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ucunorthumbria.bsky.social
Northumbria UCU Branch
@ucunorthumbria.bsky.social
500 followers 760 following 92 posts
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ucunorthumbria.bsky.social
Northumbria UCU Branch @ucunorthumbria.bsky.social · Dec 5
Unions make life better for everyone. If you're not in one, join one now: equalitytrust.org.uk/news/blog/un...
Unity is Strength: how trade unions reduce inequality - Equality Trust
Unions have been in the news recently, with the Trade Union Bill currently in Parliament, and the national ‘heartunions’ campaign this week. We  unions because they help prevent our divided nation fro...
equalitytrust.org.uk
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redpeppermag.bsky.social
Red Pepper @redpeppermag.bsky.social · 9h
Jerry Iles speaks to Geoff Kirkwood about how a Tyneside Social Club became a cultural beacon – driven by cutting edge DJs, bingo nights, experimental orchestras and ‘open-minded collectivism’. Now, it’s reclaiming culture for everyone

www.redpepper.org.uk/culture-medi...
High art, low ceilings: remaking Social Club culture - Red Pepper
Geoff Kirkwood (aka Man Power) explains how a Tyneside Social Club became a cultural beacon driven by ‘open-minded collectivism’
www.redpepper.org.uk
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keithwdickinson.bsky.social
Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 12h
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
theverge.com
The Verge @theverge.com · May 26
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
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saulstaniforth.bsky.social
Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 15h
"You go to some places like Handsworth.. parts of Dewsbury, Bradford, Leicester, where you see.. a single ethnicity.. we don't think that's healthy thing"

Kevin Hollinrake is MP for Thirsk and Malton, which according to the 2021 census is 98% white.
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ucu.org.uk
University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 15h
70,000 HE academic staff.

Almost half of teaching only staff.

Two-thirds of research-only academic staff.

ALL on fixed term contracts.

This isn’t flexibility, it’s exploitation.

Live tomorrow at 7 PM we expose the hypocrisy at the top of HE: youtube.com/live/rZRbCP0YJ…
Insecurity of fixed term posts
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sarahhinds.bsky.social
Sarah Hinds @sarahhinds.bsky.social · 15h
No notes! *chef's kiss*
marcmorris.bsky.social
Marc Morris @marcmorris.bsky.social · 15h
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ucu.org.uk
University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 14h
Ballot papers are landing!

Ballots open on the 13th!

Vote YES for fair pay, safe workloads and binding national agreements.

This is our chance to win.
#VoteYes #NewDealForFE
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dorianlynskey.bsky.social
Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 14h
I imagine Robert Jenrick is currently on his way to places like Plymouth and Chelmsford to complain that there are too many white faces and they are insufficiently diverse
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mrsbettybowers.bsky.social
Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 1d
Thanks, New Yorker
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left-foot-forward.bsky.social
Left Foot Forward @left-foot-forward.bsky.social · 13h
Over 70,000 people complained about this comment
Ofcom finds GB News in breach of broadcasting code over homophobic slur
More than 70,000 people complained to the regulator about the comment
leftfootforward.org
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chrissyfirebrand.bsky.social
Chrissy Brand @chrissyfirebrand.bsky.social · 14h
standuptoracism.org.uk/hosting-tomm...
Hosting Tommy Robinson shows link between Israeli government and the international far right
STATEMENT Stand Up to Racism is part of an international network of anti-racist organisations and recognises that the far right and racists also organise
standuptoracism.org.uk
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ucuscotland.bsky.social
UCU Scotland @ucuscotland.bsky.social · 14h
John O'Groat Journal coverage of UCU UHI ballot result - includes comment from UCU UHI branch www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/uhi-str...
UHI strikes ‘likely’ after ballot vote by union supports industrial action at Highland university
Strikes are likely at the University of the Highlands and Islands after staff backed industrial action over job cuts and compulsory redundancies.
www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk
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naomialderman.bsky.social
Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 14h
feels like yet again time to mention that the *videogames* industry (that's a creative industry, which people do creative degrees in) brings in more than twice the amount to the British economy as the fishing and steel industries *combined*
naomialderman.bsky.social
Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 15h
I cannot understand what these people think the purpose of human life is?

