At the climate strike 20 September 2019
What a day! Hundreds of staff and students marched from the Parkinson steps down to join the Leeds Youth Strike for Climate event, with our union banners, lots of creative placards and UCU flags. Thanks to you all. If you couldn’t make it, hope you managed to use the 30 minute stoppage to take some other action.
UCU branches all round the UK took part in their local Climate Strike events – see many examples on the UCU website.
Want do do more? You could get involved with our new ‘Climate and ecological emergency’ working group (contact ucu@leeds.ac.uk for details). Or you could attend the Leeds TUC Regional Conference on Climate change on 19th October, to look at how trade unions can meet the challenge of the climate emergency. See full details and and registration (which is free).
And we look forward to trade union involvement in turning the University’s new climate principles into action.
Want to know more? There are many many sources of information about the climate emergency – for example the research of this university’s Priestley International Centre for Climate and Sustainability Research Institute.
There will be further action in Leeds coming up – for details keep an eye on the Facebook pages of Leeds YouthStrike4Climate and Extinction Rebellion Leeds.
Here are some photos from 20th September:
Staff and students from University of Leeds assembling at Parkinson steps
We’re off! We set off promptly to get to Millennium Square in time to join the Youth Strike march round Leeds. Latecomers ran down Woodhouse Lane to catch up. But it turned out we needn’t have rushed, because there were so very many people in Millennium Square (the police reckoned it was full to capacity) that it took a long while for that march to set off.
Colleagues and students from Leeds Beckett joined us on our way
We were greeted with a big cheer as we arrived in Millennium Square
The front of the Youth Strike march on a noisy and friendly route round Leeds
Leeds UCU banner towards the back of the 12,000 strong march
This page was last updated on 24 September 2019