Vicky Blake UCU (she/her)

Every word of @lucyburkemcr.bsky.social thread + this point especially. Why is our own union behaving like this in its capacity as an employer? Why are elected democratic bodies prevented from having the basic discussions about solidarity we ask of everyone else when our members are threatened?

This is a thread about UCU & what it has become over the last few years. But the first thing I want to say is I didn’t join a union to stay silent or turn my back on a single parent of three facing dismissal on the basis of their trade union activities. Marie Monaghan is the Unite UCU 1/12

Unite members in the north west on a picket line while taking strike action to defend Marie, their H&S rep, who is being subject to trade union victimisation by our employer.

Unite against TU Victimisation

@Unitetheunion.bsky.social doesn't tolerate the victimisation of its reps by employers. Today our members in the North West are showing what solidarity looks like.

It's time UCU ended the victimisation of Marie, our Health & Safety Officer.

#Strike #HandsOffMarie

Certification Officer Hearing: Blake & McGaughey v UCU This is about trust and proper process: an explainer ahead of the 10 February Certification Officer hearing in Blake & McGaughey v UCU, concerning alleged non-compliance with UCU’s election rul…

Members can apply to observe the 10 February Certification Officer hearing online by emailing info [at] certoffice [dot] org

Whatever the outcome, the evidence underpinning this case speaks to wider questions of democratic accountability inside our union.

vickyblakeucu.uk/202...

/7

A Certification Officer hearing cannot resolve wider political disagreements inside the union.

Those challenges remain, and they require space and support for open, constructive debate about how we organise, bargain, and campaign together.

/6

Members’ subscriptions fund the union’s staff time and infrastructure.

Those resources belong to the membership collectively. A clear separation between union resources and election campaigns is a basic democratic requirement.

Without it, democratic governance cannot function properly.

/5

Rather than engaging with the substance of the rule-compliance issues raised, in commentary supplied to THE, UCU described the complaint as a “smear” driven by dissatisfaction with an election result.

That is a revealing response to scrutiny of internal governance in a democratic organisation.

/4

WhatsApp messages in the evidential record alongside commentary provided by UCU to THE & FE Week point to a culture where challenge is personalised and dissent framed as bad faith.

That helps explain why internal routes could not command confidence and why independent scrutiny became necessary.

/3

Some key evidence in this case came from whistleblowers who required anonymity - which is not incidental. It reflects recent experience inside UCU where raising concerns about governance, decision-making, or use of union resources has not always been possible or consequence-free for everyone.

/2

Certification Officer Hearing: Blake & McGaughey v UCU This is about trust and proper process: an explainer ahead of the 10 February Certification Officer hearing in Blake & McGaughey v UCU, concerning alleged non-compliance with UCU’s election rul…

Ahead of the 10 February Certification Officer hearing, I’ve written about why Ewan McGaughey and I took this route.

This is a regulatory process, not a court case.

Ewan and I will represent ourselves. UCU has hired a King’s Counsel.

vickyblakeucu.uk/202...

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Ewan has also posted ⬇️
We believe the evidence shows serious misuse of member-funded union infrastructure in an election. Even on the most charitable reading, that is a leadership and accountability failure. Hearing: 10 February 2026. Observers: info [at]certoffice[dot]org

bsky.app/profile/ewan...

We stand by taking the case forward on the basis of the evidence we have seen. The Certification Officer hearing is scheduled for 10 February 2026. Anyone who wishes to observe should email the CO office in advance at info [at] certoffice [dot] org
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Our case concerns a basic democratic principle. Members’ subscriptions fund the union’s staff time and infrastructure. Those resources must not be used for any candidate’s personal advantage in an election. Clear institutional separation must exist between the union and any candidate’s campaign.
/2

Jo Grady’s UCU election win challenged over ‘unfair advantage’ Candidates who stood in 2024 poll seek rerun of campaign after claiming incumbent broke rules by using union resources

The @timeshighered.bsky.social has reported that @ewanmg.bsky.social and I have applied to the Certification Officer regarding concerns over the 2024 UCU general secretary election. UCU has characterised this as “smearing”, via a spokesperson.

www.timeshighereducation.com/news/jo-grad...
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✊🏼 *Solidarity with the victims of ICE! Solidarity with the Minneapolis anti-ICE general strike!* 📣

5pm, Friday 23 January - Leeds Art Gallery, 16-18 The Headrow, LS1 3AA

Supported by Stop Trump Coalition, Tesla Takedown and local organisations

leeds.minneapolis.solidarity@gmail.com

#Leeds
#UK

600 ICE agents were supposed to be deployed to Canal Street. Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered instead.

