Ok time for a short thread on who is actually on strike (hint #NotJustLecturers) Throughout the strike many people (special mention @FionaEWhelan) have been calling out media coverage, @UCU, supporters, & even strikers themselves for calling #USSstrike a ‘lecturers strike’ 1/n
This is not just a matter of words - its important. Firstly, as someone on strike who isn't a lecturer, it makes me feel marginalised (when I already feel vulnerable being on strike) it excludes us from the solidarity that is so important in #USSstrike 2/n
Secondly, its elitist, it perpetuates the view that some people at the university are more important than others (hint, its not the cleaners that count in this view) As a sector we suffer so much from elitism, we can't afford it in #USSstrike 3/n
Thirdly, (and this is still important and effects everyone on strike) it misrepresents the labour that is done in a university, and what the withdrawal of that labour on #USSstrike means for our employers and for wider society 4/n
Cancellations of lectures is an easy thing to point to when we consider the impact of the strike, and its is really right to hold the line about not rescheduling them when we return. But what about the other labour that has been withdrawn on #USSstrike so far (incl ASOS) 5/n
All staff on strike engage in a huge amount of administrative and audit labour - for some of us it is the main focus of our job, for others an increasingly large part. When we go back from #USSstrike it will be waiting for us, like a malignant toad 6/n
Even extending deadlines for this due to strike has met with little support (e.g. Research Fish which I know many people worked while striking to complete because they refused to extend the deadline. We need to fight harder about this 7/n
In fact, #USSstrike itself has led to further administrative work for some colleagues, and staff on ASOS have been shouldering extra demands already and it will increase in the next few weeks, check @kimmcurran on this. We need to support them 8/n
Also recognising the diversity of our roles and the work that we do is a real opportunity to extend the impact of #USSstrike, to reduce the sense that students bear all the cost of our withdrawn labour. We can be creative in our use of ASOS around these 'hidden' tasks 9/n
As a researcher, I wasn't sure whether my #USSstrike was worth much, whether anyone other than my bank manager would notice, and my pension will be rubbish no matter what. I joined, like so many others because of my support for trade unionism 10/n
But in fact, my boss did notice the withdrawal of my labour, I missed an internal deadline and he wasn't impressed. It took an afternoon of guilty tears and the support of my fabulous network of women to realise that this is the point of #USSstrike withdrawn labour is a pain 11/n
And this is more important the more 'important' you are. If you cancel your lectures, but host that international seminar, you are punching down. Letting down your students but not letting down your peers. #USSstrike is hard 12/n
If we fully leverage our withdrawn labour, and inconvenience not just students (who have given us such support) but peers, government and the general public - #USSstrike will have more effect and be over more quickly 13/n
This is just to apologise that it wasn't a short thread after all :) 14/14
unroll please
