Anyone else not striking?

[goingpearshaped]

I am not in UCU so not striking. Anyone else? I can sense the divide already between those striking and those not in our dept, I really hate this. Agh, what a mess all round.

I was being asked if I should pay student prices in the canteen in my 30s so I've always tried to create distance and dignitas. I think that's a sexist thing too: students think they don't have to listen to younger women.

I was actually thinking this week of a few Very Online academics in the "cursed" age range (35-45) who have become minor celebrities in their own right thanks to having cultivated an online presence/persona during the last 10-15 years. I actually followed a few of those accounts/blogs when they first started, and I found them really good - first-person, candid account of life as an early career academic, generally in a positive and engaging tone, but without sugar-coating the negatives and wanting to do something about it. Now a lot of these accounts have morphed into constant virtue-signalling, constant scolding, constant tone-policing, zero kindness, zero sense that they are even interested in their subject or research topic (outside using it to call others white supremacists or transphobes). I suspect aging does have something to do with it after all! And I thought I was not aging gracefully...

I came across this over the weekend which was interesting:
www.socialistalternative.net/2022/04/05/its-time-to-talk-bullying-intimidation-of-grassroots-activists-in-ucu/

Well… the results are out now for the reballot. They are damning. Only 36 of branches have reached the threshold compared to 64 before. Members have spoken up about what they think of this ridiculous farce. No, it’s not because they are apathetic or forgot to vote, despite the restraining order-level of harassment from their branches. It’s because the leadership of this union is rubbish and the whole action very very ill-conceived. I hope that everyone who lost pay puts in a maximum claim from the strike fund.

[quote ghislaine]I came across this over the weekend which was interesting:
www.socialistalternative.net/2022/04/05/its-time-to-talk-bullying-intimidation-of-grassroots-activists-in-ucu/[/quote]
Yes, very interesting. That UCU commons group is full of some of the worst online bullies I have had the misfortune of encountering. I am not surprised that stories like this are starting to emerge.

Bugger. My institution’s on the list. My students were asking me about a marking boycott of their exams only today. More strife and division ahead.

I checked some of the branch results to see if UCU membership has dropped since November:

UCL (elite, RG), numbers eligible to vote:
Nov. 21: 2826
April 22: 2790

Sussex (K. Stock’s former branch):
Nov. 21: 880
April 22: 828

Manchester Met. (ex-poly):
Nov. 21: 909
April 22: 881

Goldsmiths (very progressive):
Nov. 21: 756
April 22: 719

Loughborough (apolitical to right-of-centre):
Nov. 21: 526
April 22: 500

Universities somewhat randomly picked, feel free to quibble with my sample.

A drop in membership across all but not devastating. The really interesting data would tell us about the proportion of PhD students among UCU members.

Surprised but relieved that my branch failed to pass the threshold so will not be striking. Leadership are still spinning things as a good result. It really isn't! To be honest, our branch reps didn't sound too impressed with the leadership at our last meeting. Apparently, the first they heard of the latest round of strike days (the ones at the end of last month) were when Josephine Cumbo tweeted them.

@ghislaine

Bugger. My institution’s on the list. My students were asking me about a marking boycott of their exams only today. More strife and division ahead.

You have my sympathies. With such a small mandate it’s pretty pointless too because even if your own VC gets pissed off, they’re unlikely to be able to influence the rest of them when only a small number actually has strikes going on.

@ExUCU

I checked some of the branch results to see if UCU membership has dropped since November:

UCL (elite, RG), numbers eligible to vote:
Nov. 21: 2826
April 22: 2790

Sussex (K. Stock’s former branch):
Nov. 21: 880
April 22: 828

Manchester Met. (ex-poly):
Nov. 21: 909
April 22: 881

Goldsmiths (very progressive):
Nov. 21: 756
April 22: 719

Loughborough (apolitical to right-of-centre):
Nov. 21: 526
April 22: 500

Universities somewhat randomly picked, feel free to quibble with my sample.

A drop in membership across all but not devastating. The really interesting data would tell us about the proportion of PhD students among UCU members.

Very interesting indeed. I’d say those numbers are quite significant actually. You’d expect that during industrial action that numbers might rise a little but the opposite is true. And yes it would be good to get a breakdown of numbers of members who are also students.

The usual suspects are pretending it’s a good result, lol. It’s a dreadful result.

Good point, GC. Can’t commit to doing this myself but it would be interesting to count the total drop in members since last November. How on earth is this a good result? Some branches had a turnout of less than 20% (U of West London, various smaller institutions). Wolverhampton: 20.33%!

