@georgeclarke.bsky.social UCU - 10 strike days begin this week at Northumbria University over pension "robbery" www.ucu.org.uk/article/14401

The good news is that #ucu is in great shape at branch levels. But we need to rebuild the union nationally. If you're a member please vote.

CfP: The British General Strike of 1926: New Directions of Research, 7-8 May 2026 @newcastleuni.bsky.social Deadline: 6 February 2026 More details: @sslh.bsky.social sslh.org.uk/2025/10/13/c... sslh.org.uk/wp-content/u... Kindly supported by @leverhulme.ac.uk #GeneralStrike1926 #GeneralStrike100

Colleagues doing very cool things! One for the labour, maritime and mining historians among you.

There are more people in Newcastle waiting for Greggs to open of a morning than weird UKIP managed to get on Saturday's sad shambles.

What has Yvette Cooper’s proscription of Palestine Action done to this country? Beyond absurd. It’s extreme authoritarianism. These police should be arresting rapists & crooks, not neglecting those duties to spend time arresting citizens standing against genocide. It undermines police and the law.

My book, 'Wales in England 1914-1945. A Social, Cultural, & Military History', is currently available at a more affordable price (✨️58% off✨️). How ideas of Wales and Welshness influenced two generations of English soldiers & writers: www.amazon.co.uk/Wales-Englan...

Scottish NSS results: 'Overall satisfaction in Scotland for 2025 was 80.7%, up from 78.1% in 2024. Satisfaction levels began to decline in 2020, when the overall rate in Scotland was 85%.'

Interesting bit of research from @ersatzben.bsky.social suggesting QR funding is really critical for supporting interdisciplinary research johnsonb.substack.com/p/what-actua...

Edinburgh University want to impose £140m in cuts as part of their "more students, fewer staff" policy. Edinburgh staff and students say "an end to unethical university governance"

Come help our friends in the (slightly further) North!

Newcastle University goes from 'Raising the Bar' to a doom loop of redundancies, course closures and failure. It's hard to see any future for UK HE except as a narrowly-focussed credentialling arm of the tech sector.

The question is: Why (unless you're a schill for one of the big AI corps) you would advocate a UK industrial policy that slits the throat of its cultural industries (where it has an established global advantage) in favour of the AI sector where completion is intense and gains speculative (at best)

I'll be going through the process of making this open access, but for those who do have permissions through their libraries - this came out today. Some thoughts on the history of disability benefits and where UBI sits in that lineage. 🗃️ bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

Are you working in museum collections, digital storytelling, or projects featuring migration history? Join us for the first event in the Migration Network series, focused on how digital tools are being used to document and share migration stories through collections work.

Trade Unions 4 Trans Rights event this morning @newcastleucu.bsky.social

I stand by this. Solidarity with fellow workers is the first principle of trade unionism. An injury to one is an injury to all. reclaimucu.wordpress.com/2025/04/30/s...

Een vote amongst staff shows trust in the current leadership is incredible low.

Fight for every job! @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk

The results are IN for our industrial action ballot! On a 64.0% turnout (our highest ever confirmed %age), 72.2% of voters said they were prepared to strike, with 81.2% prepared to engage in action short of strike. So what's next? Well. The employer knows where to find us. Time for a chat, perhaps?

“This is an insult to the 1400 academic staff still at risk of redundancy." nation.cymru/news/vice-ch...

Monday morning we continue to show our management we don’t accept their approach. Why would we trust them to get us out of this when they are the ones who got us in this? Join your pickets 8 to 11 am. Check your email or section WhatsApp for section days.

Letter signed by members of the Columbia History Department urging resistance to the Trump Administration's efforts to dictate university policy. "Should this control be realized, here or elsewhere, it would make any real historical scholarship, teaching, and intellectual community impossible."

