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.

Interesting piece on the billions in reserves:

wonkhe.com/blogs/what-is-a-university-surplus/?utm_content=bufferdcdf8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Good article. If I understand correctly, the reserves that UCU keeps on referring to are actually not net cash reserves but money that may have already been converted into things that a university needs to run. Given how much basic equipment in the sciences costs, it is profoundly dishonest to suggest that these ‘reserves’ are idle cash sloshing around, readily available for a pay rise for academics. But what can you expect from a UCU leadership that is all too prone to magical thinking …

There is definitely a pattern of UCU communications rather glossing over or not acknowledging these inconvenient facts.

I think recent history has shown us that relying on UCU’s understanding of anything is involving perennial basic finances or indeed any other topic is risky and not to be relied upon. I left after the 2020 debacle of not ending the strike
because of COVID and the misleading information from the union about their ability to continue to afford strike pay, followed by the begging bowl, because whoops, they couldn’t afford after all!
These clowns don’t represent my interests but I’m sad I have no union.

the misleading information from the union about their ability to continue to afford strike pay, followed by the begging bowl, because whoops, they couldn’t afford after all!

It wasn’t even a begging bowl as I recall, was it? Didn’t they just deduct extra money from members bank accounts? I may be wrong, I’d left just before that, but I remember being astonished that they were able to do that.

Yes, they did. Apparently a direct debit gives them that power. It wouldn’t surprise me if they try that one again this year, after assuring everyone that they can claim from the strike fund and the local fund. 18 days is a LOT.

Everyone has just switched to Teams at my place and carry on as usual while people picket an empty building

Same where I am, but it leaves me stuck at home for days on end, which is really getting me down. On top of that, I've just heard that the ethics application I made has been pushed back six weeks because of the strikes. Who suffers from that? Not the senior managers, but my research team and our Global South collaborators. But never mind, they got their picture grinning in pink hats for posterity.

@frustratedacademic - no-one is stopping you crossing the picket.

As for ethics, having sat on our ethics board for 5yrs and seeing how noone else wants to do it, despite the facts it s a critical job, please cut your colleagues some slack

it s a thankless job, which they might to above and beyond their teaching and research load.

when a colleague kicks off about ethics not being fast enough - i ll tell you who suffers: my kids and my marriage.

That's not very nice. I'm not kicking off. Just expressing my frustration at a strike that has no possibility of success. And that only damages those who least deserve to be hurt.

Aaaaargh. Sharing without comment (and not designed to invite a pile on on this particular person, more despair at the overall sentiment that this is definitely, definitely going to make everyone's working conditions better).

twitter.com/TheGraceK/status/1231591737052815361

I’m noticing an aggressive tone this time, see here from Gopal and an admirer:

mobile.twitter.com/ncecire/status/1624036522918924288?cxt=HHwWgMC-rZ6n3oktAAAA

Will ‘judging the hell out of you’ turn into something worse?

I can really understand those who don’t want to face this kind of attitude at picket lines but IMO the best way to keep verbal aggression in check is to let the bullies know you’re not scared of them.

It's quite something how this group acts as if they've got a monopoly on being kind and caring, yet their words and actions say otherwise. Pity that the GS is the same.

Or as DH puts it, "BE KIND OR ELSE!"

Oh well, I'm blocked by this person, although I have never (to my knowledge) interacted wit her.

Had an interesting conversation the other day about the current strike setting up expectations for ECR staff, and also sending post-92 universities to bankruptcy. I already know of one department in my discipline which wholesale closed before the start of this academic year.

There was no 'golden age' of jobs for everyone with a PhD - of the cohort I studied with (in a large department) maybe 4 out of 20 of us ended up with standard lecturer contracts. I don't think it's changed that much.

I agree, it has always been difficult to get an academic job and various golden ages were anomalies caused by demographic factors and the expansion of HE.

In a very competitive labour market, is it more common to see the kind of social policing that’s going on here?

mobile.twitter.com/HPS_Vanessa/status/1625166738613567488

Though, to be honest, this feels very 2018 & borderline tedious …

I haven’t seen much tweeting about the digital picket this time round. It’s always struck me as a bit of performative nonsense. How on earth does not mentioning your latest article or a conference you’re organising hurt the employer?

I saw some people frantically tweeting today about their last achievements, presumably before they go quiet again tomorrow until Friday. Also this very morning, I had FIVE e-mail from the same colleague, replying on five separate conversations, all sent at exactly the same time. Apart from the missed lectures, I fail to see what this "cramming strike days' work into the non-strike days" is meant to achieve.

This highlights the issue of our work and the (in)appropriateness of strike action. It’s fungible and not time critical. If it’s not done today, it can be done tomorrow. Or it can simply not be done and there is no real harm.

This is why I think there must be more creative and effective ways of withdrawing labour. I don’t understand why UCU is so focused on strikes.

Am I correct in saying that the meetings this week between the unions and UCEA were scheduled to happen in any event - the only thing that may have been prompted by the strikes is the involvement of ACAS?

Because, if so, some of the tweets about strikes 'bringing employers to the table' are, well, lies?

I may well have misunderstood and perhaps more credit is due. The level of misinformation flying about has clearly engendered a deep mistrust of union statements...

I might be wrong but my recollection is that in some of the past strikes UUK (who was negotiating with UCU, rather than UCEA) didn't even bother sitting down to negotiate.

UCEA represent employers for the purposes of pay bargaining, via the JNCHES. UUK are an employer representative for the purposes of the USS, and have equal representation on the USS joint negotiating committee with UCU (with an independent chair). Not sure where the suggestion that UUK didn’t even bother to negotiate comes from, but there may well have been a point where they took a view that no further meaningful negotiation was possible - if you’d ever sat in a room with the likes of Deepa Driver you might not blame them….

In a very competitive labour market, is it more common to see the kind of social policing that’s going on here?

mobile.twitter.com/HPS_Vanessa/status/1625166738613567488

Another academic who's blocked me - I suspect some people are still using Terfblocker, which really is soooo 2018.

I learned today that Jo Grady is being sued for libel. Interesting!

Yeah, terfblocker is strictly for those who are stuck in the past and have not moved on in the gender wars. How nice that they can find shelter in our august seats of learning.

If it is true that Jo Grady is being sued for libel, I really want to know more!