PEDAGOGY OF THE PICKET LINE 101: FOR STUDENTS NEW TO STRIKING: I’m writing this thread because I have found that some students are quite unfamiliar with picketing, which is a sign of the times. Hope this helps. @ucu #UCUStrikesBack @CambridgeUCU
A picket line is a physical + symbolic space, as well as a pedagogic + performative space. Physically + symbolically, it marks a threshold that workers collectively do not cross to withdraw their collective labour. A picket line makes visible the withdrawal of this labor.
Staff do not get paid for withdrawing their labour by standing on a picket line. They are sacrificing their individual salaries for the collective interests of, in this case, the university. Our working conditions are students’ learning conditions.
There are reports of universities stating it is unlawful for students to picket. This statement is true in a narrow sense. Do not wear an armband that shows you are an official picketer. Do not carry an official union placard. But make and carry your own signs if you want.
It is not unlawful for students to talk to picketers. That's great! But do not ask your lecturers to work on the picket line, even if it is a task as small as signing a form. (What counts as "work" on a picket line can get messy... see below.)
When students cross the picket line, they are entitled to do so without getting harassed. However, crossing a picket line hurts industrial action.
Crossing the picket line means in most situations that you have decided to put your individual interests over the collective interests of staff and students now and in the future.
But... and this is important... Not crossing the picket line does not mean that you are becoming *less* educated. That is because the picket line is both pedagogic and performative!
Teaching and learning happens on the picket line. There are formal teach-outs and everyday conversations about vital topics of the day. With these teach-outs + conversations, it is sometimes ambiguous whether academic labour is being performed or not.
So, it can be a bit confusing, even for us. The picket line is also performative because it summons a collective who are envisioning an alternative to the marketised university.
In this sense, the picket line is an opportunity for students to experience a different way of being a student at the university.
So, if you haven't tried it yet, go hang out on a picket line. It is worth seeing what that experience teaches you about being a student in and for the university. As university staff, we would love to chat with you... That's our job. 😀
(BTW, this thread is evidence that picket line is knowledge production -- it is product of conversations and interventions on the picket line outside @CamEdFac over 2 strikes w/ @GubernatorHomo @arathings @ayeshacamexam @AnjaCessford @DrBethanMorgan Mark Carrigan and others!)