From a cursory look it seems mostly more established institutions made the threshold: Nottingham, KCL, Durham, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool, Glasgow, St Andrews, Exeter, Southampton, Cardiff, Birkbeck, SOAS ... seems almost the entire RG is there. The class politics of Higher Ed unions are quite fascinating.

I am relieved to say ours did not meet the threshold, I suspect in part due to the issue around UCU not consulting over strike dates.

Even though you all might get hostilities from your departments for not being in UCU and not striking, students respect anyone that don't. Also, those on Twitter are only a loud minority in this battle.

I am a student, and our institution passed the threshold on four fights. We're deflated by the constant strike action.

Where is the list please for this time? I am hoping we are not striking again (not in the union). It's so draining for all and challenging all round.

I’d say those numbers are quite significant actually.
Yes they are not insignificant. By these figures, Sussex and Lougborough have lost about 5% of their membership. And you're right about membership numbers increasing in a strike - this was the case in 2018, for example. It would be interesting to see if there's a pattern of UCU membership dropping or increasing at certain times of the year although I cannot think of anything obvious that would have influenced these numbers (if it was beginning or end of summer, as people retire, end their temporary contracts, begin new ones, etc. then I could see a logic).

Here is the list of institutions.
Some of them, eg Cardiff and Exeter, didn’t meet the threshold last time so it might just be that their members are insufficiency drained yet.

Geez, I don’t know what to say really. “We have been on strike for 3 years, amounting to months of lost pay with the employers refusing to even negotiate with us, let alone put forward an offer. We’ve just lost our mandate in about half the branches but guys, I really think this is it, I really think we can win now”. Seriously? What are these people smoking?

“Acknowledge disappointment, anger etc.”??? Seriously? Mate, you need to actively persuade people like me to rejoin your crappy outfit which has empowered bullies, negotiated with supreme incompetence, wasted my union dues on pointless industrial action and the GS’ lavish salary, condoned and facilitated the harassment of female academics and much more. How about you acknowledge your own failings, and then maybe we can talk. I’m so done with UCU.

Hello, changeuser01, thanks for saying this, I never know what my students really think when I tell them I’m not striking. I feel sorry for the students who have been through strikes, then covid, and are now being told by their student unions that they have a moral duty to support this strike.

Anyone know when we can expect the results of the pensions strikes ballot? Seems a bit strange that we voted on both at the same time but only one is out so far. I'm guessing that institutions that didn't cross the threshold on the four fights ballot would be unlikely to do so on the pensions vote but I suppose it is possible that some people didn't do both.

“Acknowledge disappointment, anger etc.”??? Seriously? Mate, you need to actively persuade people like me to rejoin your crappy outfit which has empowered bullies, negotiated with supreme incompetence, wasted my union dues on pointless industrial action and the GS’ lavish salary, condoned and facilitated the harassment of female academics and much more. How about you acknowledge your own failings, and then maybe we can talk. I’m so done with UCU.

👏 👏 👏
Hear hear

Brizzle- USS results expected tomorrow I think...

You might get a handful that get a USS mandate but not a four fights one but I doubt there will be many.

I read through the motions for the April 22 meeting. It looks like there’s a strong desire for more local branch involvement in dates and/or strategy. A few branches want to go on indefinite strike and there’s also a few that want aggregated ballots. I suspect the latter won’t pass, given that this ballot would have led to no mandate if it had been aggregated.

@GCAndProud

“Acknowledge disappointment, anger etc.”??? Seriously? Mate, you need to actively persuade people like me to rejoin your crappy outfit which has empowered bullies, negotiated with supreme incompetence, wasted my union dues on pointless industrial action and the GS’ lavish salary, condoned and facilitated the harassment of female academics and much more. How about you acknowledge your own failings, and then maybe we can talk. I’m so done with UCU.

👏 👏 👏
Hear hear

Yes, yes, and yes!

In all honesty, there's very little UCU could do to persuade me back. New leader. Commitment to support all members. Re-thinking constant strike action. Apology for some of the bullying behaviours. Shake-up of some of the more vocal branches. Nah, I still wouldn't trust them to represent me on a GC issue.

My institution made the threshold. I'm expecting an email from the branch secretary any day now....

@GCandproud

You might get a handful that get a USS mandate but not a four fights one but I doubt there will be many.

We didn't get enough voting to get Four Fights through and I doubt many will have voted just for USS.