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. We are committed to a union that is built on strong principles of union democracy and transparency as well as strategic and tactical thinking.

Our key goals are to improve UCU democracy, member consultation and engagement, and transparency at all levels of the union, from UCU’s highest governing bodies – the National Executive Committee (NEC), Further Education Committee (FEC), and Higher Education Committee (HEC) – to the management of general branch meetings. 

Further goals are to grow UCU’s membership, engage with new generations of members, and strengthen our collective power. We believe that now is the time to start building a long-term future for the union, by introducing innovative and progressive ideas that are both politically and strategically sound. We believe that winning campaigns are built on creative and judicious strategic choices and aim to build a collective movement that is open and speaks to all members. 

What do we mean by union democracy? 

There are different approaches to union democracy within UCU. For some, union democracy or a ‘member-led’ union means decisions are made by those who attend meetings either at the branch level, or by union members on national committees. While this approach may ensure attendees discuss decisions and are informed prior to taking a vote, it can mean that small numbers of members participate – in the context of branch meetings, often less than 10%.

What we advocate for is all-member consultation by e-ballot for major decisions of the union, including but not limited to the timing and duration of strike action and offers from employers, alongside transparent and informed discussion through local, regional and national meetings.

Transparency over and responsibility for union decisions

While there are key issues that will always be industrially sensitive, 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. Given that voting records of Members of Parliament are publicly available, we believe that our elected union representatives should be held to the same standard.

Are we a new faction?

We at Campaign for UCU Democracy do not consider ourselves a faction, but rather a campaign group made up of UCU members with shared ideas about UCU democracy, transparency, governance and membership engagement. Our group welcomes UCU members of any stripe to join us.

To learn about our manifesto pledges read on.

We are:

Michael Abberton, University of Cambridge

Philippa Browning, University of Manchester and NEC member

Douglas Chalmers, Glasgow Caledonian University, past Vice President of UCU, and past President UCU Scotland

Andrew Feeney, Northumbria University and NEC member

Ann Gow, University of Glasgow, NEC member and past President UCU Scotland

Dyfrig Jones, Bangor University

John Kelly, Birkbeck, University of London

Helen Kelsall, The Trafford College Group

Jamie Melrose, University of Bristol

Adam Ozanne, University of Manchester