When do you think the strikes will be?

[JasminaPashmina]

Just that - when do you think the strikes will happen?

Before Christmas by chance?

I was totally in support of the 2018 strike. It had a clear aim and a present danger ...

Yes, the 2018 strikes were very different. There was a direct threat to move the USS pension from defined benefits to defined contributions. There wasn't anything immediate going on this time, beyond it fitting with Jo Grady's timetable after getting elected. Waiting for the JEP report would have been sensible, following which negotiations could have taken place, with strike action called if these broke down. There was no need to go in so hard.

The pay dispute is also confusing. I am unsure exactly what they are seeking in terms of a concrete settlement. It's all well and good to say 'end casualisation' but how are they proposing that happens? If you're asking people to go on strike for 22 days, you have to have some sort of realistic terms that you're asking for. They might get a small increase in pay agreed, but 22 days of strikes is disproportionate for that. Also, Mike Otsuka has pointed out that they are using hugely skewed figures and that the claim that pay has fallen by 20% over 10 years is false. Anyway, no way will the sector agree to a 20% pay increase across the board.

I just think it's not tenable to be in the UCU anymore. HEC is controlled by UCU Left and HEC decides how long the strike action lasts. UCU Left is full of crazy people and they have already said that they don't trust any deal put forward by UUK and totally reject the JEP report. So they're basically saying they won't settle the dispute, meaning that employees are expected to remain out on strike, losing money. If the UCU starts acting rationally, maybe I will rejoin, but at the moment, that is very very unlikely to happen.

Has anyone found a good alternative? Given the attitude of some of our students it's definitely too risky not to be in a union, but I am sick of giving them money for the promise of support which my colleagues have found utterly useless. I know full well they don't support my views, and worse than that the right to have my opinion! Is there a union that would support GC academics?

Someone upthread mentioned GMB which is a general trade union. They aren’t sector specific so they’re unlikely to call you out on strike and they won’t have specific knowledge of academia. But the previous poster said the rep was fantastic.

I think that because many of the UCU members are woke and as useful as a chocolate fireguard that a general union would be fine.

I also think you could try to get some legal expenses insurance that covers employment disputes. Having a real lawyer would be way more effective than Dr Woke Beard accompanying you to a disciplinary hearing because you follow Kathleen Stock on twitter (obv that wouldn’t happen because rather than accompanying you to the meeting, the UCU rep would probably be busy slating you on social media and calling for your sacking)

Thanks Pota2, I will have a look into those ideas

I didn't even get the benefit of someone coming along to a meeting with me. I was told I had a strong case for gender/disability discrimination, but the union office told me they couldn't provide any support. Can you tell I'm a bit bitter about this?

Having a real lawyer would be way more effective than Dr Woke Beard accompanying you to a disciplinary hearing because you follow Kathleen Stock on twitter (obv that wouldn’t happen because rather than accompanying you to the meeting, the UCU rep would probably be busy slating you on social media and calling for your sacking)

It'd be very unreasonable in the first place to ask Dr Woke Beard to accompany you. They'd be so triggered by sharing a space with you. Don't you know that's literal violence @Pota2

Just popping in to commit a microagression against UCU - it was me who was upthread talking about GMB. I've been with them at two institutions now, and they are great. Obviously, as PP said, they don't have much knowledge about teaching-specific issues,(not being a teaching union and all ) but are inclusive, supportive and kick arse when you need them (which wasn't my UCU experience at all).

I had a disciplinary for gross misconduct for daring to violate groupthink on gender in public, and it was the regional rep who nailed the university to the mast with one pithy, well-placed comment.

Of course, there are other issues - but it's a Trade Union, so there will be: but my experience is that it is a union that, at least at regional level and below, has little understanding of, and less patience for, woke. They're not unreconstructed in every aspect, they just seem baffled that saying sex is a matter of biology and not feelz could be considered controversial, much less offensive.

From a strike perspective, there's been none since I've been a member. I used to feel bad about crossing the picket line, and donate each day's salary to the UCU hardship fund as penance, but once I discovered that the UCU rep for my department was claiming for his salary for working from home on strike days, I decided that my solidarity was no longer with Trots like him (the kind who own two houses, have stockmarket portfolios and abuse their non-unionised support staff for crossing the picket line whilst trying to claw back their own salary on strike days...)

Historyrocks that's shocking. The UCU subs are really high (definitely higher than GMB) and seems you get nothing in return. Well, I say shocking, but I am not shocked. I have seen so many appalling examples of how they treat their members that I am beyond being shocked.

Hefzi what a hypocritical prick. Lots of the faux-socialists are real bastards but that takes the biscuit to try to bully others into striking and then pocket a wage yourself. And from a branch rep too.

Over on twitter, some people are now beginning to grumble about UCU's wonderful idea to hold the strikes during a time when lots of unis have a reading week. This is after they have already tried their hardest to make it minimally disruptive by spreading it over different days. What planet are these people on?

