Fighting fund banner

 

Bijan Parsia (University of Manchester)

29 January 2021

Election address

Background:

I am a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Manchester where I have been continuously employed since joining as a lecturer in 2006. I am standing for election as a member of the UCU Commons slate of candidates. For more information see www.UCUCommons.org.

I came to the UK from a very precarious (though pretty good in the last few years) situation in the US having shifted fields from Philosophy to Computer Science. During my (overly extended) PhD studies I developed several medical long term conditions that affect me to this day. UK academia felt like a different world. There was no tenure but instead there were labour protections over a broader swath of my colleagues including professional and service staff.

And I could be a union member! University unions are far less common in the US and the idea of having a *sector wide* union blew my mind.

I've been extremely fortunate to have landed in a secure and supportive role. That my situation is increasingly becoming the rare exception instead of the norm is a fundamental challenge for UCU.

Goals as NEC member:

I aim to improve UCU strategising and governance.

The second round of strikes last year (Feb-March) caught me and my near friends utterly by surprise. The size, scope, and timing did not make sense to us esp whether there'd been no additional consultation nor much (in our experience) build up. Several colleagues who'd never missed a strike day in their careers felt uncomfortable fully participating because the effect would have been to destroy the first year for our students with no plan on how to make them whole.

Then the Fighting Fund levy in its initial, ungraduated form made me extremely concerned about both UCU decision making and communication. The outpouring of donations from members and branches was heartening, but lurching from crises to one off solutions is not adequate for the challenges we face.

UCU has made great strides toward building a long term vision and it is welcomely centered on the most marginalised amongst us. But the more radical the vision, the more difficult it is to build broad support. The activist heart of UCU is a small fraction of the membership which itself is a small fraction of the direct stakeholders in HE. Each circle is, on average, more invested in the status quo. To achieve our lofty goals we must bring a substantial portion of the wider community to our view. I believe this requires UCU to be and to be seen as both well-run and broadly effective. That is what I will work toward.

Twitter: @bparsia

https://bparsia.wordpress.com/category/politics/industrial-action/

Last updated: 28 January 2021