UCUCommons candidates for VP, Honorary Treasurer and NEC seats
Dear subscribers,
Since NEC and officer election season is upon us once again, you’ll be hearing from us quite a lot over the next month or so. We’re very proud of our slate and want you to vote for as many of our candidates as you are eligible to, especially Emma for Vice President and David for Honorary Treasurer.
As well as telling you all about our wonderful people, we also thought we’d provide an explainer of what the NEC is, what the officer positions are, and why it’s so crucial that you use your votes. We’ve also included some information about how the voting works and practical ways for you to support our campaign. Since there is a lot of information, this is a bit of a long post, so grab yourself a cuppa before you start. You can use the menu below to jump to the most relevant bit(s) for you.
In solidarity,
UCU Commons
Menu:
Headlines
Important information
Voting practicalities
How you can support our campaign
Headlines
Our candidates stand for:
Working (critically when needed) with the General Secretary and staff
Unconditional solidarity with trans and non-binary people
Transparency in decision-making structures
Robust, inclusive branch democracy
Effective industrial action mandated by members
For more details, see our Values Statement.
All our candidates’ election addresses are available on the UCU Commons website. Emma’s VP election page can be found here. We hope to launch David’s Treasurer site very soon - do keep checking!
Some of our candidates are standing for more than one position - they will only get elected to one, but we recommend voting for them in as many seats as you can in order to maximise their chances.
Jak Peake and Lucy Burke are not members of UCU Commons, but they share similar values to us and we suggest voting for them in the seats for which we do not have UCU Commons candidates (representative of Black members and geographically-elected Northwest representative).
You can follow Emma @EmmaUCU and David @realDavidHarvie on Twitter. Many of our candidates are also on Twitter and have included their handles in their election addresses.
If you’re on Twitter, please use the hashtags #Emma4VP and #David4Treasurer. Tag us at @UCUCommons to let us know you’ve voted!
If you would like to contact any of our candidates, please email us at ucucommons@gmail.com, specifying which candidate(s) you would like to reach out to. Please bear in mind that our candidates will respond in accordance with their respective commitments and timeframes.
Important information
The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the principal decision-making body of the union. All National FE and HE reps sit on NEC, which is chaired by the President (currently, that’s Janet Farrar, but after Congress in May 2023 the baton will be handed to Justine Mercer). NEC makes decisions about cross-sectoral matters, including the management of our Fighting Fund, which is used by both sectors, led by Congress, which sets policy.
The Higher Education Committee (HEC) and Further Education Committee (FEC) are comprised of the National reps from those sectors. HEC has about 40 members and FEC about 20. UCU Commons do not have any FE candidates at this stage but are very keen to change this going forward.
HEC makes decisions about matters relating to the HE sector only, including Industrial Action. Who sits on HEC is crucial to the length and type of industrial action we call.
Turnout in 2022 for these elections was very low - some 5% of FE and 7% of HE members cast their vote. When you consider 60% of HE members voted on whether to take industrial action in autumn 2022, but only 7% voted for the committee that makes decisions about industrial action, it’s hard to believe. Sadly, anti-Trade Union laws mean this must be a postal vote. Don’t be disenfranchised - have your say!
The Vice President is a senior elected officer who acts as chair of their sector conference and their sector committee (HEC or FEC) for two years, before acting as chair of NEC in their year as President. The Vice President is elected on an annual basis alternating between HE and FE, so since Maxine Looby was elected VP FE in 2022, a VP HE is up for election this year. The Vice President HE is the Chair of the UK HE negotiators, a member of the USS negotiating team and usually chairs the Superannuation Working Group. They represent the union both to members and externally, and determine the composition of panels formed to hear complaints under the Rule 13 (regulation of the conduct of members) procedure. The candidate elected as Vice President will become President-elect, then President, then Immediate Past President in annual succession.
The Honorary Treasurer is an elected officer with a specific responsibility for the union’s finances, and ensuring the union’s financial viability. Among other duties, the Honorary Treasurer reports annually on the union’s finances, presents and recommends an annual budget to NEC and to Congress, as well as quarterly management accounts. They also act as a co-signatory for the union’s bank accounts, and play a role in authorising expense claims of members and the General Secretary. The Honorary Treasurer serves a 2-year term.
Who can vote for what: UK-elected representatives are elected by the whole HE membership. Regionally-elected representatives are elected by members in those regions only (some regional seats are not up for election this year, and you will not be able to vote for candidates not in your region).
All members (HE and FE) can vote for equalities reps from both sectors, and you do not have to identify with the equality strand in question to cast a vote for that rep. Please cast a vote for every position you can vote for!
Voting practicalities
Ballot papers and candidate election addresses are sent out by post, and must be returned by post, in the enclosed prepaid envelope. It is very important to make sure that UCU has your correct employer and address, and you can check and change these on MyUCU (login details needed). Due to our strike action coinciding with the election period, we recommend that you use your home rather than your work address.
You can request a new ballot paper if yours hasn’t arrived by Monday 6th February. The last day for ordering replacement ballots is Wednesday 22nd February.
The ballot closes on Wednesday 1st March, so we estimate that the last safe posting day is Saturday 25th February. After this date, you should send back your ballot with a first-class stamp or recorded special delivery.
The voting system for these elections is Single Transferable Vote. This means that you number candidates according to preference (1, 2, 3 etc.) so do not add ticks or crosses to boxes. Use as many preferences as there are candidates you are prepared to vote for. If there is a candidate you are not prepared to see get elected, do not give them a preference.
How you can support our campaign
Email 10 friends with these voting recommendations and ask them to email them to 10 friends.
Request fliers from us to print and distribute around your workplaces, on picket lines, or to use digitally. Our fliers are available in both English and Welsh. To make requests, please email us at ucucommons@gmail.com.
Chat to your colleagues and ask them to vote! When you’re in the office, knock on colleagues’ doors and check they’ve had their ballot paper - give them your recommendations.
If you’re involved in your branch, ask that Emma and/or David are invited to speak at your next GM. Email us ucucommons@gmail.com to arrange this.
Come and support Emma and David at the officer hustings, which will take place online on Thursday 2nd February, 12:30 - 14:00. These are official hustings organised by UCU, please note that other hustings may be organised independently by members or factions. For those who cannot make it, videos will be available to watch later. Please register to attend.