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.

Not in ucu but sad we are going down this route again. I find it divides the department and is unpleasant. Let alone impact. Also find the four fights nebulous. I just can't see any change as a result of yet another strike.

I am on sabbatical this year so can just WFH if I want to work, and if I want a day off I can take it guilt-free.

I didn't vote either and I'm pretty annoyed that this is going ahead. It's not going to work, they need a better strategy, and I'm sorry but I don't think ppl are on our side. I'm considering withdrawal from the union until this is over, and then start up again...my local branch does good work and I support them, but not these endless, pointless strikes.

This is very useful as a heads-up. If the membership agrees, there will be 2 days of strikes in the week of 21 Nov and then further strikes from February followed by a marking and assessment boycott: Grady strategy document.

Very useful @ghislaine thanks

But I don’t really get the strategy… 2 days of strike this term will be fairly easy for management to ride out.

I would imagine the membership are eager to make a show of strength on the picket line esp if they can coordinate with other national strikes. Getting a mandate in October and then not striking for another four months might seem to be playing into management hands by downplaying the significance of the action. But I do agree, two days towards the end of term is more of an inconvenience than anything else.

Two days in November no doubt suggested so Grady can then moan about horrible, fat-cat, bullying VCs taking money from her members’ pay packets just before Christmas, when really it should be spread out over 150 years to avoid hardship and allow them to concentrate on resolving all the ills of HE like why a man is really a woman if he says so and those pesky scientists should stop with all their rational thinking etc blah blah blah

Haven’t really got much to add except for:

1. Don’t worry about crossing picket lines, you’ll get used to it.

2. I can’t afford to lose hundreds of pounds. Can you? UCU is broke and might not be able to compensate you via the strike fund. Their PhD members don’t pay membership fees.

3. Grady earns around 140K per annum. More than any of us will ever make. Her rants about fat cat VCs are lame and I don’t think she gives a f*ck about whether lecturers can afford Christmas presents or not. She really is the epitome of middle class trade unionism.

4. Despite all this, I know that there are many decent UCU reps and officers who make personal sacrifices to fight for their members. They are being let down by a deluded, divisive and incompetent leadership.

I really struggle with the thought of all of this. Marking and assessment boycott puts us directly against the students. I can't see how any of them will support it. And the work must be marked so we'll just end up doing it anyway but later and it'll be far more stressful. I can't see how it achieves anything. It's not like management will do my marking. I'm the expert in my subject.

I feel like it won't achieve anything only increase my stress.

The marking boycott was effective but it is a weapon that has already been used once. Next time, universities will be more prepared and perhaps less willing to negotiate. They might also go through with 100% salary deductions. And why not? With this union leadership, there isn’t much hope for positive industrial relations.

Thinking about the boycott last summer, quite a few academics I know got their marking out of the way as quickly as possible, before the boycott began, so they would not have to join. Some did their 3rd year marking but not the rest because they felt bad for the finalists. It was a bit of a free for all.

Well, this is the fourth time strikes have been used, so I don’t doubt another marking boycott is on the way. I think the issue last time was that it wasn’t nationwide and there seemed to be no central coordination so individual unions settled at different times in different terms. Grady was conspicuously absent during that part of the action.

Well it looks like my first ever strike is looming..I feel really conflicted.

I feel very naive about such matters and worried about losing a big chunk of pay before Xmas. I cannot see how 12% is remotely realistic. 😳

Our branch has never got close to striking before these national ballots. Are we in the right? Should we all do it?

Really up to you. I don’t think all UCU branches were convinced that the pre-Christmas strikes should go ahead (scheduled for 24, 25 and 30 November) as the impact on students is likely to be minimal at the end of term. The money will probably come out of your January pay packet.

Are the strike’s aims realistic? Dunno. In this climate, with looming budget cuts, I think not. I’ve lost track but we’ve had countless strikes since 2018 and gained very little.

When you say it's up to me, if I worked on strike days I will get kicked out of union though? Is that right?

I know I sound stupid. I've just never done this before. I am leaning towards striking because otherwise what is the point of unions but I do not really feel ucu have it right on many things and not sure how I would justify it to students

It is not mandatory to strike and IME many academics pick and choose the days they will strike on.

It’s your choice as to whether you do or not and really down to your personal convictions and (perhaps) your departmental politics/whether you will be ostracised for not striking.

Unions usually don’t police who’s striking and who isn’t and I’ve never heard of anyone being kicked out for crossing a picket line. You might get dirty looks from some union zealots but your workplace does not sound like you would. Your workplace bullying policies should prevent social ostracism for not going on strike. As you can tell from my username, I won’t be going on strike and my university is very unionised. I get dirty looks occasionally, after a strike but just shrug them off.

Lots of places already take 100% deduction - mine for a start.

I'll be striking, reluctantly, in support of union principles. I can afford to. Lots of colleagues presumably can't. I won't have any problem with anyone crossing picket line, union members or not, and I know our union will encourage people only to do what they can reasonably manage.

Thanks @ExUCU @ghislaine @Looksgood that is very helpful. I would struggle financially to lose x3 days. I will think carefully.

From 2018 I think there has definitely been a move towards being more respectful of people striking only for as many days as they'd like to. Even people who back in 2018 would be calling other scabs now say, oh well, not everyone can afford to strike all days, etc.
I have certainly gone on strike on certain days only and finally left the union in 2020. If you ask me, I think striking selectively undermines the whole thing, but I think it is also a sign that many UCU members and even representatives do not agree with the union's strategy.

I left UCU so I won't be striking. I left over a combination of their position on sex and gender (which is shocking, the zealots rule the roost) and the alacrity with which they've called unsuccessful strikes over the last few years which have cost members dearly and achieved little more than piss people off.

My view is that if you can't live with the decisions made through whatever (flawed) democratic means the union has at its disposal, you should leave. I don't agree with staying in a union for insurance purposes but picking and mixing what action you'll take, and I wouldn't do that.

I left before the last strikes, but we were still working half-and-half home and campus then, so I did everything online. This will be my first time crossing picket lines, which is something I've never done in the past and if it happens is going to be very hard for me. I was always the picket organiser on my campus, so it's quite possible that without me to get it together there won't be any pickets at my building which isn't on the main site. I hope so.

I abstained in the vote. I will strike though. It’s a point if principle for me. My Dad was a miner and did the whole stile in the 80s.

also I bloody hate my manager and happy to make her life difficult.

Sorry for all the typos.

Good luck! But I would point out that university lecturers are not miners. I think the whole ‘going down a mine’ thing is just a tad more existentially terrifying than then ‘read books and hold forth’ thing.

My boss is a fervent union supporter whom I’m pissing off by not striking, so each to their own.

I don’t need you to point out that academics are not miners. I’m not comparing academics to miners. I’m making a reference to how my father made significant sacrifices to support a strike because he believed in the Trade Union movement. As do I.

if you’re in a union strike, if you’re not that’s up to you. At least have the decency not to cover for striking colleagues.

I’m very sorry if I offended you but you’re being out of line.