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NEC Elections: Vote Jane Hardy UK Elected Member (HE)

Pension, Job and Pay: The Frontline.

I am currently a Higher Education representative on the NEC for London and the East region, and I am asking you to reelect me.

We must fight alongside other unions to reject a pension deal that makes us work longer and pay more for less.

We must fight to defend the final-salary scheme. We cannot agree to anything which leaves younger members with a raw deal.

The magnificent strike on 30 November shows the potential for us to win. Defending the TPS will make it easier to overturn the imposed USS changes.

A pay freeze and a one percent pay increase for two years with rising inflation equals a pay cut. Decent pay must stay on the agenda.

We must fight for every job. Casualisation is the scourge of the sector. We need to organise against the proliferation of precarious work.

The White Paper on Higher Education: ‘Defend Public Universities

This is an unprecedented attack on Higher Education. It opens the door to privatisation and elitism and threatens courses and academic freedom.
The UCU needs to be at the centre of the fight against this legislation linking with the widest possible constituency.

Stress, bullying and Managerialism

Cost cutting and redundancies are increasing workloads. Stress and bullying are a major concern for members.

Research and teaching are increasingly tied to a narrow agenda of competitiveness and skills.

The language of the market and the increasing role of business in universities are undermining collegiality.

What Kind of UCU?

A democratic, member led union l Branches and regions are the fora for discussion and decisions not plebiscitary consultation. l A National Executive Committee that provides strong leadership and operates in a transparent way.

Working with other trade unions in the university sector and the wider movement to take industrial action to defend public services

Biographical information including service to the union

  • Since 1977 I have worked as a teacher (seven years) and in Further Education (six years). In this period I was a local activist in both the NUT and NATFHE.
  • I have worked in Higher Education for twenty years and was elected to the NATFHE National Committee in 2004.
  • NEC member since 2006. l I am on the UCU Committee at the University of Hertfordshire.
  • I have attended national congress every year since the UCU was formed (except for one).
  • I am a member of the UCU Education Committee and have recently edited the UCU Left publication Another Education is Possible.
  • I am the UCU HE representative on the Working Group of the Teachers Pension Scheme.

Vote Jane Hardy 1, Jelena Timotijevic 2, Lesley McGorrigan 3

I urge you to also vote Mark Campbell for General Secretary and Angie McConnell, Vice-President (FE)

Leaflet downloads are available from here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March

 

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The TPS situation – Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is available online here, along with a model motion in support of the NEC, and a number of other useful resources about the TPS dispute.

FAQ 1. Why did National Executive members reject the Heads of Agreement government proposals?

  • There is very little extra on offer compared to pre-November 30
  • The proposals dump our current Final Salary scheme in favour of a Career Average Revaluation Earnings scheme
  • The minor improvement in the accrual rate and transfer rate would still leave the vast majority of non-protected members worse off and having to work longer to get the same pension (up to age 68 for many)
  • The proposals offer minimal reductions to the financial penalties for retirement earlier  than the State Retirement Age, which the government is increasing
  • The sliding scale of pension contributions increases from 1st April refer ONLY to the first year of three years of increases –  a pay CUT – which will hit the vast majority of TPS members in a few weeks’ time. The average increase after three years will be 50%
  • The proposals say nothing about the shift from RPI to CPI indexation of pensions in payment, which will lead to the progressive reduction in pension payments costing retired members many thousands of pounds.

In short, the HoA proposals will still leave members paying more, working longer, getting less.

FAQ 2. How will the government proposals affect me?

To see how these proposals will affect you go to UCU’s pension calculator.  It only takes a few minutes and will tell you exactly how much you will be losing.  Click here if you joined the scheme before 2007 and here if you joined the scheme after 2007

FAQ  3. On January 20th, the NEC voted to take further industrial action on March 1st. Does this mean we will be fighting alone?

No. A number of unions such as NUT, NASUWT, PCS, UCAC, Nipsa and Unite in Health and the Civil Service have not signed up to the December19th proposals. There are growing efforts by many members in the unions whose leaderships have signed up to overturn those decisions. The British Medical Association has also recently voted not to accept the pension proposals.

However, because none of these unions had named a day before UCU’s National Executive meeting on 20th January your Executive decided to get the ball rolling by naming a strike day and asking the other unions to join us.

