Alec Edworthy

“When I began teaching, I joined UCU because the people in the union seemed cool – and because I quickly realised I needed to organise with my peers. If you’re feeling isolated or precarious at UoB, BUCU is where you’ll find your people.”

Betsy Porritt - BUCU Anti-casualisation officer
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In an unprecedented move, one reflective of the deeply unprecedented times at our university, UoN branches of three different unions (@UCU.org.uk, @unisonorg.uk, and Unite) have all successfully passed motions of no confidence in the Vice Chancellor and the entire executive board.

"Andrew wailed 'I'm the queen's son' as he was marched out of Windsor"

Roses are red,
Lobsters have pincers

This is kinda how I've felt too. The students are saying they didn't get what they paid for which is 100% true without in any way being a critique of staff efforts or a suggestion we shld have ignored law + importantly, it's DRIVEN BY A PREDATORY LAW FIRM who are the actual villans, not the students

Doesn't Harry have to renounce too?

Across the UK, UCU branches are fighting job cuts and compulsory redundancies at Stirling, Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Essex, Solent, Leicester, Nottingham and London Met. Same story: cuts, overwork, and attacks on education. We stand with every branch in dispute.
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This lawsuit seems appalling to me, honestly. I feel for people whose student experience was lousy due to Covid but that's not the fault of universities. "I wanted in-person study." I'm sure you did. Nobody gets what they want in a global pandemic

Screen shot from Paul Embery’s X account: Respect to this police officer. Confronted by radicals demanding the arrest of a Christian preacher on the grounds that Whitechapel "is a Muslim area" she was calm and professional and gave them short shrift. Let's see more of this from the police. Has a video of a woman police officer talking to a group of Muslim men

This clip is all over the other place and has made its way onto GB News and Talk TV so I’ll do a bit of an explainer here too!

The clip doing the rounds is of a fantastic police officer telling a group of Muslim men that a Christian preacher nearby is entitled to freedom of expression.

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Horse. Bolted?

I see the University of York is offering a fixed-term post in public history for the same salary (£37k) I earned for a fixed-term post in public history, also in Yorkshire, in 2012. Had the rate risen with inflation it would now be £53k.

You'll eat more than a peck o' dirt before you die

The good old days when shops didn't have doors, windows had flags mounted in them, the local bakers sold baguettes and we used decimal currency?

If anyone has any nice flatshare or lodger leads in Peckham/Myatts Fields/Camberwell/Brixton/Loughborough Junction please let me know. Excellent pal (M) looking for a place.

Matt is doing an excellent job here of convincing us that he is in absolutely no way bitter at all about his failure as an academic.. 😉

Packed workshop - "Building unity: how can unions be better?"

Since 2008 real term pay has dropped, yet productivity has increases. The rich are getting, richer and we're getting poorer.

Reform UK can grow in these conditions. TUs need to take on these arguments

@togetheralliance.bsky.social

🤯

Call of the Void: Seven years on, what do we know about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines… “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero.”

The news that the search for MH370 is starting up again prompted me to reread this fascinating article from 2021. Really very readable and respectful discussion of the tragic mystery. A long read but worth it

Content warning: this story is absolutely disgusting. It is also very funny, though

If you can get from B to A via C at this time of night, it's not an advance ticket and complete the journey by 04:00 then the ticket should be valid, no ifs, no buts!

Solidarity to Unite UCU members - shameful behaviour, particularly the victimisation of a H&S officer.

UCU SMT need to stop this now.

#HandsOffMarie

If you are undecided in the UCU elections, @seanawallis.bsky.social @regipilling.bsky.social for VP in HE and FE will do brilliant work.

I got mine last summer because my childhood medical records are AWOL so I thought why not just in case.

A hastily taken photo of Robin Ince chatting to members of the audience before a gig

I spy with my little eye, @robinince.bsky.social 😀

Ditching equality would start the race to the bottom, says UNISON.

🚨 Reform UK’s plan to scrap equality laws would fire the starting gun on a race to the bottom.

UNISON warns that ditching protections would let bad employers act with impunity and drag the UK backwards on fairness and rights.

unsn.uk/4cywGfU

Great ad. Though ironically BBC output would be 1000% better if they commissioned all of these. But please send this to all present day BBC execs as a reminder of what their job is.

Yikes indeed

A still from Disney's Robin Hood animated film with a fox holding a collecting cup but saying "Good Sir, could you spare a drop of context?"

Sensible forward thinking.