Dear President Eisgruber,

We are writing with concern about staff salaries at Princeton, which we believe are no longer in line with the job market. We ask that you seek approval from the Board of Trustees for a special across-the-board salary increase, effective January 1, 2022, for all Princeton staff, to be followed by merit increases effective July 1, 2022, as usual. The amount of the special increase should be high enough to make up for the salary increases that were not received for FY21, and to address inflation.

In an email dated April 8, 2020, Provost Prentice notified all faculty and staff that FY21 merit increases, which would’ve taken effect July 1, 2020, were being suspended due to the Covid pandemic and the related financial challenges that the University was expecting. The unfortunate use of the term “suspended” gave some staff hope that the raises were only delayed. In reality those increases were
canceled, such that staff didn’t receive an increase between July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2021. To add insult to injury, the pool for FY22 salary increases was 3.7%--not enough to make up for the fact that no increases were received in FY21.

Meanwhile, inflation is higher than it has been in decades. As result, Princeton staff are now earning less than they were two years ago, when measured in real dollars. For example, a staff member who was making $60,000 in July 2019, didn’t receive an increase in July 2020, and then received the pool increase of 3.7% in July 2021, is now making a salary of $62,220. However, to have the same buying power in July 2021 that they did in July 2019 they would have to be making $65,075 (according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator).

What’s worse is that the lack of an increase in a single year compounds over time. That same employee who was earning $60,000 as of July 1, 2019 might have received a 3% increase in July 2020, if merit increases hadn’t been canceled. If they had, over the subsequent 20 years that would add up to an additional $48,000 in salary.

We understand there was more uncertainty than usual in the financial markets when the Covid pandemic started in spring 2020, such that the University felt the need to make budgetary cuts. However, since then those fears have not been realized. In fact, the opposite has occurred—the University just posted an FY21 endowment return of 46.9%.

As Princeton University staff we have continued to support faculty, staff and the mission of the University during this difficult time. We are now asking that you recognize this work with pay that is commensurate with inflation and the broader market.