Since our decision to propose a named strike day the NUT Executive has met and called for further strike action in March. The NUT thought that our proposal of March 1st was too soon and therefore is organising another meeting with all those unions that have not signed up to the deal to agree a day. Other unions are now moving in the same direction; last Saturday the EIS Council (Education Institute of Scotland) unanimously decided to join UCU and NUT in seeking further nationally coordinated strike action.  The NASUWT also are making positive noises about further action. See here.

Discussions are continuing between various unions about the best day for united strike action and about further action. Click here for TES article

FAQ 4. When will this date be decided?

At the last NEC, where the motion was passed to name a day for the next round of action, the NEC also agreed to call another special NEC on the 10th February to review progress and to gauge the response to our decision.  That week other NECs meet to discuss the same issue. So hopefully a final decision could be made at this meeting.

FAQ 5. Are there any other plans for further action beyond a day in March?

Yes. The NEC passed a motion unanimously before Xmas to put some proposals to the other unions. The motion stated that UCU should propose a programme of rolling action across the country creating a ‘Mexican wave effect’ followed by further nationally coordinated strike action.

Rolling strike action is where one region comes out on one day then another and another and so on. For example all schools, colleges and universities come out together in London on one day followed by the North West, then the North East etc.

FAQ 6. Will we be balloted on the final offer?

Yes. At the last NEC the motion passed said this,

“While agreeing that there should be a ballot on any genuine ‘final’ offer the NEC believes there has been no significant improvement at this point (see FAQ 1 for reasons). We further believe that any formal ballot should only be conducted in conjunction with our sister unions (a position supported by our last NEC).”

Whatever genuine final offer the union gets will be put to a full membership ballot alongside our sister TPS unions, as promised and as required as part of union democracy. We balloted to decide whether we would go into dispute, as legally required, and we should ballot to decide whether to end the dispute.

However, just because an employer or the government says that an offer is ‘final’ doesn’t mean we have to believe them! It would be naïve in industrial relations to adopt such a position. Disputes often involve a multitude of ‘final offers’. If the union were to ballot on every offer the employer claims is final we would be (a) constantly delayed in action and (b) bankrupt quite quickly.

FAQ 7. Are other unions balloting their members on the governments offer?

Only one and that is the ATL who have signed up to the deal. None of the other TPS unions (nor Unite or PCS) is balloting. They have not signed up to the proposals and have been taking membership soundings by various means: branch surveys, reps meetings, limited e-surveys and so on. Here is the link to the NUT survey.

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NEC Elections: Vote Jim Wolfreys for Londond and the East (HE)

 

Fighting to Defend Public Education

I have been a lecturer in French and European politics at Kings College London (KCL) since 1994, and President of the Local Association since 2005.

In 2010 KCL UCU was engaged in a high profile and successful campaign against compulsory redundancies that united university staff, students and the wider community around resolute action in defence of education.

Since then I have played an active role on the National Executive Committee, arguing that UCU needs to repeat this kind of local experience nationally in order to protect our pensions, pay, jobs and conditions and to oppose the consequences of the government’s HE White Paper.

Hands

Our employers’ attacks on job security, pensions, pay and conditions play into the hands of the government’s generalised assault on the public university. Their antics in the USS dispute, imposing their diktat on staff, mirrors the shift away from democratic governance taking place in virtually every university.

Although the government has shelved plans to debate a Higher Education Bill in parliament, the agenda outlined in its HE White Paper is being implemented anyway: marketisation, casualisation and privatisation. This will create a highly stratified university sector, where resources are directed away from teaching and research towards auditing and branding. Some universities, as the government has made plain, will be allowed to go to the wall.

Market

The new market for student places puts a premium on AAB+ grades, disproportionately achieved by those from private or selective schools. This despite the fact that state school pupils with lower grades perform to the same level as these students once at university.

Across the board, the government, aided by servile university managers, is rewarding privilege rather than ability, and fostering all that undermines public education, from elitist traditionalism to market fundamentalism.

In universities as elsewhere, the pressure to cut costs is disproportionately affecting those colleagues who are already discriminated against, through gender, sexuality, ethnicity or disability. Conditions for hourly paid staff are also under threat.

UCU was the first union to take national action against the effects of austerity. Local branches, working closely with regional and national officials, have mounted strong resistance to compulsory redundancies. Further robust campaigning and resolute action will be required over pensions, pay and conditions but also against course closures and other consequences of the government’s HE agenda. These campaigns will need to involve close cooperation with students and local communities and workplaces.

