Do you want to learn how to organise more effectively against the structural changes happening in our universities?
We have a great opportunity open to all members – the UCU online “Organising School” led by Jane McAlevey. Jane is an outstanding activist and writer who has had major success in leading union struggles in the US which have consistently won major victories in a very hostile employer and government environment. The school has been organised and funded by UCU nationally and it will be tailored specifically to the challenges of organising in UK Higher Education.
You can watch a taster event for the school here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpfEna_q4fk
The school consists of six sessions, online between 5-7pm on: Thurs 24 September; Tues 29 September; Thurs 1 October; Tues 6 October; Thurs 8 October; Tues 13 October
The organisation of the school is in response to the monumental challenges we are facing. Already riven by a decade of intense marketisation, the current pandemic has seen university employers across the country accelerate the race to cut workforce costs and ‘stream-line’ the kind of education, research and teaching we offer. Consequences include *increased workloads * loss of valued colleagues through direct cuts, demoralisation or VSS * lack of support and training for online work * restructures by stealth DBMS & administrators gone and not replaced * programme cuts * rising work-related stress* mental health issues * online fatigue * the unsafe return to campus during a pandemic….
- How in this context do we resist?
- How can we protect ourselves, each other and our teaching, research and support work and services?
- How do we organise together to stop this becoming the new normal?
There is a lot to learn from successful organising efforts that Jane McAlevey has been involved in and leading; centred on things we want to see here: unions that can successfully defend members rights, win against cuts, set the agenda to establish more equal and habitable working conditions and be part of building for a better a society in the communities where we work and live.
The organising school will be a forum for any GUCU member who wants to join. The branch expects a good number of members to be involved, so we will be able to work together on applying the knowledge, experience and skills shared in the school to our situation here at Goldsmiths.
Want to join us? Please email, GUCU Organiser Hannah Dee: h.dee@gold.ac.uk for more information, or to register. The deadline for registering is Monday 14 September. If you are a student or a member of another trade union, you can also join the via this link: https://lamapoll.de/strike-school/en/