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Original poster

Leaving UCU - what other unions are good?

30 replies

EasterIsland · 30/01/2023 18:48

I'm thinking I need to leave UCU, for several reasons (mainly, the unprofessional vitriol directed at GC feminists by current leadership; the current ill-advised and teenagery policy of the strikes).

Can I get others' opinions on other unions that an academic, working in a UK university, might usefully join?

Or whether it is OK to stay in the UCU, but not strike?

I'm really uncomfortable about crossing a picket-line in my small department, which has quite a separate section of the campus - so my entry would be noticed by colleagues. And it could cause rifts with colleagues (although temporary I would hope).

Ugh, feeling so conflicted.

OP posts:
gogohmm · 30/01/2023 18:53

Exh isn't in any union. He doesn't agree with most of the reasons for the strikes

parietal · 30/01/2023 21:36

my dept is on a separate section of campus which means no one bothers to have a picket line at the door. the main campus buildings do, but no one notices the little buildings.

do you know for sure there will be a picket line?

is there a back door you can use? or work from home if possible?

SirTiffikate · 31/01/2023 13:44

I left for the same reasons as you. Jo Grady is an embarrassment, and UCU's turned into a dysfunctional student politics society. The UCU I left a couple of years ago isn't the UCU I joined 10 years before that, and I feel like UCU left me before I left them.

I've joined the Free Speech Union which despite its name isn't much like a workplace union, but it's the expert on the issue I'm most likely to need help with. I know of others who've left who've joined Affinity which is like a catch-all union providing workplace support to people in lots of different sectors & industries, without any of the political stuff. I don't know what the options are if you're looking to be hooked into the trade union movement, with a branch structure and everything.

ghislaine · 31/01/2023 17:18

As a short-term solution, if you have to teach tomorrow, can you do it online? Then check out your branch twitter feed to see where the picket lines are.

phoenician68 · 01/02/2023 00:31

I'm in ucu and am not striking. I should leave too (similar reasons). Peeps I work with are v into striking. I need to get to AU twice this year - once for research (activity funded but not travel - am hoping grants come off!) & once for family visit. I'm gonna hold my head high and go in if/when I need too. Lucky there is just one day I teach and only one day is affected so I might strike that day but haven't decided yet. I have to say a lot of them seem to have inherited or have help from family... so they can play at being coal miners

Original poster
EasterIsland · 01/02/2023 08:08

Thanks all. As it happens I’m not teaching today and am away on an overseas research trip next week. I’m hoping it will have settled down a bit by the time I get back.

I’m interested in the position of being a UCU member but not striking - is that allowed? ( the things I don’t know, still, at my age!)

I think the offer we’ve been given is pretty good, given how on their knees most universities are. As we know, tuition fees don’t cover the basic costs, whatever MN parents and students think!

OP posts:
ghislaine · 01/02/2023 16:00

You are not obliged to strike if you are a union member. Many don't strike at all and others are selective about which days they strike.

GCMM · 01/02/2023 22:54

I've been a UCU member for many years and have always taken strike action, but this time I am definitely not taking 18 days off. I can afford it, but I simply do not agree with the strategy of 18 random days dotted over several weeks. I think it's ineffective and 18 consecutive days would make more impact. I plan to strike on some days, but not others. I won't cross any picket lines and don't want to actively undermine the efforts of other people. I have debated whether this means I should leave the union, but I'm not sure what to do for the best.

KStockHERO · 02/02/2023 10:53

Hi OP

This thread has turned into a more general discussion of strike and union-related issues so you might find it useful.

The GMB and Affinity unions seem to be the go-to options for people leaving UCU. Affinity has a kind of 'personal insurance' model for when things go wrong for individuals, rather than a big focus on collective action across the sector. And they're very supportive of free speech.
I'm not in a union but if was going to join one, Affinity would be the one I'd choose Smile

tortoiseshellpeppershoes · 07/02/2023 12:24

I’ve just looked at the latest voting papers and honestly have had enough. It’s peak UCU for me. Pretty much every one of the candidates is into obsessive virtue signalling at the expense of any genuine politics. Agree with a pp that the UCU doesn’t even bear any resemblance now to what it was ten years ago, never mind fifteen or twenty years ago! It’s like a student politics society - intersectional this and that but zero collective power.

Anyone any experience with Affinity or another union who could feed back? I believe in the union movement and have always been a member of a union, but this is now more like tinpot student union nonsense, not real unionisation. Gah.

I need to leave. It’s expensive too, can’t afford it any more just to have these daft statements about identity nonsense waved in my face several times a year, while any action on employment conditions in the sector is like a million little chocolate teapots all the time.

GCAcademic · 07/02/2023 12:59

It’s like a student politics society - intersectional this and that but zero collective power.

It's inevitable. Obsessive interest in identity and personal badge-wearing only fosters individualism; it's incompatible with any collective action or concern with class.

I'm with GMB but, to be honest, haven't really had anything to do with them or kept much of an eye on what they're doing. I don't hear much from them. I'm actually thinking of leaving them now and joining Affinity. I like the fact that Affinity have full-time staff offering legal support and that you don't have to rely on (very) part-time caseworkers who may likely not have your back because they are entrenched in a particular political position.

