Unite Community Leicester has organised an event “Your Rights, The Law, and Empowerment” on Sunday 19th January 2025 from 11am – 4pm. Everyone is welcome to join them at: Secular Hall, 75 Humberstone Gate, Leicester (LE1 1WB).
Lawyers will give three presentations to update you on laws around protest and strike action, with each focusing on one of the following topics: “Unions”, “Palestine” and “Climate & Ecological Emergency”. The event is supported by Leicester & District Trades Union Council (L&DTUC). For more information, please see this flyer.
Organising the next Workers Memorial Day
The Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) subcommittee of Leicester & District Trades Union Council (L&DTUC) will meet to start organising the next Workers Memorial Day event. The meeting will be on Tuesday 21st January 2025 starting at 6pm and, it’s hoped, will not last much more than an hour. All trade unionists are welcome. You do not need to be a trades council delegate to get involved. The organising meeting will be held on Zoom. If you’re interested in contributing, please use this link to join the meeting.
Annual Meeting for Members on Casualised Contracts
The UCU national annual meeting for members on casualised contracts will be held on Saturday 22nd February and will be in hybrid format, both on-line and in London. The meeting is an opportunity to network, to find out what the Anti-Casualisation committee (ACC) have been doing over the past 12 months, to elect members to the committee and, to debate motions.
The exact content of the meeting is still being finalised, but the intention is to have a panel discussion on how the union progresses its anti-casualisation work and workshops on the new Employment Rights bill, the launch of the Researcher manifesto and anti-casualisation and equality.
For full details on how to register, how to send motions and how to make nominations to the ACC will be available shortly, here.
UCU are encouraging members on casualised contracts to consider attending the event, raising motions for the meeting and to consider putting yourself forward to join the anti-casualisation committee as there are lots of places available this year. For more information please contact Jane Thompson here.
The conference will hold five separate half-day conferences for Black, disabled, LGBT+, migrant and women members, with a joint plenary session for all equality strands. To attend any of the five equality groups, delegates must self-identify as a member of that particular group.
This year’s joint plenary session will be focused on setting an agenda now that there is a Labour government, with particular focus on how to oppose the emboldened far right.
The 2024 conference will be held from Thursday 28th November to Saturday 30th November 2024. The conference will be held in a hybrid format using Zoom or in-person at Conference Aston: Conference Centre Hotel, Aston Street, Aston University Campus, Birmingham B4 7ET.
UCU Climate and Ecological Emergency National Meeting
The UCU Annual Meeting for Climate and Ecological Emergency will be held on Thursday 14th November 2024 online via Zoom from 11:00am to 4:00pm. The annual meeting will advise and make recommendations to the climate and ecological emergency committee and the National Executive Committee on matters relating to the climate and ecological emergency and environmental sustainability. The meeting will hear reports on the work of UCU in relation to the climate and ecological emergency and discuss motions submitted by branches and local associations. There will also be plenty of opportunity to network with colleagues.
All members with an interest in furthering the union’s work on the climate and ecological emergency may register to attend the meeting. Please ensure you register before the deadline of Thursday 7th November at 5pm by clicking here. There will be an e-mail confirmation automatically sent out after registration is complete.
For full details of the meeting, please consult this pdf.
What makes a thriving research and innovation culture?
The University are holding three conversation-style events to identify what a thriving research and innovation culture looks like at Loughborough. The stated aim of these events is to invite your important perspectives on what ‘good’ looks like in Loughborough’s research and innovation culture.
We strongly urge you to join these sessions and use your voice to help shape the standard to which academics are likely to be held in the future.
Events and sign-up links
Virtual workshop, 10am-11.30am, Monday 15 April 2024, sign up here
Face to face workshop on campus, 10am-11.30am, Wednesday 17 April 2024. Sign up here
Face to face workshop on campus, 3pm-4.30pm, Wednesday 17 April 2024. Sign up here
UCU Rising – Developing consultation questions: meeting for members
As we approach the next phase of the UCU Rising campaign, UCU need to develop clear strategies to win the pay and working conditions dispute. The higher education committee (HEC) will make the decisions as the appropriate body under the rules, and UCU will hold a branch delegate meeting (BDM) to help HEC formulate that strategy.
UCU want to talk to and, more importantly, listen to as many members as possible to develop that strategy. One part of that will be a consultation of the whole membership and UCU want to engage members in developing the set of questions that will be used in that consultation. This mass consultation will inform the decisions which HEC and other democratic structures will take on the next steps in the HE dispute.
The meeting will be as open as possible, involving some breakout sessions, and members can share their suggestions and views. Please register for the meeting below by clicking the link.
Developing consultation questions: a meeting for all members in London, Eastern and Home Counties, West Midlands, East Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humberside regions. Wednesday 11 October, 16:30-18:00
Please help shape UCU’s next steps to winning our dispute by taking part in this meeting.