It is *not* "pursue joy, deal justly, love well, try to understand as much and see as much of this beautiful world and of the deepness, richness and variety of human culture and experience as you can before you die"?
outonbluesix.bsky.social
Tim Worthington @outonbluesix.bsky.social · 15h
How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.
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left-foot-forward.bsky.social
Left Foot Forward @left-foot-forward.bsky.social · 14h
Your regular reminder 👇

🏥 81% want publicly owned NHS
🏫 78% want publicly owned schools
💧 73% want publicly owned water
🚂 70% want publicly owned rail
✉️ 70% want publicly owned mail
🚍 67% want publicly owned buses
💡 65% want publicly owned energy
EXCLUSIVE: Poll shows huge support for nationalisation of key industries and utilities
Privatisation has failed.
leftfootforward.org
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ottoenglish.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 15h
Badenoch and Co see education only as a means to a massive income in some soul destroying career.

Devoid of imagination and the power of knowledge they view life entirely through the prism of the CV.

My advice always is to study what interests you and the rest will follow
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samfr.bsky.social
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 14h
If you want to win over younger voters, telling them they can't go to university is probably not going to help.
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iandunt.bsky.social
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 14h
Calling English a 'rip-off degree' is one of the most blatant exhibitions of personal barbarism I've ever seen. You've demonstrated nothing but the poverty of your own mind.
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rmtunion.bsky.social
RMT Union @rmtunion.bsky.social · 1d
Fair Pay at Carlisle Support Services 🪧
RMT picket line at Bolton station this morning
Five RMT members wearing orange safety vests hold signs demanding fair pay at Carlisle Support Services during a street protest.
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timbale.bsky.social
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d
If you can't see how this will end, then you're not paying attention (not least to what's going on on the other side of the Atlantic).
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leicesterucu.bsky.social
Leicester UCU @leicesterucu.bsky.social · 2d
Tomorrow's teach out: meet the Modern Languages Team at 1.15 in SBB for their modern languages showcase.
Note the change in picket times!
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left-foot-forward.bsky.social
Left Foot Forward @left-foot-forward.bsky.social · 5d
The Reform council has suggested they imposed the media ban due to some sort of “miscommunication or misunderstanding”

leftfootforward.org/2025/10/refo...
Reform-led council lifts local newspaper ban following legal challenge
“This sends a firm message that journalists will not back down if our freedoms are attacked.”
leftfootforward.org
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robbhawkes.bsky.social
Rob Hawkes @robbhawkes.bsky.social · 5d
As more of my valued colleagues face the threat of redundancy, here’s a quick reminder that it takes years and years of public investment to train an academic. Cutting someone with this wealth of experience loose isn’t “saving” anything. It is a massive waste of our collective resources.
UK Universities in Crisis? Time to Transform Higher Ed Finance
by Rob Hawkes and Scott Ferguson Universities in the UK are in crisis. Job cuts in the sector are reaching ‘cataclysmic’ levels, with an estimated 10,000 already lost and many more at risk. Just da…
moneyontheleft.org
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ucu.org.uk
University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 5d
In the first of our UCU LIVEs last night, Dyfrig Jones (HE President-elect) set out 3 reasons this ballot matters:

1️⃣ Pay erosion
2️⃣ Ignored agreements
3️⃣ Thousands of jobs at risk

This is about defending the future of HE. ✊ #UCULive #WeAreTheUniversity
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moneyontheleft.bsky.social
Money on the Left @moneyontheleft.bsky.social · 5d
Are humanists doing enough to fight the climate crisis?

moneyontheleft.org/2025/10/02/t...
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samfr.bsky.social
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 7d
Can someone ask Farage or Zia Yusuf why, if they're so concerned about incitement to violence, they had Lucy Connolly as a guest star at their conference?
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