Over a year after the Labor Organization of Community Coordinators ratified its first contract with the University, the union is back at the bargaining table, seeking clearer job expectations and improved pay.
LOCC’s current contract — which expires in June 2026 — was ratified after a tumultuous 11-month period of bargaining that included an August 2024 strike during first-year move-in.
One of LOCC’s main priorities remains the same as during their last bargaining period: an annual stipend equivalent to the combined cost of housing and the University’s most expensive meal plan, according to Karsten Assoua ’27, a member of the LOCC bargaining committee and a CC in Keeney Quadrangle.
In their last contract, CCs won a $2,000 stipend increase and an additional 3% raise for the 2025-26 academic year, increasing their annual award from $10,500 to $12,875. But this figure was still $5,639 short of the 2025-26 total cost of University housing and the most expensive meal plan.
Covering the full cost would be in line with the practices of peer institutions, Assoua said, noting that Purdue University provides free room and board to its resident assistants.
University spokesperson Brian Clark did not directly respond to Assoua’s claim, saying that Brown’s interest “remains in productive bargaining directly with union leaders — not on negotiating through the news media.”
Clark previously wrote in an email to The Herald that the CC “role is distinct from resident assistant roles at many schools” as CCs’ contracts do not require them to enforce policy violations or provide individual support to students.
Assoua contested Clark’s statement, saying that CCs “by nature” may take on some of those responsibilities, even if they aren’t explicitly stated in CC contracts.
Mikhaila Reid ’27, a member of the LOCC bargaining committee and a CC in Keeney Quad, said that she has been providing support to her hall’s residents, particularly in the aftermath of the Dec. 13 shooting.
“I've been woken up at all times of day and night, and I'm always going to open the door,” Reid said. “Not just because it's my job, but because I care and I think it is a little bit of an insult for anyone to say that we are to be paid less … when we're doing the work.”
Another one of LOCC’s bargaining priorities is to move additional CC job responsibilities that are currently listed in a separate document into the contract, said Jack Vail ’28, another member of the bargaining committee and a CC in Champlin Hall.
According to Vail, many responsibilities are listed in a “community engagement model,” which is not available to CCs until their job contract is signed. “New CCs don't know what they’re signing on to do,” Reid said.
Part of the community engagement model changed this school year, requiring CCs to host seven community events per semester, according to Reid and Assoua. According to a copy of the 2024-25 community engagement model obtained by The Herald, CCs were required to host two to three “formal programs” per semester.
Moving the community engagement model into the union contract would act as “both as a measure of transparency for new CCs, but also a level of accountability for administration, that they can’t change our job responsibilities at their leisure,” Reid added.
LOCC is also hoping to include provisions in the new contract that would provide more “transparency” on CCs’ programming budgets, Assoua said.
According to a copy of the 2025-26 community engagement model obtained by The Herald, CCs are provided with a baseline of $250 per semester to spend on events. Vail said that LOCC would also like to increase the programming budget.
“The quality of a program — even if it’s not solely tied to the amount of money you can put into it — is at least partially or substantially dependent on it,” Vail said.
In a statement to The Herald, Clark wrote that the University is “focused on a collegial and productive bargaining process and ensuring that Community Coordinators are supported in their work fostering residential communities that promote a strong sense of belonging for Brown undergraduates.”
Vail said that the negotiations are “an opportunity to really make one of the foundational parts of campus better.”
James Libresco is a senior staff writer covering staff & student labor. He is a first-year student from Alexandria, Va. studying political science and contemplative studies. In his free time, he can be found playing basketball, meditating, or losing in Among Us.
