Residential Assistants United Rising is Stanford’s student-led unionization campaign for residential student leaders.

Fellow Residential Assistants, Ethnic Theme Associates, and members of the Stanford community,

Over the past year, Stanford RAs have organized to obtain recognition as employees and improve our working conditions. We went public with a union campaign in the beginning of May 2026 with our demands and filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to be officially recognized as the labor union of Stanford’s RAs and ETAs. Since then, the Oakland Regional NLRB has ruled that Stanford RAs are employees with the right to unionize. Rather than respecting the democratic process and working with Residential Assistants United Rising to hold a fair election, Stanford is appealing to the national NLRB, with clear plans to overturn the board’s Columbia decision — a 2016 ruling that recognized student workers across the country as employees. 

Today, RAUR, the Stanford RA Union, withdrew our petition with the NLRB to prevent Stanford University from working with the Trump-appointed National Board Members to overturn the Columbia precedent. This decision was made by a majority-vote at our weekly organizing committee meeting based on signaling from both Stanford University and the National Board that they were preparing to use our case to overturn Columbia. We came to this decision to remain in solidarity with the tens of thousands of other unionized workers across college campuses, including the Stanford Graduate Workers Union here at home, that rely on the Columbia decision. We refuse to give Stanford and the Trump administration the leverage to destroy the bargaining rights of unions across the country. 

We sincerely believe that, if an election had been held, we would have won handily, and Stanford is aware of that fact. This year, RAs and ETAs representing a double-digit number of dorms attended our union meetings to organize with us, a continuation of the nearly 200 RAs who signed union cards last year. In the face of a clear student consensus, Stanford University has chosen to collaborate with nationally prominent anti-union lawyers to jeopardize the rights of tens of thousands of workers, rather than recognize the rights of a few hundreds of their own student workers. Stanford has written its legal motions in collaboration with famous conservative lawyer Paul Clement — who makes in five hours what Stanford pays RAs for a whole year, and has previously argued in front of the Supreme Court that criminalizing homelessness is constitutional and that employers can refuse to cover contraceptives in their employee’s healthcare — so that it can continue neglecting its employees and damage workers’ rights around the country. We hope that the Stanford community recognizes that these actions have clear anti-democratic and anti-worker political goals, in line with Stanford’s other recent collaborations with the Trump administration. Stanford has made its disdain for workers’ rights clear, spending tens of thousands of dollars on anti-labor lawyers, cutting new contracts with the government, and increasing the cost of attendance, all while our dorms remain understaffed and our peers underpaid.

Stanford RAUR is still a union, and we will pursue alternate pathways towards union recognition and improving RA conditions. We will continue organizing to make real changes in the workplace, and to address severe RA understaffing, lack of sufficient crisis training and failure to meet financial and support needs. The Assistant Vice Provost for Residential Education, Cheryl Brown, and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs, Michelle Rasmussen, have repeatedly refused to speak to both RAUR and individual RAs about amending these issues, and the University’s continued inaction endangers the wellbeing of both RAs and the residents they take care of. 

We believe it is important, in this moment, to fight back against the institutions working to break down the democratic process. At the same time, we must also preserve the protections of our fellow workers across the country. We aim to join the ranks of student workers at colleges such as the University of Massachusetts, University of Georgetown and Brown University, who have won union recognition without going through the NLRB. Furthermore, we believe that continued action will improve the conditions of RAs on campus, in spite of Stanford’s anti-democratic actions.

We will continue to take steps towards ensuring that Stanford meets RA needs. If you are a member, we will reach out soon with more information about our upcoming actions and how you can get involved. If you are an RA or ETA but not a member yet, fill out our intake form. Please reach out to stanfordresidentassistants ‘at’ proton.me with any questions.