Of those arrested, 14 were protesters who refused to leave Cevallos' office, which is located in the Whitmore Administration Building. Several others were arrested elsewhere in the building, according to a UMass press release. The rest were arrested outside of the building while trying to prevent the police from taking those who had already been arrested to a booking area.
Union organizers held a rally on Monday on the Student Union steps while supporters entered Cevallos' office and refused to leave if the administration would not set a date to bargain with the union. Fifteen students entered the office while about 75 resident assistants marched to the building after they rallied. They sang chants outside of Cevallos' locked office.
"We're prepared to be here until we're taken away by force or until they meet the demand," said Leslie Edwards when the supporters entered the office, according to the Union News. Edwards is the president of the Graduate Employees Organization, which represents graduate student workers.
According to Cevallos, the students understood what would happen if they did not leave the office. The university picketing code permits demonstrations in public spaces during working hours that do not disrupt the flow of normal business.
"I asked them repeatedly if they wanted to leave peacefully … They chose to be arrested," said Cevallos. "This is not a public space and I asked them to leave. We enforced our picket code." Shortly before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, police began to carry protesters out of the building on stretchers.
RAs maintain that their demands are reasonable. "We're not asking for anything ridiculous. We just want the chance for our voice to be heard," said Ariana Sicairos, an RA who attended the rally and said that the assistants have no job protection and no formal grievance procedure.
Cevallos said the administration will not bargain with the students and will not have any negations until the issue is resolved is the courts. The Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission (MLRC) ruled that the RAs had the right to unionize and the RAs voted to join United Auto Workers Local 3233 in March.
UMass is raising the issue before the MLRC and the Massachusetts courts on the grounds that the state labor law was not intended to cover undergraduate student employees.
Administrators have said that bargaining will lead to negotiations over issues that have nothing to do with working conditions, including financial aid, academic status and student conduct, according to the Union News.
Those who were arrested include seven UMass undergraduate students, four Hampshire College students, 16 UMass graduate students and the rest were not affiliated with the University. They face charges including disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and trespassing.