There is a Youth Climate Strike taking place in Leeds this Friday (14 February).  Whilst we have not organised a formal march this time, the branch continues to support the climate strikes and members are encouraged to support them. Many of us will be at the march and events. (Timings are below.) Student – staff coalition for the climate Last year, the University of Leeds published seven principles it will adopt in order to transition to a low carbon future and start tackling the climate crisis on campus. But what exactly are these principles, and how can we make sure the University of Leeds actually sticks to them? During the recent UCU strikes, a group of students and UCU members met to discuss the possibility of creating a student-staff coalition to hold the University of Leeds to account on its climate pledges. We want as many people involved as possible, so please join us for our first meeting on 18 February, where we’ll be getting to know each other, figuring out what this coalition will look like, and how we are going to take our aims forward. Full details of the meeting at https://www.facebook.com/events/857624224665058/ Timings for youth climate strike action … continue reading

We hope to see as many of you as possible outside the Parkinson steps by 12 noon so we can set off together at midday, with banners, flags, placards and alarm clocks, to join the Leeds Youth Strike for Climate event by 12.15 in Millenium Square. More details. The University agreed to our request for all staff to have a 30 minute paid stoppage for this on top of our lunch breaks, so we can all march down together and show the young people how much support they have from the university. We were pleased to see the recent University climate announcement especially about fossil fuel divestment, which students and staff have been campaigning about for years (e.g. here). We look forward to trade union involvement in turning the new climate principles into action. continue reading