Thread by @SamMorecroft

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Once again I am proud of @aimeemle for making clear that the individual struggles of our most exploited members are not an excuse to avoid collective struggle to transform the old conditions and fight for something better, and that she would never ever break a strike.

https://twitter.com/aimeemle/status/1457149610150047749

It's prompted me to say something that I had been meaning to say for a while, because I've seen a disturbing increase in UCU activists suggesting that some people "cannot afford to strike" or even that we should not expect everyone to strike. This is sanctimonious nonsense.

I've never had to live in a tent, I have been homeless for a few months as a PhD student. Lots of casualised workers have. Lucky for me the kindness of friends got me through that. Things get hard. We are by definition never financially secure. It would never stop me striking.

Nothing that anyone could say or do, no situation I found myself in would ever induce me to endure the sickening shame of crossing a picket line. Some people will say that that's a very hardline position, that not everyone would share my feelings, and maybe that is true.

But that is what we need to change. If we're talking about building worker power, in UCU or any other union, then we need to build an understanding among much wider layers of workers that there are class lines that can never be crossed in any circumstances.

If youre in circs where striking means you cannot afford basic necessities or rent for you/dependants, it is your right+ responsibility to ask for help, from your union, from the movement. If a union member asks us for help it is our responsibility to collectively support them

I know that UCU strike pay system is not designed for casualised members. @UCUAnti_Cas is working to change this. But there are also local branches, funds and members all over the country for when the national fund is too slow/bureaucratic and a movement that will show solidarity

If you voted against action but you were in the minority, that's fine, you participated in the discussion in accordance with your rights and responsibilities. But once the decision is made you hold the line and carry out the collective decision. No excuses.

I'm not saying this to be confrontational, although I appreciate it might seem like that. I don't want to fight, honestly. But I want us all to do everything in our power to persuade and support members to take action, including in difficult circumstances. #oneofusallofus, right?

If all members know that we will be supported to take action, and that we have a responsibility to support each other, that's where real power comes from

Some will still say they "can't afford to strike" but if we all make good on our responsibilities, we know what that means.

Every one of us carries a grain of history on our shoulders. Even if we wish we didn't, we do all the same. You can't simply wish that away. We all have rights and responsibilities. Never break a strike.