🧵I’m standing for UCU GS because we desperately need change and an industrial strategy that is fit for purpose & equipped to deal with the challenges we face.
Over the last year I co-chaired UCU’s Climate & Ecological Emergency Committee (CEEC) with the fantastic @peterrhwood
/1 @Peterrhwood CEEC emerged from our union's grassroots and a network of activists (many on casualised contracts). Supported by amazing staff & SOS-UK we work to ensure UCU is proactive in ensuring that job security + good pay & conditions are centred in a Just Transition to a green economy.
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🧵Relying on fossil fuel companies & doing as instructed by them is *not* university leadership teams doing all they can to get us to net zero. The latest investigative report from @openDemocracy reveals direct lines of influence from fossil fuel companies to University leaders⬇️

https://twitter.com/martinrw/status/1729400504747225451

@openDemocracy ⬆️Report hot on the heels of FOI's revealing £millions fossil fuel funding received by UK HEIs since 2022 ⬇️ long after many signed declarations of climate emergency & intentions to divest under pressure from students&staff.


@sosukcharity @investforchangetheguardian.com/environment/20…

UCU HE members voted to:
*REJECT interim proposals from in ACAS talks for #FourFights
*NOTE UUK/UCU joint statement on collaboration toward USS benefit restoration
*A Marking & Assessment Boycott (MAB) begins 20 April in all branches involved in 4F dispute
ucu.org.uk/12873 ❓What next?

Special HE Sector Conference (sHESC) this Wed 19 April. This is a democratic *policy-making* space, so will direct next steps in pursuit of each #ucuRISING dispute.

[See motions: ucu.org.uk/circ/html/ucu2…]

How do we get what we need? What would progress look like?

@bparsia @DrTonyPadilla @ucu Negotiators can’t stand IA down nor escalate, officers not perma-delegated. +Policy matters.
Posting (insomnia) to remind me to reply more tmw. Some muddling of teams here (understandable, all sounds similar, overlaps) + can explain how works in practice with some egs…
UCEA = 🤬 @bparsia @DrTonyPadilla @ucu The presidential team don’t have delegated HEC powers. The HE officers *sometimes* have delegated authority from HEC to do specific things. Confusing bc UK officers have delegated auth from NEC certain times (eg NEC delegates over summer period) & UK/HE officer teams overlap but

LIVE NOW

On the need for urgent decisions & a comprehensive set of measures *today*

"Delayed and tentative decision making will result in the deaths of tens of thousands more people"

Getting worse: several more thousand people in hospital than at April peak: no's still rising

https://twitter.com/IndependentSage/status/1343977192305389569

Cases in *all* regions are going up, reflected in hospital admissions.

Every region except NE and NW have more people in hospital than during the first wave.

We don’t yet know if tier 4 is enough to slow or contain covid.

The impact of Xmas mixing is still to come.

Any continued devotion to schools + colleges going back to in person teaching on 4 January must stop.

It’s deadly.

“Bringing in the military” to do...webinars for lateral flow testing (not accurate enough to be relied upon as a mitigation) is dangerous.

4 Jan is too early.

https://twitter.com/punk_academic/status/1343766360208367617

Things are very, very bad

https://twitter.com/martinllewelyn/status/1343566836684746754?s=21

Relieved about #ALevelResults U-turn but make no mistake: the grading scandal has *already hurt* many students who have already had an impossible year.

Students facing the biggest barriers to higher education *and* to other destinations dependent on grades were hit hardest

/1 The algorithm used to 'adjust' grades was baked in bias + prejudice. It *must* be made public

We need to know how it was created. We must ensure nothing like it is used again

It is indicative of problems devouring the heart of our education sector⬇️

https://twitter.com/PWGTennant/status/1293895387779141634?s=20

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Solidarity with live events workers day of action today! Livelihoods decimated by #coronavirus, many workers left with zero financial support. These skilled workers behind the scenes make live events happen. Support #WeMakeEvents #RedAlert #LetTheMusicPlay #LightItInRed Demos today in London, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, more! Venues will be lit up in red. The UK government has failed to support industries still unable to open by law, so the entire supply chain & its workers set to collapse. Culture is made by workers! #WeMakeEvents

Major concerns at Durham! Rushed plan (no consultation with UCU/students!) to radically change teaching beyond #Covid19: 25% reduction of modules, outsourcing, online learning without due regard to pedagogical objectives... some coverage here: palatinate.org.uk/exclusive-univ… @ucuatdurham

https://twitter.com/zenscara/status/1250411666942185472

Serious kudos to members on the ground + @ucuatdurham for moving rapidly to challenge this - with a 180-strong online EGM meeting in very difficult circumstances, following pressure that's already resulted in pushing back the date Senate. But *real* consultation is required here!

