Lmst

Robyn is a very effective negotiator, committed activist & gives her all (& more) for our union on the daily.

I am so glad of Robyn's support, confidence, & friendship - thank you for supporting #Vicky4GS, and thank you for everything you do for all #UCU members.

Full text: https://vickyblakeucu.uk/endorsements/

Robyn doing Vulcan salute, with blue/yellow sign: MR SPOCK SAYS YOUR VALUATION IS ILLOGICAL.
Text: Vicky would be the General Secretary who always asks "What can I do to help this union succeed?" and never "What can this union do to help me succeed?" Vicky takes collective organising very seriously, and when she says she will put in the work to try to bring people together, she has a proven track record of doing just that. During part of the three years I served on the New JNCHES (pay&conditions) negotiation team, Vicky was the chair... we spent months in intensive dispute negotiations with the employer & the team worked seamlessly despite being from very different political & factional parts of UCU, constantly communicating with members to ensure we were representing them effectively in the negotiating room. Vicky is the GS candidate who best combines a stellar work ethic with a real dedication to all members of UCU & concrete plans for developing our organising & industrial strategy

Thanks so much @OxfordUCU who hosted the very last #UCU GS election hustings of 2024 this lunchtime!

As all GS/VP/NEC/Trustee candidates are reminding everyone (!) today = last "safe" posting day for those prepaid 2nd class envelopes: please get them in the postbox!

#Vicky4GS

This endorsement and support from James for #Vicky4GS means a lot to me - as does every endorsement, expression of support, and every constructive question and insight from members over the past few months running up to and during the #UCUelections.

And thanks to James too, for the handy reminder that today (Mon 26 Feb) is the last "safe" posting date to get ballots to Civica by noon on 1 March, unless you top up the prepaid 2nd class postage!

Please use your GS, VP, NEC, & Trustee votes!

Pic: James & Vicky stood between two red brick buildings in Manchester, James (left) wears hi vis yellow UCU Picket vest, Vicky wears pink UCU beanie. Both are smiling & top of a UCU placard is visible.

Text: Vicky Blake is my first choice for General Secretary. She’s honest, straightforward, and widely admired as someone who will listen to voices from across the Union and and work with all parties to clarify issues and get results, which is the approach we most need right now. Her 15-year track record of UCU service includes roles up to and including President of the Union, but she has first-hand experience of workplace marginalisation, and can be relied on to stand up for marginalised and precarious members. She also works harder than almost anyone I know in higher education, to a level where I start to feel a bit embarrassed about my own shortcomings, but luckily you don’t need to worry about that: just give her your vote, please.

--James Sumner University of Manchester UCU

Thank you @RachelCowgill1 for your confidence in #Vicky4GS

Still time to vote for change #UCU!

Vote to return to serious organising, better data & analysis to drive coordinated organising & equality practice, & dialogue to forge paths through disagreement into stronger strategy

Pic: Rachel & Vicky at picket
Text:
I am delighted to see Vicky Blake running for General Secretary & fully endorse her campaign–voting for Vicky is voting for a united & strong UCU, with hugely dedicated, experienced & even-handed leadership capable of building consensus on all the issues that count for our members. Today, Vicky exudes the same extraordinary energy & passionate commitment to justice, representation and fair play as she did when I met her 14 years ago. Her understanding of the Union & of the political complexities befalling the HE & FE sectors in the UK are second to none, in my experience, & full of insights gathered from relentless casework, campaigning & conferring with members at every opportunity. Vicky has all the qualities & values we need in a General Secretary capable of taking the Union forward – vision, integrity, intellect, tenacity, humility, accountability, transparency – & I support her candidacy without hesitation.
Prof Rachel Cowgill
York UCU Dept Rep

It means a lot to have Caitlin's trust and confidence in #Vicky4GS.

We first worked together on the #UCU 2018/9 Democracy Commission which @missbolshie & I co-chaired.

We urgently need change - I am ready to put in that hard work, democratically with & for our members.

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Photo of Caitlin on right holding a pink ON STRIKE TO WIN BACK MY PENSION placard.
Text on left reads:
Vicky Blake is one of the most effective union activists I have every seen in action. Because she has the full range of experience from extensive rep work to the national role of UCU President, she understands the fundamentals of the union and its structures from the ground up. She knows what support branches and officers need, while also being an inspiring speaker and formidable lobbyist. As an independent she has strong political nous combined with an excellent track record of working across factional lines. And she has my vote because of her demonstrated commitment to improving union democracy, addressing precarious work and building a green union.
Caitlin Adams
branch president, Open University UCU
(Personal Capacity)