As you have probably already heard, due to the pressure created through your collective action and presence on picket lines, UCU have announced significant progress in negotiations with the employers in our HE pay and pension disputes. To allow ongoing negotiations to continue in a constructive environment UCU has agreed to pause strike action for the next two weeks. This means our scheduled pickets on the 22nd February and 1st March are suspended, as is all strike action until we recommence the pressure with our picket on the 16th March. For this period, during the pause in strike action, ASOS remains in place and the branch will focus on the re-ballot. We are looking to reschedule teach-outs which were planned for the 22nd Feb and the 1st March, and will update you with more details on these when we have finalised the new plans. The planned Creative Writing Social/Teach-out on the 28th February will still be taking place as it is outside of normal working hours.
Take a look at some of the creative works our members have produced with students in support of the dispute, on our YouTube channel.
Re-ballot
It is now more important than ever that we deliver a massive yes vote in our upcoming re-ballot of members for both our pay and conditions, and USS disputes. This will allow our negotiators to keep the pressure on and will leave the option for a Marking and Assessment Boycott and/or further strike action if the dispute is not resolved. Ballot papers will start arriving from Wednesday 22nd February. Please complete and return your ballot, and encourage others to do the same.
We’d really appreciate help with the get the vote out effort. If you volunteer you will be given a list of names and will be asked to call members on their list encouraging them to vote. Please let the branch know if you can help by responding to this email.
UCU will be hosting our union’s biggest ever UCU Live event on the eve of ballots dropping. Please join our general secretary Jo Grady at 19:30 on Tuesday 21st February on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
For next week the branch has organised a picket on Lboro campus taking place on Wednesday 22nd February. The picket will be at the Holywell Gate on Holywell Way (exact location) from 11:30am to 2pm. It will be followed by “Unions and the Media” an online teach-out from 2:30-5pm (Teams link). See the section on teach-outs at the end of this article for full details.
As always, we hope to see as many of you on the picket as possible. The longer the picket line, the shorter the dispute.
Future Picket Dates, Times & Locations
Strike Day
Picket Time
Picket Location
Wed 1st March
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Thurs 16th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Mon 20th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Future London picket details will be communicated as and when they are arranged.
Although we are only picketing on the above dates, please remember that the following dates are also strike days.
Please regularly check our website for updated versions of strike resources for staff such as out of office messages, email templates you can send to students or use on learn and slides for students.
Teach-Outs Updates
We’re delighted to announce a fourth teach-out on our schedule:
Mightier than the Sword? – a creative writing social at The Organ Grinder (4 Woodgate, Loughborough, LE11 2TY) on Tuesday February 28th, 6-8pm. Upstairs in The Hayloft, Barbara Cooke and Kerry Featherstone will be serving up creative exercises that will amuse and entertain. All are welcome. The room has limited capacity so come early to avoid having to sit downstairs playing board games and wondering what everyone is up to!
Full details of the teach-out this coming Wednesday:
Unions and the Media, an online teach-out: Wednesday February 22nd, 2:30-5pm (Teams link) We will start with a Trade Unions 101 by Anthony Kevins: Is a trade union like a student union? Are strikes just protests? And why are strikes even a thing? In this brief introduction to trade unions, we’ll cover everything you ever wanted to know about collective bargaining but were too afraid to ask. Bring your questions! Then John Downey will present a talk entitled ‘What about the workers? How do news media frame unions and what we can do about it’ discussing unions, inequality, and media representation, including reflections on how UCU does self-mediation and how it is being represented in the current dispute.
A reminder of the rest of our scheduled teach-outs:
Organising and Power, an online teach-out: Wednesday 1st March, 2:30-5pm (Teams link)
Memories of anti-racism, a hybrid teach-out:Thursday 16th March, 11am-12 noon in-person and online (Teams link) Charnwood Arts (address: 27 Rectory Pl, Loughborough LE11 1UW)
Thanks again to everyone who was involved in the busy and engaging UCU rising pickets we held on the 1st and 9th of February.
This Week’s Picket
This week the branch has organised a picket on Lboro campus. It will take place on Thursday 16th February. The picket will be at the Shirley Pearce Pedestrian Crossing (on Epinal Way – exact location) from 8:30am to 10:30am. We hope to see as many of you there as possible. The longer the picket line, the shorter the dispute.
Future Picket Dates, Times & Locations
Strike Day
Picket Time
Picket Location
Wed 22nd Feb
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Wed 1st March
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Thurs 16th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Mon 20th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Future London picket details will be communicated as and when they are arranged.
Although we are only picketing on the above dates, please remember that the following dates are also strike days.
We now have three teach outs planned during this period of industrial action. Please advertise these events to your colleagues, students and anyone else who may be interested in joining us. We have linked a poster and would love if you can print out and put up around campus to encourage people to attend these events.
