UCU - Pensions and Pay Disputes

[SpackleFrog]

Two people have stepped down from the Branch committee here, I'm putting myself forward because I've had enough.

Good for you. This is is the best response.

We got the 50%, but it was fucking hard work, we got 8% less than in the consultative ballot and a load of members never got their ballots despite asking for them 70% for action.

To add insult to fucking injury certain Swappie types actually suggested to me we should go it alone and appeal to others to reballot!

It's really gutting this - our first scuppering at the hands of the shitty fucking anti union laws. But Wilf is right compared to other ballots it's a good result. Don't mourn, organise - and organise a lot because our unions have not done any of the groundwork for us.

Was at the UCU Democracy Commission today. Eye opening, to say the least.

 

[SpackleFrog]

USS's valuation rests on a large and demonstrable mistake

I'd like my deducted strike pay repaid now please

At UCU National Dispute Committee today and we are discussing demanding universities repay deducted wages!

 

[Wilf]

WAT non-Trot?

Wouldn't want my reputation on here to suffer.

Nice to meet you the other day mon

And you.

 

[redsquirrel]

Should have posted the other day when FE comrades were out. Bradford College had a fantastic strike succeeding in getting management to close the college.

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Also for any that have missed it HE re-ballot for pay opens 14th Jab and closes 22nd Feb.

 

[redsquirrel]

HE ballot opens today. Let's make sure we get over 50% this time.

 

[flypanam]

Just had a call from UCU asking me if I had voted, if their going through the members list, its a positive step.

 

[SpackleFrog]

Just had a call from UCU asking me if I had voted, if their going through the members list, its a positive step.

From your local branch rather than the national union I assume?

Just finished my shift phone banking to members here - boring AF but nice to get lots of members saying they've already voted and thanking us for our hard work

 

[flypanam]

From your local branch rather than the national union I assume?

Just finished my shift phone banking to members here - boring AF but nice to get lots of members saying they've already voted and thanking us for our hard work

Nope. My branch is tiny I know everyone in it. The was from a central London number.

 

[SpackleFrog]

Nope. My branch is tiny I know everyone in it. The was from a central London number.

That's interesting, I've never known the national HQ ring anyone in a ballot before.

 

[flypanam]

It could have been the official on behalf of the branch.

 

[redsquirrel]

Just finished my shift phone banking to members here - boring AF but nice to get lots of members saying they've already voted and thanking us for our hard work

Not the most exciting task and kind of depressing that we have to do it but it really does work.

 

[redsquirrel]

Ballot papers for NEC out now.

Fingers crossed that prick Adam Ozanne does not get elected as VP. Styling himself as an independent candidate. Twat

 

[SpackleFrog]

Ballot papers for NEC out now.

Fingers crossed that prick Adam Ozanne does not get elected as VP. Styling himself as an independent candidate. Twat

He must not win. He and the rest of the IBL are awful.

 

[PursuedByBears]

UCU Left have emailed me a list of their preferred candidates so I think I'll follow their lead.

 

[SpackleFrog]

UCU Left have emailed me a list of their preferred candidates so I think I'll follow their lead.

Yeah, I'm a UCU Left member, will be doing same. Vicky Blake is a good mate and she's decent so I'll vote for her as well, but everyone else who is standing is either recommended by UCU Left or IBL.

 

[SpackleFrog]

If UCU Left finally get a majority on the NEC I'm pretty sure it'll split though Fraying at the edges.

 

[redsquirrel]

Yeah, I'm a UCU Left member, will be doing same. Vicky Blake is a good mate and she's decent so I'll vote for her as well, but everyone else who is standing is either recommended by UCU Left or IBL.

What about Jo Grady, isn't she an independent?

 

[SpackleFrog]

What about Jo Grady, isn't she an independent?

Nah, she's not a UCU Left member but she's on the UCU Left slate.

 

[redsquirrel]

Ballot closing 12:00 today. Probably won't find out the result till next week. Fingers crossed we made it passed the 50% mark.

It's hard to be sure but I think we probably improved on our Oct turnout but I'm not sure we will have got passed 50%. Mind you our branch is a small one so it's not going to make or break things.

 

[redsquirrel]

41% - fucking crap! Bloody disaster.

 

[PursuedByBears]

No way! That's really pathetic turnout.

 

[redsquirrel]

Hunt resigning due to ill health so a new Gen Sec

 

[Pickman's model]

Hunt resigning due to ill health so a new Gen Sec

wrong hunt

 

[SpackleFrog]

41% - fucking crap! Bloody disaster.