Quick summary by me:

Throwback Thursday #TBT. #Leeds University / #UCU strike with rallies, marches and speeches in November 2022.
@ucu.org.uk
@vickyblake.bsky.social
@leedsucu.bsky.social

La Federation CGT des Services publics, avec @epsu.bsky.social , apporte tout son soutien à la CGSP pour la grève de ce mardi 25 novembre en Belgique. Solidarité et détermination : on ne lâche rien !

I wouldn’t say I “can speak French” vs “can knock together some basic sentences and hope for the best” - but solidarity is a pretty common language I think

Accidentally giving a speech in French on a Belgian picket line was not how I expected today to go! Brilliant afternoon learning about the connected demands of the strike, talking with new friends about the challenges & lessons of organising + creative thinking across our international movement.

Photo of three CNE strikers in green jackets raising fists in solidarity on the picket line outside a shop

Six strikers (4 in green jackets, one has a green armband) smiling and holding strike signs / leaflets outside a shopping centre doorway

Six more strikers in green with raised fists and smiles of solidarity outside a shop in Brussels

Incredible striker decked in green union garb with a green whistle atop a red moped, smiling with her eyes at the camera - strikers are assembling into a march behind her

Je suis en Belgique et il y a une grande grève ici, alors j'exprime ma solidarité depuis le Royaume-Uni et l'UCU.
Mon français est assez mauvais, mais la solidarité est facile à communiquer!

Members understandably have concerns and questions about the scheme.

@leedsucu.bsky.social committee is working hard to analyse what we know & seeking advice.

This will be a key discussion at the next branch General Meeting (13 Nov) so please attend, and keep watch for further meetings/news/info.

A "Voluntary Enhanced Retirement" scheme was announced at our place (Uni of Leeds) today with more details due in an FAQ on Monday.

My personal take is that it is, on current information, difficult not to see this as a form of voluntary redundancy scheme. Have we seen similar at other branches?
/1

More #UCU branches now added to our starter pack 💞 of formal branch/committee presences we've found (no individuals)

Please let us know if yours is missing (and sorry about the delay @ucugreenwich.bsky.social @brunelucu.bsky.social @ysjucu.bsky.social @uhiucu.bsky.social @ucuimperial.bsky.social!)

Photo looking up at the Liver Building, which is massive, clad in almost sandy coloured stone, with its famous clock tower in shot, and the Liver Bird standing at the top. The sky is pale and cloudy.

The venue for today’s #USS JNC meeting - before the wind started up and the rain started just in time for us to leave this afternoon!

Thank you @ducuuo.bsky.social comrades for returning this result.
We will not give up. We care about our university, our students and our city. It has been a very long time since anyone at the top did. That’s got to change.

oh, we know how we reacted, because we were advised by UCU HQ on that... Nobody fills this in. Absolutely nobody. People who are not taking action should should that kind of solidarity to ensure this doesn't get implemented because it's going to harm your workplace disastrously if they allow it.

Why is @ucu.org.uk engaging in the very behaviour that we/it publicly call out when members’ employers employ such tactics?

It is shameful. It undermines every branch of #UCU

It’s utterly destructive to staff morale and our branches’ leverage

Not in our name.

Solidarity @uniteucu.bsky.social

Really useful pensions thread from @josstified.bsky.social 👇

We call on Jo Grady and UCU SMT to: • Enter negotiations with Unite UCU without preconditions. • Stop the threat of punitive deductions for ASOS - this breaches UCU and TUC policy and only serves to undermine all of us, not least those UCU members currently involved in legal test cases against punitive deductions after taking lawful industrial action. Signed, 25, no, 37, no, now 46 UCU branch committees (and still counting)

With another 9 @ucu.org.uk branches now calling on UCU to do the right thing we wonder if @drjogrady.bsky.social is listening to her members.