Our universities belong to the whole of society – we need to involve everyone in defending them.

Please vote Mark Campbell for General Secretary, Angie McConnell for Vice President

In the election for London and East HE seats please vote for Mark Campbell, Jane Hardy and myself.

Leaflet downloads are available from here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March

 

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NEC Elections: Vote Mark Campbell for London and the East (HE)

Mark Campbell

Defending the Public University

s a member of the UCU Coordinating Committee at London Met for the last ten years I have been in the forefront of our continuing fight to defend jobs and courses and played a significant role in our successful 18-month contract dispute, and union recognition dispute.

An active and committed trade unionist all my working life, I joined NATFHE in 1997 whilst hourly paid at the University of East London.

UCU has a key role to play in mobilising an effective defence of publicly-funded, socially inclusive, higher education. To do this we need to:

Defend pay and pensions, resist job losses and increased workloads. The employers aim to roll back wages and pensions, shed staff in subjects that don’t fit their market priorities, and intensify the workload for those left to pick up the pieces. UCU need to reject attempts to make our members pay for an economic crisis we are the victims of.

Be prepared to take effective, coordinated, industrial action to defend our universities from Government austerity measures and local management cut-backs and ‘restructuring’.

Defend academic freedom by using the union’s power to defend members’ academic independence from the strictures of the REF and from the ‘pedababble’ of academic audits.

UCU must defend our members’ freedom to set their own research agendas and disseminate results in ways they deem appropriate, to design and implement teaching free from the interference of employer-led boards. We must reassert collegiality and democracy in university governance.

Value all our members and campaign hard for our most precarious – hourly paid lecturers, Graduate Teaching Assistants, and junior researchers – all currently on a variety of exploitative casual contracts.

Build strong, democratic, member-led branches that reach out to all our potential allies on campus and across society for whom the Government’s assault on post-16 education, and education’s reorientation toward business training, is a betrayal of hope and an assault on an inclusive and democratic society.

Have a union leadership that is fully accountable to members and which actively implements democratic decisions taken at our branch-based delegate Congresses and HE Conferences.

Biographical Information, including service to the union

  • I am Chair of the UCU Coordinating Committee, London Metropolitan University, where I work as a Senior Lecturer in Computing.
  • I am a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Higher Education Committee (HEC) representing London and the East.
  • Prior to joining the NEC I was HE Secretary for London Region UCU.
  • I am currently UCU London Region Rep on the South East and Eastern Regional TUC (SERTUC), and Vice-Chair of its Public Services Committee.
  • I am a founder member of UCU Left.

In this regional election please vote Mark Campbell 1; Jim Wolfreys 2; Jane Hardy 3

Please also vote for me for general secretary, and for Angie McConnell for Vice-President (FE)

Leaflet downloads are available from here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March

 

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NEC Elections: Vote Sean Vernell for London and the East (FE)

Sean Vernell

The Fight of our Lives – Defend Education

The Adult and Further Education sector is facing tough times. The Tory-led Coalition’s austerity measures have led to our jobs, pensions and wages being attacked.

At the same time as employers and government ask us to tighten our belts principals’ pay has risen to at least 4-5 times greater than that of a main grade lecturer, more billionaires are created daily and bankers bonuses spiral upwards.

Our students too are under attack; one in five 16-25 year olds are unemployed, the EMA cut has led to over 60,000 students not being able to attend Further or Adult Education and university fees raised to £9,000 is pricing working class people out of Higher Education.

I have been honoured to represent London and East region on the NEC for the last five years. In that time I have played a part in fighting to build action that has managed to stop compulsory redundancies, defend educational provision like ESOL and taken numerous initiatives putting forward alternatives to market driven education.

At the moment the fight to defend our pensions is the one that has taken centre stage and has managed to unite millions of public sector workers. I believe that we need to escalate this action as quickly as possible if we are to win.

The battle over pensions acts as a lightning conductor for all the other issues that we are concerned about.

