Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153 representative Nick Galipeau spoke at Swarthmore on Tuesday, Sept. 30, about the current state of workers’ rights in the U.S. His talk, co-hosted by the Swarthmore Pre-Law Society and the almost two-year-old Resident Assistant (RA) Union, discussed collective bargaining and preparing for possible changes to student unions under the Trump administration.
Last fall, after a dithering course of negotiations led by Galipeau, the college and RA Union reached a tentative agreement. The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) included increased compensation for RAs to cover the full cost of housing after taxes, added payment to cover 20% of yearly food costs, and a $250 signing bonus, as well as a $250 bonus for senior RAs. The Union ratified the CBA on Oct. 1, 2024, and it went into effect shortly after.
However, concerns over the strength of the student union and its contract come amidst the standing of the Columbia decision: a 2016 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling establishing student workers’ classification as employees. The decision served as the foundation for student unions around the country, Galipeau explained, by allowing students to form unions as employees under the protections of the National Labor Relations Act. Out of the twenty RA contracts that the Local has bargained for, Galipeau said Swarthmore was the only employer that referred to RAs as “quasi-employees: workers with aspects of employee status.” It took months, he said, to get the college to recognize that RAs were fully employees.
Even after negotiations last year, Galipeau says that there is still room for improvement in the RA contract. One RA, Katie Kerman ’26, asked why the college does not omit room and board from students’ bills like other colleges, instead of paying students the cost of housing. Galipeau answered that the financial piece is one part he wants to bring back to the table.
He described the college’s administrators as “unusually mercurial,” compared to those of peer institutions. Unlike some of the other colleges Galipeau has negotiated with, Swarthmore’s administration was accompanied by multiple lawyers. Moving forward with future negotiations, after the potential reversal of the Columbia decision, Galipeau warned, “We’re going to need to be prepared for that.”
At Columbia University, a graduate student group (GRADS) filed unfair labor practice charges against the Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers (SWC-UAW), alleging the Union has delayed negotiations with the University because of political concerns, such as Columbia’s divestment from Israel. GRADS is backed by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a nonprofit that provides legal aid to support employees against coercive union practices. Galipeau described the organization as an “anti-union think tank.”
Galipeau is concerned about the union battle at Columbia. He says the possibility of the Trump administration-appointed NLRB overturning the Columbia decision was one of OPEIU’s major concerns leading up to the election. He’s surprised they haven’t overturned it yet.
If overturned, the fate of Swarthmore’s RA contract will be in the college’s hands. That is, as employees, the RAs will have the right to demand that their employer, the college, voluntarily accept the terms and conditions of the contract. Galipeau said that he feels some colleges and universities are taking advantage of the uncertain status of student employees. “I think anticipating where Swarthmore is coming from is going to be a big deal for us,” he noted.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB — the governing body responsible for enforcing labor laws — is responsible for protecting employees’ right to unionize. Galipeau said the NLRB is “pretty toothless” right now, regarding recent leadership changes made under the Trump administration, including the illegal termination of NLRB Chair Gwynne Wilcox.
In the face of an attack on labor rights, and potentially without the backing of the public services of the NLRB, Galipeau calls on the private arbitration process. For unionized employees, the Union can refer a grievance to an arbitrator, a neutral third party who holds a hearing and then issues a final decision.
“The Local [153] has been involved at a higher level politically than it ever has been,” Galipeau said. He mentioned the Local’s endorsement for New York State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, the front-runner for New York mayor. Galipeau hopes that through political endorsement, the Local can draw on state protections to craft local legislation protecting student workers.
As for the Columbia decision, “I hope that the decision doesn’t get overturned, but we are preparing like it [will] be.”
Editor’s Note: Katie Kerman ’26, an RA quoted in this article, is also a Sports Editor for The Phoenix.
