Georgetown University resident assistants (RAs) are petitioning the university to roll back policy changes made this year, alleging that administrators are retaliating against their unionization efforts.
The Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC) is accusing the university of weaponizing the union’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to worsen living conditions and punish RAs for minor infractions. RAs operate under a contract signed in April 2025 following concerns about disparate working conditions and poor labor management.
Anna Holk (CAS ’27), a GRAC steward, said the petition asks the university to respect the CBA.
“Considering the sum of actions over the course of this year, we’re asking the university to take a different stance towards the RA union,” Holk told The Hoya. “We’re asking them to respect our right to collectively organize and bargain, and we’re asking them not to use the collective bargaining agreement as a tool to justify making the workplace more hostile.”
The petition contends that new policies — which include requiring more RAs to remain on campus during breaks, ending RAs’ ability to choose their suitemates and delaying the release of summer RA positions — are designed to negatively affect RAs’ quality of life. RAs say these changes ignore the CBA’s original goal of protecting RAs and fostering a healthy work environment.
The RA union’s representation, OPEIU Local 153, also sent a letter to the university April 20 demanding Georgetown stop what it called “union-busting actions.”
A university spokesperson contested GRAC’s characterization of the Office of Residential Living’s (Res Living) policies, saying the university disagreed with the allegations.
“We disagree with these characterizations and note that many of the statements are not accurate,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “The CBA is publicly available and outlines how infractions are consistently handled as agreed upon by the union and the University. Additionally, it established multiple avenues for both informal and formal discussion and resolution of issues of mutual interest and concern.”
“Out of respect for this legal agreement between the union and the university, which establishes OPEIU Local 153 as the sole and exclusive representative of GRAC members, Georgetown will continue to use these channels to discuss and resolve any concerns through good-faith engagement,” the spokesperson added.
After violating a Res Living policy, such as by missing a meeting or failing to submit a duty log on time, RAs are required to attend accountability meetings with their supervising community director (CD).
Every RA that The Hoya spoke to said RAs face more frequent accountability meetings this year, often for more minor infractions than in previous years. The university spokesperson did not respond to a specific question about infractions.
Peter Sukstorf (SFS ’26), an RA in Ida Ryan & Isaac Hawkins Hall, said Res Living leadership is now holding RAs to unreasonable standards.
“We’re always expected to be perfect,” Sukstorf told The Hoya. “We’re expected to do everything by the book, which is just not something that I’ve experienced at any other job. Any other place I’ve worked, there’s been a certain amount of acceptance that people make mistakes, and you learn from those mistakes and you do better next time.”
“But as an RA, there’s very little room for that, and the expectation is that you do everything perfectly the first time,” Sukstorf added.
Devan Varma (CAS ’26), who has been an RA for the last three years, said Res Living’s actions feel punitive.
“Getting on probation because you submitted a log late by a couple minutes is frankly insane,” Varma told The Hoya. “I definitely had that happen to me.”
In a Sept. 9, 2025 email to RAs, Heidi Zeich, the executive director of Residential Education, wrote that since RAs are “employees,” they must report concerns at all times, regardless of whether or not they are “serving in an official capacity at that moment.”
The petition alleges Res Living leaders justified recent policy changes by classifying RAs as employees rather than student leaders, which RAs said disrespects their campus role. Seven RAs confirmed to The Hoya they have heard Zeich use similar language in internal meetings, which they view as evidence retaliation against their status as union members.
The petition says the change in language demonstrates retaliation, referencing what RAs say was a lack of clarity in RA application deadlines for next year.
“Management said they would have communicated the deadline more clearly to RAs if they were still ‘student leaders’ as opposed to ‘employees,’ a distinction that seems to indicate RA union membership,” the petition reads. “This is yet another clear example of retaliation against RAs for their decision to form a union.”
Niharika Emani (MSB ’28), a first-year RA in Darnall Hall, said Res Living’s language about RAs as both students and employees is contradictory because they are asked to always represent Res Living as students.
“It’s just a weird dichotomy of ‘student leaders’ being weaponized, and it’s the idea of we have to be leaders and present ourselves in a certain way all the time and respond to things all the time as an RA, but at the same time, we’re only employees, and we’re contractually obligated,” Emani told The Hoya.
“It’s a very transactional relationship,” Emani added.
GRAC specifically alleges that the university is exploiting contractual gaps in the CBA to alter previous policies in ways that negatively affect RAs’ work and living experiences. The university spokesperson disagreed with this characterization.
Adi Vishahan (CAS ’26), a second-year RA working in Kennedy Hall, said Res Living is ignoring the CBA’s goal, which was to make working conditions across residence halls more consistent.
“It does feel like the CBA is being used more as a punitive measure, rather than a check to make sure experiences across different buildings are being treated equally,” Vishahan told The Hoya.
“We’ve kind of taken the worst situation that could have been put in and made that the standard, rather than finding something more reasonable,” Vishahan added.
Victoria Allen (CAS ’27), a second-year RA, said Res Living has consistently treated RAs differently than other students hoping to live in Washington, D.C., for the summer by delaying the release of summer RA decisions until April 23, when decisions have previously been released with RA offers for the upcoming academic year in January.
“I found it extremely distasteful for the university to leave people in limbo for something as important as housing for months, as people are deciding between taking the chance with an internship in D.C. and hoping Res Living can give them a concrete answer, but are facing continual delays in the announcement,” Allen wrote to The Hoya.
Carmela Cadja (SFS ’28), a first-time RA in New South, said she feels these changes disproportionately impact lower-income students.
“If you’re a student that is needing to stay in the role for financial reasons, you’re less likely to leave, and so that might impact your mental health,” Cadja told The Hoya. “Let’s say if you were in a stressful situation with some accountability issues that you might have, compared to someone that doesn’t necessarily need the financial benefits and might be able to leave easier, I think that’s an issue that administration should be more cognizant of.”
Abigail Adane (CAS ’28), a first-time RA in LXR, said Res Living’s actions have made being an RA more taxing.
“I think Res Living is clearly union busting,” Adane told The Hoya. “It’s very obvious. I’m in full support of the petition, and I’m really proud of how the union has represented us. I think they’ve done an amazing job, and I just think, over this entire year, Res Living has given me a really bad taste in my mouth.”
Cadja said Res Living’s recent policies have impacted her ability to support her residents.
“It just feels like they are sometimes trying to target people or make an example out of someone, and try to get people on little mistakes, instead of encouraging people to do their best and be honest,” Cadja said. “It feels hard to come up to leadership and explain if you are struggling with something.”
Nora Toscano contributed reporting.