If re-elected I will campaign for:

  • An alternative view of adult and Further Education as outlined in the UCU’s new pamphlet, Jobs and Education: regaining the trust of young people
  • £6,000 London weighting allowance in line with other public sector workers.
  • A significant decrease in workload especially contact hours
  • Staff to have an equal say in the running and structures of their courses and colleges
  • An end to casualisation
  • Stop the cuts in ESOL and Adult Education
  • Opposition to all redundancies
  • To protect and enhance a genuinely democratically run union by giving more control to all members

We are in the fight of our lives – but united we can win

Biographical information including service to the union

I teach GCSE English at City and Islington College. I am the author of A Manifesto for Further Education; Further and Adult Education: responding to a new social and economic climate, of Don’t get young in the third Millennium, Capitalism and the demonising of the young working class and of Defending the Welfare State – the case for public services for all

UCU roles:

  • Branch Secretary City and Islington College (2003-07)
  • Coordinating Secretary City and Islington College (2007-)
  • London Regional Council member (2003-)
  • Elected NEC member for London region (2006-)
  • Vice chair Further Education Committee (2006-)
  • National negotiator (2006-)
  • Recruitment Organising Campaign Committee member (2006-09 and 2011-)
  • Education Committee member (2009-11)
  • UCU observer to NUT NEC (2008-)
  • Founder member of UCU Left (2006)
  • NATFHE/UCU conference delegate (2005-11)
  • TUC delegate (2007-10)

 

For London and the East (FE) please vote Sean Vernell 1 Mandy Brown 2

Leaflet downloads are available from here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March

 

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NEC Elections: Vote Mandy Brown for London and the East (Further Education)

Defend jobs, pensions, pay and conditions.

I am currently employed as an ESOL teacher at Lambeth College, where I have taught ESOL and Numeracy to young people and adults for the last 8 years, working as both an hourly paid and permanent lecturer.
At Lambeth College I have held joint Branch Secretary position since 2010 and been on UCU branch committee since 2008.

I attended UCU Congress as a delegate in 2011, I’ve been on London Region Executive Committee since 2011 and am a member of UCU Left.

Pressure

UCU members are currently under huge pressure from all sides. Workload continues to increase with more forceful tactics being used against already over-worked staff to work even more, for less. Cuts to education funding mean more courses being closed and jobs lost. And while the coalition government is attacking pensions and freezing pay, costs of living are also rising.

We must defend jobs, pensions, pay and conditions to secure the future of Adult and Further Education.

As joint Branch Secretary and a representative at London Region, I have played a part in building a strong branch which has collectively resisted compulsory redundancies and worsening terms and conditions, built solid strikes over pensions in June and November, and delivered overwhelming support for the IfL boycott.

Impact

Government cuts have a devastating impact on poor and vulnerable community groups. I have been a key organiser in the Action for ESOL campaign, which in August saw a massive government U-turn on plans to change funding eligibility for those on benefits. This would have meant up to 70% of learners, mostly women from black and minority ethnic groups, being unable to afford to learn English to improve their lives.

As a campaigner, I worked alongside students, trade unionists and practitioners to raise awareness at local and national level through speaking about ESOL and multiculturalism at meetings and UCU Congress, letter-writing campaigns and organising protests, which resulted in the partial U-turn success.

If elected as an NEC member I will campaign for:

– workload reduction

– fair working conditions for all staff, including hourly paid

– democratic governance of colleges

– Adult and Further Education to remain free and accessible, especially for those who need a second chance

– an end to marketisation, student fees and loans

In London and the East please vote Sean Vernell 1; Mandy Brown 2

Leaflet downloads are available from here. Mandy has her own blog here, and a campaign twitter account here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March

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NEC Elections: Vote Lesley McGorrigan – UK Elected Member HE (Academic Related)

Defend Education for the 99%

I have been an academic related member of staff (administrative) at Leeds University for 19 years. I am a departmental rep in Psychology and am a caseworker for Leeds UCU and have served as an officer or committee member of Leeds UCU and (formerly) AUT Committee for over 17 years.

I coordinated the UCU Red Circle Group at Leeds which campaigned and won significant victories against the downgrading of academic related members in 2006. I convene the Leeds Academic Related (AR) UCU group and am a member of the National AR Committee.

I have represented the national AR Committee and Leeds UCU at the annual UCU Congress on two occasions and previously represented Leeds at AUT Congress several times. I am a member of UCU Left.

Outsourcing

Academic-related staff are frequently the first to experience outsourcing and privatization of aspects of University provision eg. email services; AR staff therefore need to be centrally involved in the union and its campaigns.

