Pickets in Loughborough and London – 9th Feb
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.
February: Fri 10th, Tues 14th, Wed 15th, Tues 21st, Thurs 23rd, Mon 27th & Tues 28th.
March: Thurs 2nd, Fri 17th, Tues 21st & Wed 22nd.
Update on Teach Outs
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.
LUCU Committee