🗳️Not voted yet?⬇️

🎥 Several videos of whole hustings with all GS candidates linked in this thread🧵: https://x.com/zenscara/status/1759863472743969186

🎥 And subtitled clips of my #Vicky4GS answers to all questions and the opening & closing statements at #UCU HQ 1 Feb hustings:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuJ7pXxkIUT27TShML9fehgbOMmrlBb8d

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For a return to serious organising & urgent change vote Vicky Blake #1

🟢Independent candidate
🟢15 yrs organising experience from PGR to #UCU President
🟢Ready to work hard with all members

Democratise, Organise, Unite for the strong+confident union we need

#Vicky4GS

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixjIa49JDT4&list=PLuJ7pXxkIUT27TShML9fehgbOMmrlBb8d&index=5

Thank you for your trust and support for #Vicky4GS Eve, and everyone messaging, endorsing, and voting!

We need change in #UCU. I am ready to give my all to work with members across our whole union.

N.B. Today is the last day to request replacement ballots

https://yoursay.ucu.org.uk/s3/UCU-elections-ballot-replacement-form

Photo of Eve holding UCU placard with painted writing "HOURLY PAID LECTURER" where "HOURLY PAID" is struck out.

Text on the left reads:

It is my pleasure to endorse Vicky Blake for the position of UCU general secretary. She is undoubtedly the best candidate, with a clear demonstration of unwavering passion and commitment. Her qualities are evident in her manifesto, and having personally known her, I have no doubt that there is no one more dedicated or hard-working for this role. Vicky has consistently supported me throughout my journey and higher education, from my time as a PhD student to a precarious worker and now as an ECR. Her ethos and radical care for others would represent a significant step forward for UCU.

Dr Eveleigh Buck Matthews.
Birmingham City University UCU

Also available online:

Southern England, #SouthamptonUCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NxE14m30vE

(10 min statements only), hosts #CambridgeUCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KNAJkV7-Hc&t=3s

Yorkshire & Humber +NE England, hosts #leedsucu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDlWuftpTdA

#UCUCymru, hosts #CardiffUCU) https://ucuhustingscardiff.start.page

#Vicky4GS

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#UCU GS election hustings (all online / hybrid) this week:

TODAY: #KCL_UCU (with livestream 1pm) + #UCL_UCU
Tmw: North West England
Thur: #Dundee_UCU
+
Mon 26th: #Oxford_UCU

If you can't make these, several are still up online, including HQ hosted event: https://www.ucu.org.uk/GSelectionhustings2024

#Vicky4GS
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. @lucyburkemcr is a wonderful union comrade who puts in the hours (and hours and then some) for #UCU. She’s committed to understanding members’ perspectives and to what underlies any disagreement. I’m really glad of her endorsement, and her support for, and confidence in my candidacy for GS. Thank you

#Vicky4GS

Image of Lucy Burke on right hand side smiling in front of "Inflation is Rising - So are We" placards, with text on the left:

I am proud to support Vicky Blake and desperately hope she will be our next General Secretary. This isn’t because we agree on everything but because I know Vicky will work tirelessly to work with everyone to rebuild members’ trust in the union, to mend the broken industrial relations with UCU staff and to practice the values we fight for in our workplaces. Her independence is important. Her manifesto doesn’t require the election of a slate to be realised and she will work with rather than demonise and undermine elected representatives on NEC. And she will enhance and protect one of the core values of the trade union movement: that we make decisions collectively through dialogue. Being a general secretary is not about appearing on Question Time or LBC, or likes on social media, it is about supporting workers to organise and improve our working lives. Vicky listens, is strong enough to take criticism and brings people together. She is what the union desperately needs right now.

Dr Lucy Burke
MMU UCU Branch Chair, NEC NW Rep
Vicky Blake for UCU General Secretary

All #UCU candidates recently received two sets of questions about #USS: from Mark Taylor-Batty and Jackie Grant (who are both on the current elected USS negotiation team) and the #DivestUSS group.

My full answers to both sets of excellent questions are here ⬇️

https://vickyblakeucu.uk/2024/02/08/questions-on-uss

#Vicky4GS

There is power in a union because there is power in working together: it is how we build industrial strength, demand better from intransigent employers, and how we build the effective political campaigns for positive change.

Thank you so much Alex for your support for #Vicky4GS #UCU

Image of Alex holding a hand made "Vicky Blake 4 General Sec" poster and smiling, with text in campaign template:

Dr Alex Fairfax-Cholmeley, Communications Officer University of Exeter UCU

I am really excited that Vicky is standing as a candidate for General Secretary, and I say that even though I have never actually met her. She took the time and trouble to answer an informal call for help from a couple of Exeter members to help boost our Get The Vote Out efforts back in late 2021 (when Exeter was stuck in a depressing cycle of missed ballot thresholds). Within no time at all, Vicky drummed up speakers for a GTVO event, and then chaired the resulting multi-branch event with warm efficiency. She has long been a prominent voice for the kind of union that I want to be a member of: one that fights tenaciously for its most vulnerable members. She is a great communicator and has excellent, valuable trade union experience to draw upon. She is the General Secretary we need in 2024.

