Strike Schedule, June 2021

Published: 8th June, 2021

Please check this page regularly, for updates on timings, locations and activity details. Remember: to help manage social distancing on the physical pickets, report to Victoria Park (Attenborough entrance) in the first instance. See our Strike FAQs page for further guidance on safe picketing and virtual participation.

Wednesday 9 June: Solidarity Day

Our theme is Solidarity: Celebrating solidarity with other branches in dispute and who are supporting your dispute: other branches fighting against redundancies include Liverpool, Sheffield, Chester, UEL, and Aston. Let’s also celebrate your solidarity with colleagues at Leicester, rejecting divisions the Executive Board have tried to create between ‘affected’ and ‘non-affected’, ‘phase 1’ and ‘phase 2’ staff.

	Physical Picket	Virtual Picket
7am onwards	Report to Victoria Park (Attenborough entrance). You may be directed to an alternative picket location to manage social distancing.
8am	Reducing COVID risk briefing
8am onwards	Strike Art and T-Shirt Printing, Victoria Park. Bring your own t-shirt!	Share your participation on social media, using #NoOneIsRedundant, #LeicesterStrikesBack and #BoycottLeicester.
10am onwards		Virtual Rally, including “Live from the Picket Line” interviews. Councillor Gary O’Donnell in attendance. Via Zoom (Meeting ID: 871 1349 4423; Passcode: 104356)
11.15 onwards	March across campus	Volunteer to write a short blog for the newsletter on the Solidary themes: No-One Is Redundant or Stop Unfair Sacking. Email: cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com
12.00	Teach out: Alex Patel “Education for Emancipation: Intro to Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Academic Literacies and Academic Tribes and Territories”.	Teach out also available virtually (TBC)
Rest of day	Send daily photos and/or videos from each picket point, to cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com. Also contact Cara or Andreas if you can volunteer to write a daily strike report. Previous examples here.	Send daily photos and/or videos of how you’re picketing at home to cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com. Also contact Cara or Andreas if you can volunteer to write a daily strike report. Previous examples here.

Thursday 10 June: Good Governance (if only)

Our theme is Governance: we’ll be protesting the failures of institutional governance that has seen the Executive Board violate their ordinances, ignore an outpouring of criticism, and engage in union-busting. We’ll also be discussing how the institution’s governance could be reformed for greater accountability, responsibility and transparency in decision-making, protecting what universities are supposed to be.

	Physical Picket	Virtual Picket
7am onwards	Report to Victoria Park (Attenborough entrance). You may be directed to an alternative picket location to manage social distancing.
8am	Reducing COVID risk briefing	Share your participation on social media, using #NoOneIsRedundant, #LeicesterStrikesBack and #BoycottLeicester.
10am		Virtual Rally, including “Live from the Picket Line” interviews. Via Zoom (Meeting ID: 871 1349 4423; Passcode: 104356)
11.30	March across campus	Volunteer to write a short blog for the newsletter on the Governance themes: Fair Leadership Wanted or Ministry of Mismanagement. Email: cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com
12.00	Teach-out: Malcolm Noble, “Alternative Models of Higher Education”	Teach-out: TBC
Rest of Day	Send daily photos and/or videos from each picket point, to cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com. Also contact Cara or Andreas if you can volunteer to write a daily strike report. Previous examples here.	Send daily photos and/or videos of how you’re picketing at home to cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com. Also contact Cara or Andreas if you can volunteer to write a daily strike report. Previous examples here.

Friday 11 June: Academic Freedom Friday

Our theme is Academic Freedom: we’ll be protesting the unprecedented breach of academic freedom that has taken place in selecting candidates for redundancy because of the intellectual approaches managers have attributed to their research. This has been particularly an issue in the School of Business, where doing certain types of research plus being a trade union organiser enormously increases your chances of losing your job. Violations of academic freedom and union busting all in one!

	Physical Picket	Virtual Picket
7am	Report to Victoria Park (Attenborough entrance). You may be directed to an alternative picket location to manage social distancing.
8am	Reducing COVID risk briefing	Share your participation on social media, using #NoOneIsRedundant, #LeicesterStrikesBack and #BoycottLeicester.
10.15	Jonathan Ashworth, MP, Victoria Park entrance	Virtual rally from 10am, featuring talks by MPs Jonathan Ashworth and Claudia Webbe (Link TBC)
10.45	Claudia Webbe, MP, Victoria Park entrance
11.15	March across campus	Volunteer to write a short blog for the newsletter on the Academic Freedom Friday themes: Protect Academic Freedom or Take Back Leicester. Email: cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com
12.00		UCU Solidarity Movement: Joint Rally with Liverpool UCU and Leicester UCU, via Zoom. Speakers include: – Vicky Blake, UCU President – Gabby Provan, incoming joint chair of UCU Leicester – Simon Lilley, one of 26 Leicester employees facing redundancy – Jonathan Ashworth, MP Leicester South – Claudia Webbe, MP Leicester East – Anthony O’Hanlon, president of UCU Liverpool – One of the 28 Liverpool employees facing redundancy All those who support these two struggles are welcome to attend, so please share the invitation widely. Joint rally facebook event: https://fb.me/e/R4wxwsgQ
Rest of day	Send daily photos and/or videos from each picket point, to cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com. Also contact Cara or Andreas if you can volunteer to write a daily strike report. Previous examples here.	Send daily photos and/or videos of how you’re picketing at home to cara@uculeicester.org.uk  or anastasiou.andreas@gmail.com. Also contact Cara or Andreas if you can volunteer to write a daily strike report. Previous examples here.