A strong democratic union organised on every campus in every department is vital in these challenging times if we are to defend education, jobs and pensions and bring about desperately needed change. If elected, I will work towards a democratic and active UCU.

Two years ago when Leeds University management announced compulsory redundancies UCU won significant victories by mobilising our members.

UCU marched alongside students against the £9,000 fees hike and abolition of the Educational Maintenance Allowance. Subsequently students supported UCU’s campaigns for pay, pensions and against job cuts.

Recently the US Occupy movement has been emulated worldwide in opposition to the wealth, power and destructive actions of the 1% presiding over the destinies of the 99%.

Half a million trade unionists marched for the alternative to cuts and austerity in March 2011 and followed it up with the biggest mass strike in decades against the onslaught on pensions.

Vibrant

The vibrant strikes and marches on 30 November 2011 showed the power of the unions when we mobilize.

Effective leadership can ensure that we build on this with further strikes to win back our pensions and begin to change the priorities in our workplaces and the world around us.

The Higher Education White Paper aims to create a market for university places and open up access to state funding for private providers who will be encouraged to compete with our universities.

This will undoubtedly heighten the zeal to drive down costs by cutting pay, pensions and jobs. Trade unions, students and communities need to build massive coalitions to derail these plans from the hated Tory coalition.

For UK-elected members (HE) please vote:

Jane Hardy 1
Jelena Timotijevich 2
Lesley McGorrigan 3

Leaflet downloads are available from here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March

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NEC Elections, Vote Regine Pilling, Casually Employed Members (FE)

Stamp out Casual Contracts

I am a 24 year old hourly paid lecturer at Westminster Kingsway College and have been teaching for three years, mainly in Additional Learning Support and A Level Sociology. I joined UCU and the branch encouraged me to become involved as a new member and hourly paid lecturer.

Since 2010 I have been the Casual Workers Rep on branch committee, a member of the union’s Young Members Steering Group and a regular delegate to London Regional Meetings. I
at all levels of the union. We need a unified approach to stamp out casual contracts, for the benefit of every UCU member.
am also a member of UCU’s Anti- Casualisation Committee. I have been a delegate to Unite Against Fascism Conference and this year I was proud to be a delegate to UCU’s Annual Congress.

With the huge success of November 30th and increasing membership we should be proud of UCU’s lead in the fightback across the public sector.
We should defend the education we provide, whilst demanding a better education for all.

Casualisation

With devastating cuts facing FE the threat of increased casualisation is becoming critical for hourly paid lecturers (HPL) and Agency staff but also for permanent staff.

Employers are increasing the proportion of casualisation, which could help drive down wages and conditions for all working in the sector. It is essential that UCU supports every member.

It is important to raise the profile of the anti-casualisation campaign at branch, regional and national level. Within my branch, I have been supported by a network of reps campaigning to fractionalise staff. I’m active within the London wide anti- casualisation campaign which unites FE, HE, HPL and permanent staff.

At UCU’s Annual Congress I helped move Anti Casualisation Committee motions ensuring the campaign was driven through at all levels of the union. We need a unified approach to stamp out casual contracts, for the benefit of every UCU member.

If elected I will regularly report back to the Anti Casualisation Committee and London Region and work with the HE casualisation rep to ensure anti-casualisation issues are up front in the union’s bargaining and campaigning agenda.

Member-led

I am a UCU Left supporter, believing UCU must be a democratic member- led union based on strong branches. Therefore, I’ve supported the successful lesson observation boycott at Westminster Kingsway College, which required a high level of membership involvement.

I oppose IFL fees and as a new teacher want to defend pension rights and sustain the scheme for those retiring sooner.

In the huge fight over pensions, wages and job cuts, we must listen to and involve members and show a clear lead in organising to win.
Leaflet downloads are available from here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March

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Vote Veronica Killen, NEC, North East Seat (HE)

Resist Privatisation and Marketisation

Higher education should be publicly funded, publicly owned, accessible to everyone and free at the point of use.

The university is a place where minds are developed through freedom of speech, subject choice and respect for diversity. True collegiate governance and democratic accountability for the public good.

We have to stand up for our values and resist marketisation and privatisation. Our universities are not treasure chests to be plundered by multinationals or other opportunists, or to be subject driven by employers, nor any restrictions on research (REF).