ExUCU · 08/02/2023 08:06

Affinity is more of an insurance policy, and it does not offer collective bargaining. My hope is that, at some point, UCU will return to addressing its original purpose. But for that to happen, the current GS needs to go as well as the PhD members, and the adults need to take over the union again. There are also unelected UCU apparatshiks that sit in central office and spend union dues on workshops and training in fashionable causes and IMO, they also need to go. I’m happy to hear about alternatives to this burn-it-all-down-then-rebuild strategy, though …

jeanc · 23/02/2023 12:52

Hi really glad to see this thread I am fed up with UCU too and not been sure whether to leave. This is the third year year that they called a strike, far left nonsense, no discernible progress that they prepared to accept and 18 days from nowhere. I went on strike for one day and will not do it again. I thought the offer was reasonable too given the state of our university finances where redundancies on the cards, not sure they really care about people's jobs at all but student type posturing. Also the GC stuff. Will look into Affinity. Also nonsense that there was an overwhelming majority to reject the offer, out of 70,000 members 30,000 voted and 80% voted to reject so I in 5 wanted of whom I was one wanted to accept hardly an overwhelming mandate when you look at the numbers.

Agree it has changed. I've been a member for a long time and always been in a union but it has moved in a way I can not support. I imagine a lot of people feel similarly.

mynameisnotkate · 19/03/2023 18:14

I’m also really torn on this, and really disappointed with UCU. I personally feel though that if you’re in a union and you’re called out, you should strike. Collective action is the only way a union works. If you’re opposed to your union in principle, rather than just disagree with strategy, then you should leave the union. I’m edging ever closer to that but still striking for now. But very disappointed.

Looksgood · 19/03/2023 21:19

mynameisnotkate · 19/03/2023 18:14

I’m also really torn on this, and really disappointed with UCU. I personally feel though that if you’re in a union and you’re called out, you should strike. Collective action is the only way a union works. If you’re opposed to your union in principle, rather than just disagree with strategy, then you should leave the union. I’m edging ever closer to that but still striking for now. But very disappointed.

I feel the same and ignoring members' wish to be consulted is pushing me toward the edge. Is the union its policies or its members? I have been striking on the basis that the majority voted for strikes. Now a majority has asked for consultation. Collective bargaining needs collective consent. Not sure what to do.

BeMoreSusan · 12/05/2023 20:53

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I thought that anyone still pondering a switch might be interested.

I joined Affinity and have been sent an email today specifically about the Higher Education (freedom of speech) bill that has just been passed. It discussed how important it was for academics and how other HE unions (can't think who they mean) are shit at protecting members rights on this. They clearly know why a lot of their new members have joined....

KStockHERO · 12/05/2023 21:19

Hi @BeMoreSusan Thanks for the update. That's fascinating to know. Affinities clearly knows they're on to something and filling a very particular gap in the market.

ExUCU · 13/05/2023 05:47

Oh yes, Affinity do know what they are doing. They are also happy to send promotional material to members if you’d like to spread the word. I bet UCU takes a dim view.

KStockHERO · 13/05/2023 09:47

I've never seen or heard any UCU comments about Affinity but my guess is that their view is "transphobe enablers".

Excellent, I'm what they'd call a "transphobe" and I'd like to be enabled please 😅

tortoiseshellpeppershoes · 13/05/2023 13:52

The Edinburgh UCU statement and Jo Grady’s leadership may be the final straw for my membership, I think. I’m thoroughly fed up with it. Anyone else ready to jump now?

fwooperfish · 13/05/2023 18:08

@BeMoreSusan Thanks for the update. Not a UCU member but I've been looking at Affinity for a while. I'm not surprised they are getting an influx of new members from HE, particularly with this latest statement about Freedom of Speech.

But apart from its own website and a few mentions here I can't actually find a great deal about it. No mentions on social media or in the press. Would love to hear more from members if anyone is willing to share experiences.

Original poster
EasterIsland · 14/05/2023 11:28

I joined Affinity and have been sent an email today specifically about the Higher Education (freedom of speech) bill that has just been passed. It discussed how important it was for academics and how other HE unions (can't think who they mean) are shit at protecting members rights on this. They clearly know why a lot of their new members have joined....

That's really helpful @BeMoreSusan Thanks.

On the subject of the Free Speech in HE bill, I"m a bit worried about that, to be honest.

Yes, it will stop what happened to Profs. Phoenix and Stock (and many others we don't hear about who are muzzled), but I suppose I don't trust the Tories further than I could throw them ... and I really don't trust them on HE policy.

But we are where we are, and the bill is evidence of how bad things are.

OP posts:
KStockHERO · 15/05/2023 08:41

fwooperfish · 13/05/2023 18:08

@BeMoreSusan Thanks for the update. Not a UCU member but I've been looking at Affinity for a while. I'm not surprised they are getting an influx of new members from HE, particularly with this latest statement about Freedom of Speech.

But apart from its own website and a few mentions here I can't actually find a great deal about it. No mentions on social media or in the press. Would love to hear more from members if anyone is willing to share experiences.

I'm not an Affinity member (yet) but, to be honest, their lack of public visibility is something that really appeals to me. Affinity is a small union, not tied to any particular sector or 'type' of worker which runs on a personal insurance type of model so they haven't had a huge presence in the recent strikes.

But, more than that, I fee l that their invisibility is perhaps an indication that they're just quietly getting on with their work without ideological fanfare. It makes me feel that Affinity members are probably grown-ups who don't feel the need to yell about injustice and solidarity all over social media.

All of these things makes Affinity very very appealing to me.

MimiGC · 19/05/2023 18:06

I would be really keen to hear any other views on Affinity, especially from those who have joined and have had to call on their services. At the moment, I can't think of a reason not to leave UCU and join them, but I might be missing something...

OscarsAmmonite · 28/05/2023 13:17

Am looking to leave the UCU - not happy with the treatment of Kathleen Stock and GC issues and now the passing of the motion on Ukraine.

Is Affinity the main alternative?