Unions and the Media, an online teach-out: Wednesday February 22nd, 2:30-5pm (Teams link): We will start with a Trade Unions 101 by Anthony Kevins: Is a trade union like a student union? Are strikes just protests? And why are strikes even a thing? In this brief introduction to trade unions, we’ll cover everything you ever wanted to know about collective bargaining but were too afraid to ask. Bring your questions! Then John Downey will present a talk entitled ‘What about the workers? How do news media frame unions and what we can do about it’ discussing unions, inequality, and media representation, including reflections on how UCU does self-mediation and how it is being represented in the current dispute.
Organising and Power, an online teach-out: Wednesday 1st March, 2:30-5pm (Teams link): Ruth Kinna will give a talk (open to all staff and students) about Rose Pesotta (1896–1965), anarchist, feminist and labour organizer in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, then Alexandre Christoyannopoulos will lead a workshop (for LUCU members only) introducing methods from the Organizing for Power workshops that some members attended last year, with time for discussion about how they could work within Loughborough UCU.
Memories of anti-racism, a hybrid teach-out: Thursday 16th March, 11am-12 noon in-person and online (Teams link): Emily Keightley will introduce the Migrant Memory and Postcolonial Imagination exhibition at Charnwood Arts (address: 27 Rectory Pl, Loughborough LE11 1UW), and will talk about histories and memories of anti-racist protest and experiences of racism in Loughborough and East London.
Resources for Staff
Please regularly check our website for updated versions of strike resources for staff such as out of office messages, email templates you can send to students or use on learn and slides for students.
Branch TikTok
With the aim of reaching out to more students the branch has set up a TikTok account and started releasing videos on that platform. Please take a look and give the videos a like and, if you use TikTok, follow our profile. Click the links for videos: TikTok1 and TikTok2. More TikTok videos coming soon. We have also released the same videos on all our existing social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube ). Liking and sharing our social media posts helps boost awareness of the ucuRISING dispute and the issues we are facing, so all help with that is very much appreciated.
Thanks again to everyone who was involved in the busy and engaging UCU rising picket we held on the 1st February, and also to those who came to the planning meeting that followed.
This Week’s Pickets
This week the branch has organised pickets on both Lboro and London campuses. Both will take place on Thursday 9th February. The Loughborough picket will be at the Shirley Pearce Pedestrian Crossing (on Epinal Way – exact location) from 8:30am to 10:30am. The London picket will be at the main entrance of the London campus building from 9am – 11am. We hope to see as many of you there as possible. The longer the picket line, the shorter the dispute.
Future Picket Dates, Times & Locations
Strike Day
Picket Time
Picket Location
Thurs 16th Feb
8:30-10:30
Shirley Pearce Pedestrian Crossing
Wed 22nd Feb
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Wed 1st March
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Thurs 16th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Mon 20th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Future London picket details will be communicated as and when they are arranged.
Although we are only picketing on the above dates, please remember that the following dates are also strike days.
We now have three teach outs planned during this period of industrial action, unfortunately the ones we had hoped to hold in the LSU building will now have to be on-line only due to no rooms being available. Please advertise these events to your colleagues, students and anyone else who may be interested in joining us.
Unions and the Media, an online teach-out: Wednesday February 22nd, 2:30-5pm (Teams link): We will start with a Trade Unions 101 by Anthony Kevins: Is a trade union like a student union? Are strikes just protests? And why are strikes even a thing? In this brief introduction to trade unions, we’ll cover everything you ever wanted to know about collective bargaining but were too afraid to ask. Bring your questions! Then John Downey will present a talk entitled ‘What about the workers? How do news media frame unions and what we can do about it’ discussing unions, inequality, and media representation, including reflections on how UCU does self-mediation and how it is being represented in the current dispute.
Organising and Power, an online teach-out: Wednesday 1st March, 2:30-5pm (Teams link): Ruth Kinna will give a talk (open to all staff and students) about Rose Pesotta (1896–1965), anarchist, feminist and labour organizer in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, then Alexandre Christoyannopoulos will lead a workshop (for LUCU members only) introducing methods from the Organizing for Power workshops that some members attended last year, with time for discussion about how they could work within Loughborough UCU.
Memories of anti-racism, a hybrid teach-out: Thursday 16th March, 11am-12 noon in-person and online (Teams link): Emily Keightley will introduce the Migrant Memory and Postcolonial Imagination exhibition at Charnwood Arts (address: 27 Rectory Pl, Loughborough LE11 1UW), and will talk about histories and memories of anti-racist protest and experiences of racism in Loughborough and East London.
Resources for Staff
Please regularly check our website for updated versions of strike resources for staff such as out of office messages, email templates you can send to students or use on learn and slides for students.
