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Open letter to research funders

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Leeds UCU has written an online Open Letter to research funders, explaining the two current HE disputes (on USS pensions and on the Four Fights) and asking them to: Write to the Senior Team of Universities UK (UUK) and to the Board of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and urge them to engage in meaningful negotiations over pensions, and pay and equality (respectively) with UCU.Write to the Vice-Chancellors of institutions at which they have awarded scholarships, grants, or bursaries with the same request. Furthermore, demand respectful behaviour towards the staff and graduate students participating in ASOS and no financial deductions of their salary for working to contract.Make a public statement in support of the staff and graduate students taking industrial action and ASOS and call for an urgent resolution of the disputes.Offer to extend application and reporting deadlines in order to accommodate the time lost by researchers taking strike action and ASOS. We will collect signatures on this letter and will forward copies to each of the research funding bodies in the new year, with the signatures of the researchers funded by them. Please sign this letter here including your name, position, funder and institution, following the layout … continue reading

UCU Christmas

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Have you spotted any unusual baubles on a Christmas tree near you on campus? Leeds UCU had fun despite the rain last Friday singing our alternative carols near the ‘wavy lines’ Christmas tree. The woodwind section led us and everyone was in full voice. “Holding the ASOS line” (to the tune of ‘Down by the Riverside’) isn’t exactly a Christmas carol but it was sung VERY enthusiastially. Beware – once you get the hang of this it becomes an earworm! Lyrics below. Holding the ASOS line lyrics I’m gonna lay down my heavy workload Holding the ASOS line, Holding the ASOS line, Holding the ASOS line! I’m gonna lay down my heavy workload Holding the ASOS line, Ain’t gonna over work no more Chorus: Ain’t gonna over work no more Ain’t gonna over work no more Over work no mo-o-ore! Ain’t gonna over work no more Ain’t gonna over work no more Holding the ASOS line I’m gonna stand with the UCU I’m gonna stop work at 5pm We’re gonna win back a fair pay rise, We’re gonna win contract dignity We’re gonna get back our USS … continue reading

Christmas carolling and guerilla baubling

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Leeds UCU members seem to enjoy a sing song, judging by your enthusiastic participation in the songs at our strike rallies! It was great to have our ‘woodwind section’ entertaining us and leading us. We are probably the only UCU branch with a bassoonist, flautist and clarinet player on the picket lines! So you’ll be pleased to hear we are getting together again to sing our alternative Christmas carols – you can find them in the Leeds UCU songbook at https://tinyurl.com/t7vsy8e (scroll down). There’s also a rather brilliant ASOS version of ‘Down by the picket line’. Meet on Friday 13th December at 12:30 by the wavy lines sculpture. And how about some creative guerrilla baubling?  There are many Christmas trees around campus which could be made lovelier with the addition of some UCU baubles, and it would be splendid to see photos tweeted (use hashtags #ucuASOS #guerrillabaubling #UCUchristmas, and tag @leedsucu) Templates are here (various wording) and here (blank) – feel free to adapt them or make your own. … continue reading

Reporting strike action, and guidance on Action Short of a Strike

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Reporting strike action On Thursday 5th December, or on your first day back if you don’t work Thursdays, you should report that you took strike action, via ESS or by email to industrialaction@leeds.ac.uk, as set out in the email from HR on 18th November. You should also report that you are taking ASOS. If you are on a visa, it’s extra important that you are recorded as having been on strike, otherwise it could count as unauthorised absence which could affect your visa – you might like to report by email and ask for confirmation that your report has been recorded. Guidance on ASOS We will be doing the ASOS which was set out in the voting papers for the ballot, and which you voted overwhelmingly for. We are asking you to: work to contractnot cover for absent colleaguesnot reschedule lectures or classes cancelled due to strike actionnot undertake any voluntary activities Your committee, with the help of the packed General Meeting on 3 December, has put together the a document containing local ASOS guidance, available here: www.leedsucu.org.uk/asos-guidance-from-leeds-ucu/ Also see the national FAQ at www.ucu.org.uk/he-action-faqs Note in particular that our university management have softened their approach compared to 2018 – … continue reading

What’s on at today’s Teach Out – Tuesday 3 December

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Full teach out programme is here Strike Data Hack Workshop Helen Thornham, Chris Birchall, Joanne Armitage This is a practical data hack workshop where we will scrape, analyse and visualise the data and discourses of the strike. ideally would run as 2 or 3 50 minute slots – or as an additional event.No experience necessary! Just bring a laptop and your extension cable to make sure the battery doesn’t run out! We will teach some basics to scraping and coding, data visualisations and analysis and critically interrogate how the strike actions and pension dispute have been presented. Perhaps we could look at the language used across national media, the statistics used to defend positions, or the longer data histories of the pension dispute. We could look at university policy documents, VC letters across universities, or union publicity for example. 1pm – 3pm, Quaker Meeting House Jews in the Medieval Imaginary Eva Frojmovic 1pm – 3pm, Leeds Central Library, Art Library The state of PGTAs at Leeds: discussion and fact-finding UCU committee 1pm – 2pm, Quaker Meeting House Fleabag: Sex, Confession, and the Camera Carl White 2pm – 3pm, Quaker Meeting House Strike pay surgery UCU committee 1 pm onwards, Quaker … continue reading