Endorsement from Dr Andrew Fugard, Birkbeck, University of London
This is the first time I have felt genuinely enthusiastic about a UCU election. I believe Jo Grady can help build UCU and improve its effectiveness at fighting widespread precarity and inequality, growing workloads, and resisting metric-driven managerialism.
Jo Grady is the only candidate with experience working as a lecturer in HE—in my view this is essential for ensuring campaigns are effective for Birkbeck members. She is Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations so her academic expertise is directly relevant. She also vows to work with professional services colleagues and acknowledges how they are often in the most precarious positions.
Jo has a decade’s worth of grassroots UCU experience, starting as a Departmental Rep when she was a lecturer at Leicester; she was also Co-Branch Secretary. When she moved to Sheffield she became branch Pensions Officer. Recently she was elected to the National Executive Committee (NEC) with a huge majority. She also co-founded USSbriefs, which quickly became essential reading to understand the pension dispute. Together this experience is excellent prep for the role.
I am confident Jo will make a wonderful General Secretary and encourage to you vote Grady for GS!
Jo Grady for UCU General Secretary