Pensions and Industrial Action.

Here it is, by Christopher Phelps: https://www.dissentmagazine. org/online_articles/uk- lecturers-strike-university- pensions-austerity-student- solidarity

An immensely successful crowdfunding campaign to collect funds for specialist legal advice on whether we can sue the USS Board of Trustees for potential mismanagement.  Consider giving: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/fightforpensions/

An excellent piece:  taking stock and thinking about the long haul: https://jacobinmag.com/2018/03/ucu-university-staff-strike-deal-pensions-union

An article on the larger goals of the struggle: https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/were-drawing-line-fight-university-marketization-pensions/

A group of students is occupying Heslington Hall today in support of the strike.  They met the VC and some others.  You can read about their meeting on their facebook page where you can also send messages of support and see if you can help in any way: https://www.facebook.com/SOSYork/ .

   There are many open letters going around, The first of the two below is to York's VC and it is probably the most important for us.      To York’s VC: https://platform.organise.org. uk/campaigns/open-letter-to- professor-koen-lamberts      To the Guardian: https://heconvention2. wordpress.com/2018/03/03/no- deficit-letter/?contact-form- id=5292&contact-form-sent= 7737&_wpnonce=83a8d2aaeb# contact-form-5292  

Some information of local interest: Local UCU: http://york.web.ucu.org.uk/     VC’s letter to staff of 5 March HR form to complete once strike action is complete: https://docs.google.com/forms/ d/e/ 1FAIpQLSeiFZ5NuxRYerNKfet40ihg E6WrBXyhZma64YN0HfmVkjnMBw/ viewform

Although this is rather fast moving and since both Cambridge and Oxford's VCs have made statements, under pressure from staff, either reversing their position on the fund's valuation (Oxford, see here ), or support meaningful negotiations (Cambridge).  Still, the following is important reading:   https://medium.com/@ mikeotsuka/cambridge-colleges- coordinated-a-rejection-of- usss-proposed-level-of-risk- bfced9866c0e     https://medium.com/@ mikeotsuka/cambridge- coordination-to-undermine-db- pt-2-e77faa3f3afe     https://www.varsity.co.uk/ news/14893         ttps://twitter.com/MikeOtsuka/status/971342470008143872 https://twitter.com/MikeOtsuka/status/ https://twitter.com/Mike https://twitter.com here /MikeOtsuka/status/971342470008143872 Otsuka/status/971342470008143872 971342470008143872

Useful information on the source of the issue behind the strike, i.e. the calculation of USS’s projected funds and arguable deficit and some analysis.       http://york.web.ucu.org.uk/ 2018/02/02/key-questions- about-the-strike/       https://medium.com/@ mikeotsuka/universities- accept-a-small-amount-of- increased-risk-d82601b6606c       https://medium.com/@ alexanderdouglas/a-few- thoughts-on-the-strike- cbf907ec6cb8       https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=lAcXRRXKPe0   https://corplingstats.wordpress.com/2018/03/04/maths-operations-with-normal/  

This is a place where we will collect information about the current dispute that will hopefully help people decide whether they want to join the industrial action in any way.  Whatever people decide, at least they will make their decision based on as good information as we can find.  Please let us have any extra information that we can put here and subscribe to the blog so that you get updates and can comment on posts.  The posts are not in any particular order so scroll through.