American University reduced staff’s match retirement benefits on Jan. 1, despite efforts by the AU Staff Union and community to halt its implementation.
Throughout 2025, the staff union was bargaining its third contract. After ratification, University President Jonathan Alger announced changes in staff benefits on Nov. 20, including reducing their 2:1 retirement match to 1:1 for six months. Originally, the University would match $2 to staff members for every dollar spent, but now this is no longer the case. Alger said this change was made to address below-target enrollment levels.
In response, the AU Staff Union created a sign-on letter open to all AU community members, urging the University to halt the implementation.
“This decision is unacceptable for the entire community, not just unionized staff,” the open letter says. “The administration continues to declare that they cannot support the community financially, and they take it out of our ability to care for ourselves and our families.”
The letter has not prevented the reductions, but is still open for more community members to sign.
Matt Bennett, vice president and chief communications officer, said the University’s actions are consistent with its collective bargaining agreement with the Service Employees International Union.
David Kaib, assistant director of Institutional Research and Assessment and elected union representative of the Staff Union, said union members are already seeing less money going into their retirement funds.
Although all union members will be impacted, economically vulnerable staff members will be hit the hardest, he said.
“It’s going to hit everybody, but it’s going to be hardest for the folks who make the least at a time when the cost of living is really high,” Kaib said.
Kaib said there was no communication from the University to staff before the changes were made.
“Top-down decision making tends to work out poorly for the University,” Kaib said. “They had the opportunity to discuss it with us. They had the opportunity to bargain over it, and they chose not to do that.”
Currently, the union is filing a grievance alleging the University’s violation of contract. Their plan is to take it to arbitration, which will bring in a neutral third party to make a final decision.
Bennett said the University is responding to the grievance in accordance with the Grievance and Arbitration Procedures listed in the agreement.
Kaib said the University tried to make a similar change back in 2020, but was successfully fought by the union, whose benefits were reinstated in May 2021.
Students are also playing a crucial role in fighting for the union. Zoe Feldman-Roy, a freshman in the School of International Service and diversity, equity and inclusion officer of AU’s Chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, signed the letter and said she was not surprised by its claims.
Feldman-Roy urged students to get involved and support the union.
“We hold a position of power and we are able to leverage our status as students to make gains,” Feldman-Roy said. “We have a responsibility to use that to fight for working class people on our campus.”
When it comes to solutions, Kaib said the Board of Trustees often finds money for what it deems a priority, such as new buildings or the 250+ campaign. Feldman-Roy suggested cutting the administration’s budget.
“Slash admin’s budget, slash admin’s paychecks,” Feldman-Roy said. “I guarantee you that Jonathan Alger is making too much money. I guarantee you that the Board of Trustees are making too much money.”
This article was edited by Abigail Hatting, Payton Anderson and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Ava Stuzin and Mattie Lupo. Fact-checking done by Andrew Kummeth.
