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Dr Peter Wood (Open University)

29 January 2021

Election address

UCU needs to increase its membership by becoming more diverse in its activities, more proactive in responding to change, and better representing the range of people and jobs in Tertiary Education. If elected, I would seek to increase the power of our union by prioritising collective self-education, and campaigning on causes that inspire new members to join UCU. This means organising around methods for fighting inequality, improving everyday working conditions, and better utilising our legal protections. My own expertise and activism has focused on anti-casualisation, sustainability and union learning.

I believe that we need to widen participation into trade unionism, to increase our active membership in areas of current weakness. This includes: amongst the fixed-term and part-time, increasingly experiencing whole careers of insecure employment; of 'migrant' workers, often with restrictive visa conditions and particular employment needs; and from academic-related and professional services, with growing casualisation and under-valued expertise on defending our working conditions. Reaching out to those with limited experience of trade unionism, we need accessible training in how our organisation works, making proactive links to grassroots campaigns. Overall, we need to demonstrate how joining UCU allows people to improve their everyday lives, fight for causes they care about, and enjoy the experience.

I have experience across the HE sector. I am currently an Associate Lecturer in Social Science and Environmental qualifications at The Open University. I have employment experience as a postdoctoral researcher, a project manager of online short courses, a knowledge exchange consultant, and a sustainable transport campaigner. I became a UCU member in 2011, signing up during my PhD on sustainability and behaviour change.

My experience in UCU is at national and branch level. I have been on my branch executive since 2019, as a Union Learning Representative (ULR), a Green Representative, and I now sit on the joint Unions-Employer fixed term contract working group. I have negotiated on policy, successfully increased the number of trained branch ULRs, and am seeking to increase the employer-paid, statutorily-protected ULR time available. Nationally, I have sat on the Anti-Casualisation Committee since 2018, where I have contributed to the reformation of members' subscription rates, gathered information on members' experiences, and trained anti-casualisation activists. I am now an observer to the NEC's Recruitment, Organising and Campaigning Committee, representing casualised experiences at the centre of our administrative structures. Addressing widening participation, I am currently working to convene a national Annual Meeting for Green Representatives. This would create a space to share expertise and receive training on how to build environmental justice into our universities' and union's activities.

Overall, I would champion initiatives that bring grassroots energy into UCU, amplify collective power through our formal structures, and improve our working conditions.

Twitter: @Peterrhwood

 

Last updated: 28 January 2021