Marion Hersh

UCU NEC elections: 
Vote Marion Hersh for UK-Elected HE

For Action on Climate Justice, Equality and Pensions

I’m passionately committed to (higher) education. My vision is a free, publicly-funded and accessible system that values the contributions of BAME, women, non-binary, Disabled, LGBT+ people and encourages awkward questions. I teach students not serve clients and campaign against marketisation and commodification. I oppose REF and TEF. I promote academic freedom in teaching and research and oppose its misuse as a pretext to undermine the rights of minority groups, most recently trans people and Palestinians. HE and knowledge generation must be open to all to transform society for the better.

Defend USS & Restore Benefits


As a USS negotiator I’ve been instrumental in the transformation in UCU. I have campaigned to protect members’ interests, particularly those of lowest paid, and against moves to defined contributions. As Deepa and I have proposed, we need to restore benefits asap, not wait another year. My work has resulted in the ethical/sustainability section of the negotiators’ report and led to USS making its website and communications more accessible. I’ll continue to campaign for USS to have a strong ethical investment policy.

Action to Win on USS and Four Fights


On HEC I supported industrial action in November and further indefinite action, with other unions where possible, to fully restore our pensions and get decent pay, job security and reasonable workloads for all. I support increasing strike pay to remove financial barriers to action.

Activist and Campaigner

Lifelong anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-war campaigner, campaigner for social justice. Inequality, discrimination and oppression, both within and beyond HE, anger me. I campaign actively, promote collective approaches to equality and anti-casualisation. I try to generalise from my individual cases to campaigns for policy changes in my institution and throughout HE. Solidarity and support are essential to active trade-unionism. I continue to support campaigns against unsafe working conditions, job losses, department closures, victimisation, casualisation – Liverpool, Queen Mary, Dundee … I’m active in the Trade Union Climate-Change Network and campaigns to support refugees. My proposals to NEC led to the Fund the Future campaign and to HEC to the Five Tests for a safe return to campus. I’ve got my institution to use non-binary-aware language in Senate standing orders and take seriously making on-line teaching accessible to disabled staff.

Biographical info

  • Senior Lecturer, Biomedical Engineering, Glasgow University
  • NEC 2007-2009, 2010-2012, 2013-2017, 2018-23
  • Equality Committee 2007-2009, 2010-2012, 2013-2017
  • UCU Scotland Equality Officer 2018-2019
  • UCU Scotland Executive 2007-2011, 2013-2015, 2017-2019
  • USS negotiator/alternate 2011-12, 2013-23
  • Commissions on Rule 13, Effective Industrial Action
  • Glasgow Committee 1990-2023