Students Join Staff Strike at American University in DC

Academic staff striking for better pay and healthcare benefits at American University (AU) in Washington were joined by dozens of students on Friday, August 26, the fifth day of the strike, according to local reports. Also in attendance was Joe Vogel, a Democrat running for election to the Maryland House of Delegates to represent District 17, who posted video of himself delivering a supportive address to the crowd and lauded the students who had joined the protest in solidarity with staff. In a letter to the university’s provost, Peter Starr, the AU Staff Union said its decision to strike was “direct response to [the university’s] withholding of our annual merit increases this year” after receiving them annually since at least 2005. In doing so, the university had “unilaterally changed” their working conditions, the union contended. The union’s demands included a guaranteed annual salary increases of at least 4 percent, investment in staff retention, and a restructuring of healthcare costs to make them more affordable to employees on lower salaries, according to the letter. On Friday morning, Provost Starr sent a memo telling staff not to attend the university’s “Opening Convocation” to welcome incoming students that was scheduled that day, according to AU staff members. Instead, they were encouraged to post supportive messages on social media. Dozens of students then staged a walk-out from the convocation ceremony in solidarity with staff. Credit: Joe Vogel via Storyful

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