weekend.

On Saturday, December 17, the CURA Collective announced via Instagram that they have received a $1,000 raise for Columbia’s Resident Advisors.

After organizing throughout the spring and summer to demand changes to their compensation, Resident Advisers at CC and SEAS will now receive a different pay structure for the 2022-23 academic year, thanks to a new policy change.

Columbia’s Resident Advisors, the student workers at the center of undergraduate residential life, report dissatisfaction with the job’s pay structure and level of communication. In the wake of Barnard RAs’ collective action, RAs at Columbia make plans to continue organizing over the summer.