The BMA's position tells us something.👇
Yesterday @UCU NEC passed serious motions + members have been asking for more detail - some require advice on wording before going to member but I'm pasting the rest on #Covid19 below.

https://twitter.com/TheBMA/status/1238157740893233154

Emergency Motion 1 @rorfitelli: On @UCU VP election+need for electronic hustings, bc well-informed democracy still matters even in a pandemic (an adapted version of @sheffielducu's motion that's been timed off the agenda from 2 Congresses now, it could have already been in place)

Frightening front page: we've gone swiftly from "take it on the chin, no cruises" to "death industry overwhelmed", lack of "body storage", powers for police + immigration officials to detain people who *might* be infected, yet testing remains slow + patchy
#Covid19 /1 Powers for *police + immigration officials* to detain people suspected of having the virus yet we aren't investing in a proper testing regime. Risks of reinforcing bigotry and inciting further racist violence, while scientists tell us we need the data to inform responses /2

We *have* to do all we can to ensure casualised workers get paid whether work is cancelled / they have to distance/self isolate. Cannot get out of my head how bad this will be for hourly paid + zero hours workers; self-employed indies will struggle a lot too. #Covid19 #Precarity Thinking about #UCUStrikes: this situation highlights SO MUCH of why we're on strike for decent & fair pay + conditions + fair pensions. Huge overwhelming workload + burnout + pressures of precarity + inequality endanger us + our students even before there's a #Covid19 pandemic

Mini 'explainer' thread #UCUstrikes: how will @UCU decide re offers?

Understandably members have a lot of Qs about this!

Key point: We're negotiating intensely hard over proposals. Significant progress is being driven by the strength of our (historic!) industrial action! /1 [Interlude to note once again it's a disgrace that it takes industrial action - esp on this scale - to be heard on issues of basic decency...
And how ✊truly epic, determined + creative ✊ @UCU members are...
#UCUStrikes work!]
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Yesterday 4 JNCHES (#FourFights) negotiators and @UCU's Head of HE met UCEA. That UCEA met us is down to the strength of our ballot results + absolutely massive strike action currently underway. We need to *hold the line* and *grow* this action: it's *effective* /1 #UCUstrike We spent ~2.5 hours with UCEA articulating all four grounds of dispute very fully, making clear how interconnected they are, and why it is so vital we turn this increasingly toxic sector (which *should* be so different, so open and inspiring to work within) around. #UCUstrike /2

Just came out of Democracy Commission to obv crushing news. Would be easy to descend into doom. Just remember that’s what Tories wanted their 50% shitty threshold to do. They want us demoralised. Resist! We have a lot to assess + do. We need to build. We need resources to do it/1

https://twitter.com/ucu/status/1098968409142898688

A lot of us did a lot of work on GTVO. We’re knackered. We reached a lot of ppl+got strong YES result. What can we learn+do? Must reflect+organise together at every level. How can we boost creative ideas like those at HESC in November and reach more ppl? Eg ntnl phonebanking? /2

Thanks everyone @UCU_Ulster who made overcoming tech issues possible! Really great questions on REF, #Anticas and #SecureWork, #Workload + academic & academic related & professional staff contracts (#LoveOurARPS!)/1

https://twitter.com/zenscara/status/1098573000012644355

The stuff that came up about role profiles for academic related+professional staff roles is partially covered here:ucu.org.uk/article/1931/R…
^Academic role profiles+guidance were agreed through JNCHES (AUT days, pre-UCU). ARPS role profiles weren't quite prioritised in same way /2

Been thinking about a conversation last night at a dear friend’s birthday party with several academics in attendance, wrt GTVO, the current ballot for #securework #equalpay #fairpayinhe+ fair #workload & #defendUSS: important messages we need to get out there before too late! /1 Fundamentally we all need to understand *any* ballot result we get on any issue affects our bargaining power in *all* other areas. I don’t think this point can’t be hammered home enough. Casualised colleagues who don’t yet qualify for #USS came out in number bc they got this /2

There's been relatively little discussion about Brexit at @ucu VP hustings. This is likely because of our collective levels of despair, and ferocity of views held, but we as a union MUST be on top of the issues as strongly as possible. Here are my thoughts ⬇ /1 Thanks to @alvaromp for the question - I hope to be able to talk more to him and others in person about this (and more) at remaining hustings!
(List: vicky4vp.co.uk/2019/02/10/ucu…) /2

.@ucu HESCs on Pay+Equality (am)&USS JEP(pm) were intense! Lots decided after v intense complicated discussions but only morning decisions “count”- USS conference advisory as (sadly) inquorate. Those motions get referred 2 HEC as advisory but also advise negotiatiors this week /1 @ucu *🚿Shower and re-humanify interlude after a LONG day indoors at the (sadly) today unexplored @sim_manchester museum + trains. #unionstrong reps function better after 🚿☕️...*

Thread on yesterday's #UCU Higher Education Committee (HEC), esp UK-wide Pay+Equality dispute + potential next steps. Making efforts to de-jargonify + de-acronym it, but recommend @Rachellaracohen's #USSbriefs23 to understand structures if confused medium.com/ussbriefs/ucus… /1 Y’day’s HEC was another packed schedule for 11-430 meeting. Attendance hit by Thur scheduling (unfortunate but probably unavoidable). Loads of important work + pressing Pay+Equality ballot + USS dispute. For the latter 2 we were considering motions to send to the 7 Nov HESCs /2

[HEC thread link: Part 2] If reballoting this round, must ensure we know where to target + improve GTVO + how we connect with each other over:
- what the ballot is about
- why voting at all matters so much
- why we recommend voting yes
It will take a lot of work, which we can do -but need v good Plan /25