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I’ve been thinking a *lot* about UCU member involvement over the last year. Despite a membership increase & a lot of new rank and file initiatives, many members aren’t entirely sure how to go about getting more involved in the limited time they have.
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If you don’t have the time to become a branch officer or rep, I think it can feel like there’s no way to contribute to UCU, so people get overwhelmed & mentally check out. I know I certainly felt this way before I made the decision to join branch committee.
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So the question becomes, how can we facilitate member involvement in discrete chunks?
For example, we have ~1700 members in @sheffielducu. If each of us did 15 minutes of union activity per week, that would amount to 425 hours every week. Imagine what we could accomplish!
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For example, we have ~1700 members in @sheffielducu. If each of us did 15 minutes of union activity per week, that would amount to 425 hours every week. Imagine what we could accomplish!
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How can we productively harness a small amount of time from each member? I don& #39;t have a solution, but I *do* have a list of 24 ways members can be involved in UCU at varying levels of time commitment.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⏱️" title="Stopwatch" aria-label="Emoji: Stopwatch">How to be involved in UCU if you don’t have much time: A long threadhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⏳" title="Hourglass with flowing sand" aria-label="Emoji: Hourglass with flowing sand">
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Some weeks you may have 0 minutes for UCU, & some weeks you may feel so angry/inspired that you find 3 hours. Most weeks, though, I bet many members can probably find 15 minutes.
Here are 8 things you could do to support UCU that each take 15 minutes or less:
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Here are 8 things you could do to support UCU that each take 15 minutes or less:
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Several of the above things involve staying up to date rather than taking action, but in a week when you’re incredibly busy, staying up to date is the *best* way you can support UCU, because it means that when you find a moment to breathe, you’ll feel more prepared to act.
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If you have a bit more than 15 minutes to spare, here are 8 things you can do to support UCU that take up to an hour
(By the way, If any branches already do anything like the "on call list" in item 8, I’d love to hear how you implement it!)
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(By the way, If any branches already do anything like the "on call list" in item 8, I’d love to hear how you implement it!)
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Remember, being involved in UCU doesn’t need to mean you have to take an active role everything UCU is doing! No individual member can fight every fight, but if each of us is aware of even some of what’s happening, then collectively, we can support everyone.
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Also, if you have a specific skill, tell someone! You may think it& #39;s not helpful, but it probably is, and branch reps/committee would love to hear about it!
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If you are really passionate about a specific issue UCU is campaigning on, or want to do a test run for getting more involved, then there are a variety of things you can do that take between half a day and a full day.
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If you are thinking of doing any of the things on that last list, contact your branch committee so they can support you in negotiating time off with your line manager.
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Regarding item 5, Sheffield UCU is bringing a motion to Congress 2019 that calls for the creation of a 1 day Organiser training course, designed to support rank and file members getting involved in local/national organising. Fingers crossed it passes and is available soon!
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If doing the first 21 items on the list gets you really fired up to be more active in UCU, here are three more things you could do, some of which may come with facilities time. If you have questions, please contact your branch committee with questions (or my dms are open)!
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