No way! That's really pathetic turnout.

Worth remembering some branch leaderships have been discouraging members from voting.

Hunt resigning due to ill health so a new Gen Sec

Thanks Sally, you're a pal. It had to be this week didn't it, when we're talking about the ballot result with members. You couldn't have waited a week.

 

[teuchter]

Worth remembering some branch leaderships have been discouraging members from voting.

Why have they been doing that?

 

[SpackleFrog]

Why have they been doing that?

Because they don't want another strike like the last one. The IBL (Independent Broad 'Left' - right wing faction set up around Sally Hunt to counter the UCU Left) did not come out of that dispute or all the shenigans at Congress looking good. Added to which, their politics could mostly be described as "wait for a Labour govt and lets not do anything too radical).

 

[SpackleFrog]

We reckon we got 58% or thereabouts turnout at our place (Sheffield). Unfortunately the situation is different in different branches.

 

[redsquirrel]

We reckon we got 58% or thereabouts turnout at our place (Sheffield). Unfortunately the situation is different in different branches.

Bloody well done. I estimate that we improved on our performance in the disaggregated ballot but I'm not sure we got over 50%.

When the intention to move to an aggregated ballot was announced I was in favour but seeing how it's worked in practice I'm inclined to favour disaggregated ballot in the future. I don't think national/regional responded correctly to the difference, though to be fair to them the time between the two was relatively short what with Xmas.

For an aggregated ballot national/regional needed to coordinate things more. For example in Yorkshire it's pointless small branches like mine getting over 50% if large branches like Leeds and Sheffield don't make the threshold. Region should have coordinated more inter-branch mobilisation, ensuring the large branches got over 50% then once they started to hit the ceiling (~70%) pushing resources into the smaller branches.

That said for all the mistakes the leadership made (national, regional and local) the members have to accept their share. I've lost count of the number of people, members and non-members, who complain to me (rightly) about workloads. Well here was a chance to do something about them and we fluffed it - twice (well except for a few branches like SpackleFrog's)

 

[SpackleFrog]

Bloody well done. I estimate that we improved on our performance in the disaggregated ballot but I'm not sure we got over 50%.

When the intention to move to an aggregated ballot was announced I was in favour but seeing how it's worked in practice I'm inclined to favour disaggregated ballot in the future. I don't think national/regional responded correctly to the difference, though to be fair to them the time between the two was relatively short what with Xmas.

For an aggregated ballot national/regional needed to coordinate things more. For example in Yorkshire it's pointless small branches like mine getting over 50% if large branches like Leeds and Sheffield don't make the threshold. Region should have coordinated more inter-branch mobilisation, ensuring the large branches got over 50% then once they started to hit the ceiling (~70%) pushing resources into the smaller branches.

That said for all the mistakes the leadership made (national, regional and local) the members have to accept their share. I've lost count of the number of people, members and non-members, who complain to me (rightly) about workloads. Well here was a chance to do something about them and we fluffed it - twice (well except for a few branches like SpackleFrog's)

The danger for me with the dis-aggregated ballot is that we end up with pointless action in a few branches, and we run the risk of sacrificing national bargaining. We got 50% (just) in the previous one. I was then told by some people in branches that hadn't made the turnout that we should strike on our own, while the others re-ballot. I *really* didn't fancy trying to sell that plan to members.

I still think it was right to dis aggregate the ballot, although we didn't improve. I partially think that because it's a more solid gap in members minds to close than 160 branches who all couldn't get 50% individually. I didn't necessarily expect us to make it - hope we'd improve until I started hearing reports from places like Exeter and York that they were actively discouraging. But I think it's sort of neccessary as a learning curve.

Thing is (with caveat that regions differ quite a lot) there isn't any regional ballot organisation, and national do fuck all really except print naff leaflets and send emails. You're absolutely right that we need co-ordination between branches but it's something that members will have to just get on and do, outside the structures of the union if necessary. I think this is the learning curve we're on as a union - we need to learn to do things for ourselves.

In the USS strike, we got a 58% turnout on aggregate. In that dispute the union machinery was actually supporting members to get the turnout. It was that or have loads of people just leave the union. Now we have to get the turnout independently of the machinery.

It's worth branches putting in local claims and building local strikes on workload, the gender pay gap or casualisation. We don't have national bargaining on these issues and it puts pressure on the employers nationally if local strikes on these things happen.

 

[redsquirrel]

Jo McNeil standing for Gen Sec