Richard McEwan (New City College Tower Hamlets [Poplar])

Election address

Vote for Richard McEwan #1 UK FE Elected

I teach GCSE mathematics fulltime at New City College, Tower Hamlets.
I am the Branch Secretary of Poplar.
I am a UCU Left member.
I support Jo McNeill for UCU Vice President. All members are eligible to vote for her.
You can find a record of my service on Twitter: @RM_UCU.

Biography

National service:

·       FE National Negotiator.
·       UCU FEC Vice Chair 2014-16.
·       UCU NEC 2010-2016.
·       TUC UCU delegate 2015.
·       Education Committee.
·       Strategy and Finance Committee.
·       London Region ROTO.

Tower Hamlets College branch roles:

·       Branch Secretary Poplar - current.
·       Local Negotiator 2008 - 15.
·       Joint branch secretary Poplar 2008 -10.
·       Membership officer 2007- 8.
·       Branch London Region delegate.
·       Congress delegate 2018.

Contribution:

·       Dedicated UCU activist for more than 10 years.
·       Supported Action for Esol campaigns.
·       Co-organised two major lobbies of Parliament.
·       Coordinated campaigns to defend jobs and funding across London.

Why I am standing

It is a gross scandal that during austerity we lost 25,000 jobs, a quarter of our spending power and over a million adult places.

For too long we have been sold the line that there is no money for education and good terms and conditions.

While austerity has ravaged further and adult education. There are some who have not just weathered the storm, they have prospered from it.

The strikes in a dozen colleges last year and the second wave led by 'the magnificent six' have started to turn the tide. We are fighting back and winning.

That is why those arguments don't wash anymore. The Tories days are numbered and our employers know things must change.

We have galvanised widespread support. FE has pride of place in the National Education Service in Labour's Manifesto. Our voices are being heard.

We have shown we can beat the ballot thresholds.

The new model at CCCG shows that we can end outsourcing and bring staff in house, we can fractionalise our hourly paid colleagues, and we can win 5% pay rises.

The money is there. When we fight for it we can win our share. In doing so we can create the conditions that our students should learn in.

I believe if we are bold and imaginative we can make FE a great place to work and study once again.

If elected I will:

·       Campaign to restore FE & Adult places, restore our pay, reduce our workload, close the gender pay gap, and fight for fractionalisation for all.
·       Support stand up to racism, oppose Islamophobia and Prevent.
·       Defend EU members, defend asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.
·       Defend victimised reps.
·       Ensure decisions made by UCU members are implemented.
·       Regularly report back to members through a newsletter.

Please use your vote.