Manifesto

Source: Flickr ©️ Magnus Hagdorn

We at the Campaign for UCU Democracy recognise the importance of our union’s mission to defend and extend the rights of staff in Further and Higher Education and our key goals are to improve UCU democracy, member consultation and engagement, and transparency at all levels of the union.

On this basis, we pledge to: 

  1. Engage with members at all levels of the union, in order to ensure that decision-making is transparent, informed and democratic. We believe that e-consultation of members is crucial to embed democracy at every level of the union so that our campaigns truly reflect the priorities of members.
  2. Build a united front by backing initiatives that have the widest possible support among members and developing the confidence of members, branches and the union generally so we can all move forwards together. 
  3. Prioritize tactics that both secure tangible gains for members and build the collective power of the union.
  4. Increase transparency and accountability within the union, and make sure that members are kept informed of the union’s decisions and activities. In particular, we believe that the individual votes of NEC members should be included in the published minutes of NEC, HEC and FEC committee meetings which are already publicly available.
  5. Advocate for investment in education and training provision to strengthen both practical skills, and strategic knowledge of the struggles we are engaged in. 
  6. Make UCU a more attractive and accessible union for new and existing members. We will aim to open up more channels for members to engage in union activity, such as online meetings.
  7. Create more spaces for members to debate and discuss strategic and tactical approaches to union action, and ensure that all members, regardless of their level of experience, are able to contribute to these conversations.
  8. Work to reduce or minimize the bureaucracy and administrative procedures that can sometimes make it difficult for members to become involved with UCU.
  9. Work to ensure that UCU remains a progressive and forward-thinking union, with the ability to adapt to the changing needs of members. 

We believe that UCU can be a powerful and effective union if we work together to create an active, vibrant and diverse membership. By engaging with members in an open, democratic and transparent way, we can build a union that is responsive to the needs of all its members.

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