Text from email to all members sent 19 February 2019

Dear Members,

The message is very simple. We have even made another song to illustrate it: enjoy!

We need you to vote in the current ballot, and we would ideally like you to vote “YES YES” in support of willingness to take strike action and action short of a strike in the pursuit of a decent offer from our employers on (click each heading for a link):

• Secure work 
• Gender pay gap
• Fair pay
• Workload

If you have already voted, THANK YOU for helping to keep our union strong. Please help us to get the remaining votes out by spending 5-10 minutes talking to colleagues and friends in higher education to make sure they have too! We need all votes to be received by Friday 22 February, meaning Wednesday is the last “safe day to post (but if you find anyone yet to post on Thursday, it’s still worth it!

If you have not yet voted, PLEASE dig out that ballot and get it in the post right now. This matters; it is a matter of our collective strength and standing up for one another.

Every single vote, in every single branch, in every single university counts. Every single vote counts towards the important 50% threshold for turnout we now have to meet just so we can have our collective voice heard. Without that, our employers’ will deploy ‘fake news’ tactics that there is ‘no strength of feeling’ over issues of casualisation, equal pay, fair rates for the jobs we do, and the need for a manageable, healthy workload. We know that there is. We know we all deserve better than the status quo.

If you are wavering, please consider:

• Every posted vote boosts our collective bargaining power in every area, on every claim – whether that’s about secure work, equal and fair pay, workloads, pensions…
• Every posted YES YES vote drives home the message that we know there is money in our sector, we are on to the interesting financial practices at work, and we want better for our workforce and for our students.

We have written to you already about how the four pillars of this claim intersect, and how the result of this ballot directly affects the strength of hand UCU negotiators take into any meeting with our employers.

Every single member of our union is affected in some way by issues of casualization, workload, equal and fair pay. If you are currently able to “manage” please consider those who cannot, and that any of us can be “next” — post that vote.

A few minutes talking to colleagues and friends can make a difference.

Don’t be silenced. Don’t let your colleagues be silenced. Please VOTE.

In solidarity,

Vicky and Committee

This page was last updated on 19 February 2019