Crisis

Pensions, pay and terms of condition are threatened. We will not allow the government to make us pay for an economic crisis we did not create. We need to show the government is wrong on all its assertions. We deserve decent pay, pensions and working conditions.

Overwork, casualisaton of contracts and bullying all need to be challenged. Protection of the post 92 contract and decent workloads for all lecturers, researchers, academic related and protection for hourly paid staff.

We know when cuts bite, equality issues are left behind at great speed. There are many universities that need to progress on EPA’s, maternity schemes, support for members with disabilities, impact assessments and anti-bullying.

Unions should be member led – it is a basic union principle. Members deserve nothing less. Values based on collectiveness, unity, aspiration and organisation. UCU can grow from strength to strength by:

Developing work nationally, regionally and locally with our students, other education trade unions, the TUC, Trade Union councils, the occupations, anti-cuts and other community groups.

A greater visibility on the value of education, for the good of society.

Encourage new and younger members to get involved in UCU.

Listening to and mobilising UCU members.

Biographical information including service to the union

I work full time as a senior lecturer at Northumbria University, teaching Midwifery, public health and other health areas.
I am a member of the Northumbria equality sub-committee. I have been an active trade unionist most of my working life. After transferring from a teaching position in the NHS in 1994, I have been:

1994 – Department and school rep l 2004 – Branch officer;

2007-11 Secretary of the Northern Region HEC;

2007–11 Member of the standing women’s committee

2007-11 delegate to the women’s’ TUC conference and UCU national congress;

2007– National health educators group member

2007– Northern Region TUC council member l 2008 – Northern Region Secretary

2010-11 Vice Chair of the women’s standing committee

(2010) Delegate to the TUC conference

2011– NEC member, member of the Education Committee and vice chair of the national Equality Committee

UCU Left member

For the North East HE seat please vote;

Liz Lawrence 1
Gavin Reid 2
Veronica Killen 3
Jeff Fowler 4
Leaflet downloads are available from here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March

Posted on

NEC Elections, Vote Graham Mustin – North East (FE)

Build the resistance, Defend education

I have been an active member of NATFHE and UCU since joining the profession in 1981. I am currently joint branch secretary of Barnsley College UCU. I have represented the branch at UCU congress and FE sector conference and am branch representative at Yorkshire ad Humberside region.

I am currently employed at Barnsley College as Tutorial Team Leader in the department of Catering Hospitality and Tourism. Previously I taught A level History at the college.

Defend Further Education

Further education in this country is under attack from a government that hates the public sector and is determined to force through austerity and principals only interested in the bottom line. UCU must continue to be in the forefront of those campaigning to defend high quality education and training for all our students.

Build the resistance to attacks on pensions, jobs and conditions.

I am proud of the role that UCU has played in building the fight back against attacks on our pensions.

November 30th was a magnificent example of solidarity and we need to be taking the lead in calling for further action.
We also need to resist all attempts to force through redundancies and undermine our terms and conditions. If elected I would press for the widest possible support for colleges taking action.

I know from our recent experience in Barnsley College, where a robust campaign of industrial action prevented my compulsory redundancy, how important support and solidarity are in encouraging members to take effective action. We need to spread the message that determined action can win.

Building a democratic and effective union

Our membership has continued to grow over the past few years wherever lecturers and others see the union standing up strongly for its members but UCU needs to recruit more members and make members into active trade unionists.

As a member of UCU Left I believe that strong branches are the key to building a strong union. And as Vice- Chair of Yorkshire and Humberside region I also believe that regions can play an important role in co-ordinating action and supporting weaker branches.

To be as effective as possible the UCU must be a democratic union responsive to the grassroots.

This means an NEC that is accountable to the membership. If elected I will report back regularly from NEC meetings and make myself available to speak to branches if requested.

Please vote for Mark Campbell for General Secretary and for myself and Umit Yildiz for the North East FE seats

Vote Graham Mustin 1;Umit Yildiz, 2

Leaflet downloads are available from here.

STV Voting system

To maximise votes for progressive candidates we ask you to do the following:

Please use your votes to first endorse all UCU Left candidates and only after that use lower preferences for other progressive candidates in each relevant list;

and

Give your highest preferences in the UK-Elected list to UCU Left candidate(s) from your region

 

Elections run from 6 February to 1 March