The Labor Organization of Community Coordinators has ratified its first contract with the University after members unanimously voted in favor of the agreement, the union announced in a Jan. 31 Instagram post.
The ratification marks the end of nearly a year of negotiations and will increase CCs’ compensation from $10,500 to $12,500 for the 2024-25 academic year. The difference will be applied retroactively for those employed during the current academic year.
During bargaining, LOCC members pushed for more detailed role responsibilities and mutually-agreed-upon timelines for changes in CCs’ duties. The union cited poor communication of job responsibilities when announcing its formation in September 2023. The contract requires a Labor Management Committee, composed of University and union representatives, to review CC responsibilities at weekly meetings in October.
Revisions made during the meetings will be forwarded to the Office of Residential Life, “to be incorporated into recruitment materials for the following academic year,” the contract states.
“We are going to have these meetings for the purpose of looking at our responsibilities document and providing our feedback,” LOCC Organizer Anna Ryu ’25 said. “Our organizing and our work is definitely going through a new phase.”
CCs will also be able to provide feedback on “fall and winter refresh training” sessions and discuss how to implement feedback in future trainings with the University, according to the contract.
Its implementation makes LOCC the second undergraduate union to reach an agreement with the University. Ryu said she believes the contract recognizes the importance of CCs on campus and “is a challenge to the narrative that CCs don’t care or are indifferent.”
Ryu said CCs aren’t seen as necessary in the Brown community. “It’s hard to appreciate the value of these roles,” she said.
Ryu added that she hopes the contract fosters a stronger community and more collaborative culture among CCs.
“I feel very proud of our union and CCs for making this contract happen,” Ryu said. “It is connected to the pride I feel when I see a CC doing something for their community, connecting with their residents and doing this job in a way that we know it can be done.”
Emily Feil is a university news and metro editor covering staff & student labor and RISD. She is from Long Beach, NY and plans to concentrate in English and international & public affairs. In her free time, she can be found watching bad TV and reading good books.
