This is an email sent to subscribers of the #Grady4GS mailing list on Sunday 28 April 2019 (some subscribers may have received this later). To subscribe to our GDPR-compliant list, please fill out your details here!
Thanks so much for your support for and interest in the Jo Grady Gen Sec campaign. The UCU General Secretary ballot opened on Monday 29 April and is open for just 24 days—until 23 May 2019. All the evidence suggests that if people are going to vote, they tend to do so within the first week or ten days of the ballot. So your efforts in this first week will be particularly appreciated and particularly effective.
We really need your help to Get Out the Vote. There is so much support for Jo, but now we need to convert it into actual votes. We need you to do the following:
Talk to and/or email at least 10 colleagues who are UCU members. Most people know little or nothing about the UCU election. Only 14% voted last time. Give them #Grady4GS materials – and point people particularly to Jo’s manifesto. If you are able, print out a few pdfs and hand them out.
Other things you can do:
Spread the word on social media. Tweet your endorsements using #Grady4GS. Invite your friends to like the #Grady4GS Facebook page
Share Jo’s blogs. For example, see the one on “Time’s up academia”, and on combating the “hostile environment”.
Go to hustings. They start tomorrow (29 April 2019). The next is in Cambridge on Wednesday 1st May (Friends Meeting House (6-7.30pm).
Join one of the “ground teams” coordinating “Get Out the Vote” in your own institution. Whether you have 15 minutes or a couple of hours, we really need your help. for information, and to be put in touch with other supporters.
Write a 100-200 word endorsement to convey to others why you’re voting for Grady. Email it to us .
Email professional and/or discipline-specific lists where appropriate.
Be on the look-out for the first UCU all-member email from Jo Grady which arrived via email on Monday 29 April 2019. You could also read it here!
Get other people to sign up to our email list.
We cannot emphasise enough the need to speak to as many of your colleagues as you can. Our priority is to increase the turnout for this election. Only 14% voted last time. Don’t assume people are aware of the election—let alone currently know that much about any of the candidates or their positions. Explain why you’re on board with #Grady4GS, and ask them if they will vote—and help campaign where you work or via email.
We can do this – but we’ve only got just over three weeks. We’re counting on you!
Jo Grady and the #Grady4GS Team
Jo Grady for UCU General Secretary