They're still slapping themselves on the back for the marvellous feat of 'getting the employers round the negotiating table'. Given that you had 8 days of strikes over a month ago, that's not impressive. And knowing the people actually doing the negotiating on UCU's behalf, I would be very surprised if any offer was forthcoming, ever.

I've just stumbled across this on the website of UCU Left. They're now attacking Jo Grady: uculeft.org/2020/01/ucea-must-try-harder/ for bypassing procedures. What next, I wonder. A split?

Yeah, saw that too - I'm with Mike Otsuka (twitter.com/MikeOtsuka/status/1222526498621526016?s=09), UCU Left has its own idiosyncratic view of democracy.

(And to be fair to Grady, she was never one of them, and after beating their candidate it was only a matter of time until they had a pop)

Yes although Grady was happy to stick the boot into Sally Hunt during the 2018 strikes for doing exactly the same thing. It’s not so easy when you’re actually in the post I guess.

The UCU left are scary because I don’t understand how people can be so extreme and entrenched in their views. Jo McNeil lives on another planet so a union with her at the helm would be no better than what UCU have now.

I am just aghast at Grady’s lack of defence for academic freedom even though there are UCU members getting death threats for saying women exist. I have very limited sympathy for her for that reason and she is why I left UCU. I think she was very naive in taking the GS job. She thought she could waltz in and bring about radical change. Her lack of experience shows in the shambolic strike strategy and just like those before her, she too has become a victim of the militant left for not doing exactly as they say (which seems to be to be on permanent strike).

Is there any update on the 2020 strikes? Since I left the UCU I've obviously not been privy to the emails. We were told in a meeting yesterday that a February/March strike would be confirmed today.

The HEC is meeting today, so I imagine they'll make announcement later this afternoon.

"The employers do not want us to take strike action on the same timeframe as the 2018 USS dispute as they know how effective we can be at that point in the academic year."

Oh well... why not start striking on that timeframe then? Instead of being out on strike for eight days just before the Christmas break, which was easily the least disruptive action ever? Honestly if it was just about a show of solidarity or some such, I would have rather donated 8 days of my salary to precarious workers, that would have been more effective in terms of showing solidarity!

Yep, the whole pre-Christmas strike thing smacked of being a bit of a "Congratulations, and welcome to your new job!" party for Jo Grady. It's achieved that aim, I guess, but nothing else.

Also, some of the 2020 strikes are scheduled for weeks when a lot of places have reading week. They’ve also been staggered so that no single unit of teaching will have more than 3 days strike affecting it. So I doubt the employers will be scared because UCU has set it up nicely so that there is minimal disruption.

I also think there will be an announcement from HEC this afternoon but I’d be shocked if it wasn’t a rejection of the offer (which was total shite and not actually an offer on anything) and announcement of 14 more days of strikes.

No announcement from UCU on the outcome of Thursday's meeting. Perhaps they are waiting until closer to the planned date to give the minimum notice required?

Surprise surprise, despite me following the instructions on how to leave the union they are still helping themselves to membership fees Two months later. What a shower they are.

Just resigned again, I wonder if this one will work.

Apparently they’re waiting until Monday to make their announcement. Perhaps they decided that 14 days was insufficient and they’re going to have 40 instead. So glad I am out of it.

And that’s terrible that they’re still taking the subs. Make sure to cancel the direct debit with your bank and hopefully those cheeky feckers at UCU can reimburse the money.

I wonder how many people will strike this time. The pay packets have only just materialised from the last lot of strike action, and there is a fair bit of complaining on Twitter about the impact, as well as about the conflation of the pension and precarity issues. Are people really going to go for double the pain this time around? The people striking in my department were already a minority.

Yes, will be interesting to see. I worked out that if i had done 22 strike days, I would be down 3 grand. That’s a LOT of money. The strike fund would only replace about half of that and cannot cover everyone who applies.

It’s looking like a mess at the moment. UCU Left released a statement condemning Jo Grady for daring to email the membership without getting a statement from the negotiators first. The negotiators then release their own statement on a separate website they have set up. Doesn’t exactly scream unity. Lots of sniping about anyone who suggests decoupling the disputes.

I saw on twitter earlier that Oxford UCU (Selina Todd’s branch) have written a long statement in solidarity of some students at one of the colleges who had received a sarcastic reply from their bursar when they’d protested against using fossil fuels. Why is the UCU getting involved with student grievances and why do they not care or say anything when Prof Todd needs security guards to do her job? Why is Jo Grady sending knitted heart gifs to all and sundry but staying silent when members are facing intolerable workplace conditions? It’s so ridiculous that I wouldn’t have believed it could happen a few years ago, but here we are.

Actually not quite 3 grand. I did those calculations wrong! I wish I earned that much. But well over 2 grand anyway.

Was anyone here at the special UCU organising session at the Women's Liberation Conference yesterday? It was v interesting - I know noooothing about internal UCU politics, and I was sitting there thinking "Give me a reason to stay in the UCU"

I honestly cannot afford to go on strike (I've got rather a large essential home repairs bill in the several thousands of pounds which will drain my savings) - I may just have to do the honourable thing and resign ...