Chris and I have known each other for 32 years - it means a lot to have his confidence and support in endorsing my #Vicky4GS campaign.

You can read more about me, including my manifesto and blog, at vickyblakeucu.uk

#UCU #UCUelections #HigherEducation #FurtherEducation

Endorsement graphic with text as follows and pic of Vicky and Chris on a UCU picket line:

I have known Vicky since we were 9 years old. She has had the same characteristics of being fiercely intelligent, astute and most importantly, caring and compassionate, in all this time. She would make a fantastic General Secretary for UCU.

Comrades, please give her your vote!

Chris Hesketh, Sussex Uni UCU

Vicky Blake for UCU General Secretary 2024

It means a lot to have Millie's confidence for #Vicky4GS. We worked closely together on the #UCU Anti-casualisation Committee to include *and learn from* Adult Community Education in our campaigns tackling hypercasualisation.

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I worked with Vicky Blake when I joined the Anti Casualisation Committee. Vicky combines being a very kind and compassionate person with a fierce determination to challenge injustice. Vicky has a rigorous understanding of how casualisation affects UCU members in all sectors and in my time on the committee she was supportive of people’s creative ideas and always encouraging as we tried different approaches to fight it. She always treated FE and ACE issues, where I work, as equal to HE issues. She is deeply committed to union democracy and rank and file approaches and listens to everybody. I am very happy to endorse her campaign for General Secretary.
Millie Wild
Hackney Adult and Community Education UCU and New City College Hacknet UCU

Not sure if many #UCU people follow me here, but just in case:

I'm supporting Vicky Blake, @zenscara, as UCU General Secretary.

Please read my full endorsement and consider voting for her:

https://vickyblakeucu.uk/endorsements/#DavidP

You would make a jaded maths teacher and a militant rubber duck happy by doing so.

Thank you.

#Vicky4GS

Vicky has consistently worked to keep members informed through social media, and has been careful to distinguish between her own views and the collective decisions of the union...

I've come to know her as somebody to whom UCU matters more than her own agenda, who places a very high value on honesty, who knows that details count, and who never loses sight of the need to improve conditions for the most vulnerable people in our sector...

We need someone in this crucial role who can work across factions, who will respect processes, and who will tell us what's going on.

I am voting for Vicky because I trust her to do these things.

Thanks so much Sam Marsh (X @Sam_Marsh101) for your support & confidence in me as #Vicky4GS
Sam & I have both led large Yorkshire branches & worked together VERY intensively as chair & vice chair of the Superannuation Working Group (SWG: brings together UCU's elected USS negotiators & advisory team)

Vicky has been an outstanding servant of UCU for many years&is the outstanding candidate for General Secretary. What this union need more than anything is a GS who respects the NEC&an NEC that respects the GS. Vicky’s ability to reach out to all parts of our membership mean she is already widely respected across the union. Never one to follow self-interest, when she says she will respect the democratic structures she means it&has the track-record to prove it. I was lucky enough to work closely with Vicky when she was chair of UCU’s USS negotiating team. Those negotiations were incredibly challenging, yet she kept our team together& on-track with immense fortitude&patience, never wavering from what members had tasked us with & setting a path that led to us securing a historic victory. If you are looking for a candidate who will work tirelessly for you, who believes the means are as important as the ends&who is genuinely independent of factional allegiance, then you need look no further.

The #UCU General Secretary election officially opens today and (postal) voting papers will arrive soon!

Thank you so much #SouthamptonUCU for excellent organising of today's online hustings.

It's available for all members to watch back on the branch YouTube channel ⬇️

#Vicky4GS info (including candidate statement, full manifesto, and blog) all at: https://vickyblakeucu.uk

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCta05tQvK2g2NkRbciJ3rg

Huge thanks to #LoughboroughUCU for organising the first of the #UCU General Secretary election hustings (for the Midlands). It was a fantastic chance for all 4 candidates to answer members' questions and I'm really pleased those questions there wasn't time to take will be sent to us so we can address them. #Vicky4GS

I’m not going to engage in personal attacks or smears. And I think those conducting a negative and dirty campaign need to remember the long term damage that this causes. We cannot build unity by rubbishing activists or being dishonest.

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#Vicky4GS #UCU

#Vicky4GS

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