📣REMINDER FOR UEA UCU MEMBERS! 📣Our industrial action will begin with a day of strike action on Wednesday 26th March. 📣We will commence continuous action short of a strike (ASOS) from this date. 📣Further details to follow. #SaveUEA #UKHE

📢 Exciting news: Voice of Witness is looking for dedicated individuals to join our Board of Directors and contribute to our impact. Interested in supporting community-based storytelling, oral history, and education for justice? #Nonprofit #NonprofitBoard #BoardofDirectors #NonprofitLeadership

MASSIVE Solidarity

Is anyone interested in reviewing Emotional Labour in Oral History Research: The Hidden Toll by Jennifer Harding and Verusca Calabria for our journal 'Studies in Oral History'? feel free to send me a PM if so! #oralhistory @ohcollective.bsky.social @oralhistoryvic.bsky.social

The UK’s children’s social care system has long faced challenges—from rising demand to quality concerns. 🔎Caring Communities: Rethinking Children’s Social Care explores its history to shape the future 📖 Read more: blogs.ncl.ac.uk/oral-history... #SocialCare #HistoryOfCare #OralHistory

A weekend read! Union democracy is key to our future as UCU. Following on from the VP hustings this week, I have set out some key issues. rhiannonforucuvp.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/d...

Analysis like this is the reason you should vote for Rhiannon.

In our recent ballot three quarters of our members support strike action and over 90% are in favour of Action Short of a Strike (ASOS). Our members have voted for three weeks of strike action, starting on 24th February, with ASOS beginning Thursday 20th February until such time action ends.

I've just posted my ballot #UCU. Our HE branches are fighting for our lives. Alone we crumble, united we’re strong. Please vote for @illdoitanyway.bsky.social & for left/independent candidates. We need leadership prepared to uphold democracy, to organise, & who believe in collectivity as strength.

Useful guide from unions21.org for FTOs: "Our research suggests that while national and sectoral bargaining may give wider coverage, bargaining at the enterprise level gives members a higher level of engagement and a better sense of ownership over the bargaining processes."

'The deep cultural cost of British university job cuts" bit.ly/4gnDCuE An excellent letter, in today's @theguardian.com, by the co-chairs of @artsandhums.bsky.social, a collective of subject specialist organisations representing and advocating for arts & humanities subjects in UK HE. #skystorians

Oh, yes, we know this is not what is going to save Higher Education. See ALL of our other posts, and for example this open letter docs.google.com/document/d/e...

"This is not an isolated problem. It is a nationwide crisis." Thank you for taking the initiative on this letter, @newcastleucu.bsky.social! And an excellent letter it is too, clear and referenced. Please everyone who cares about higher education and research, co-sign. #UKHE

The crisis in Higher Education is biting hard. Thousands are at risk of losing their jobs across the sector. Please sign and share this open letter calling on the Secretary of State for Education to act.

docs.google.com/document/d/e... Sign our Open Letter to Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, and Sunderland MP

If you are a @ucu member and want to stand for NEC, my top tip is not to publicly attack a branch under threat of redundancies by willfully misrepresenting their strategy and smearing their reps.

Please sign and share widely! After the devastating news about the planned cuts at Cardiff, the students have got the ball rolling to save their Ancient History programme. It is a very fine department: student numbers are strong, the staff team is fantastic. There is no rationale. chng.it/G5SMYxNbMQ

I am very proud to be running with Deepa Govindarajan Driver in these UCU NEC elections. Deepa is highly qualified to scrutinise UCU finances as honorary treasurer - with the backbone & nuanced understanding she has shown delivering USS victory for members as a negotiator. deepadriver.org

If you want a VP/President who will stand up for @ucu members with integrity, thought, and commitment, then vote for Rhiannon @illdoitanyway.bsky.social See rhiannonforucuvp.wordpress.com

🏘️The Byker Estate in Newcastle: an international icon of pioneering urban regeneration. Discover how dedicated individuals are preserving its human stories for future generations. 📖Read more: blogs.ncl.ac.uk/oral-history... #OralHistory #BykerEstate #UrbanRegeneration #BykerStories

'Newcastle vice-chancellor Chris Day has put the savings target at £20 million, according to local media, which referenced £15 million of “mitigations” that were already in place in the university’s annual budget.' Swingeing cuts at Newcastle, and Sunderland staff also at risk.

So, let me get this right. A pitifully narrow vote of just over 50% on a 15% turnout in the GS election is fine & gives Grady a clear mandate to create complete dysfunction across our union, but HEC has no mandate to make a decision based on a vote of 53% on a turnout of 27%?

Sean O'Connell is doing such important work in Northern Ireland. He is also one of the most generous people I know. A beautiful article. www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

Reminder that the Guardian staff are on a 48 hour strike against the sale of Observer. If you wouldn’t cross a picket line in real life, don’t do it virtually.