UCL-UCU union branch resolution on Ukraine
Passed at Emergency branch meeting 23 June 2023, with a majority of 73%
You probably already know about the pro-Putin resolution that was passed by the UCU congress at the end of May (you’ll find it here as “motion 5”). It was greeted with horror by most union members and most decent people everywhere. At SSEES, where I work, we have the UK’s largest concentration of academic specialists in the region, and most of us responded with disgust. Here is our open letter. Some of us quit the union as a response (I did not; I’m not handing the keys over to SWP) but those of us who didn’t joined with friends and colleagues across University College London — the largest university in the UK — to get a response rejecting motion 5 from our branch — the largest branch in UCU. The motion below passed with a very large majority after defeating sustained efforts to derail the meeting and obstruct the debate.
We want word of this to get around, and are not relying on the labour aristocracy to do it. Most of the publicity about this has gone over Tw*tter, but you probably know that not everyone uses Tw*tter (I quit when that guy took over, and since then somewhere between 10% and 30% of users have done the same). So I am also making the text available here.
We are pretty proud that the largest branch at the largest university has taken a stand this attempt a takeover which was, between you and me, If I may say so, just ever so slightly hamfisted.
Solidarity with Ukraine, reject UCU Congress motion no. 5
Notes:
That since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine in February 2022 (preceded by its annexation of Crimea and invasion into Eastern Ukraine in 2014), the world has witnessed repeated evidence of Russia’s atrocities on occupied Ukrainian territory, recognized by the International Criminal Court as war crimes, as well as the displacement of millions of innocent civilians, and environmental devastation.
That more specifically, as of the beginning of May 2023, this Russian aggression towards Ukraine has destroyed or damaged more than 2500 educational establishments including institutions of higher learning and more than 900 medical establishments.
That at a General Meeting of UCL UCU on March 31, 2022, a motion was passed stating that UCL UCU stands united in our condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and declares its support for the human rights of those under occupation or suffering oppression.
That the same General Meeting defeated a motion proposing an equidistance between Russia, the aggressor, and Ukraine, and framing the Russian attack as the outcome of NATO expansion.
That in late May 2023 UCU Congress passed by a big majority motion (no. 6) stating that it stands united in its condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and declares our support for the human rights of those under occupation or suffering oppression.
That in late May 2023 UCU Congress also passed, by a majority of only 9 votes, a widely condemned motion (no. 5) repeating the false claims of an alleged NATO expansion as the cause of the war and calling for UCU to support a position whereby Ukrainians are deprived of adequate means for self-defence, and thus left vulnerable to being kidnapped, tortured, raped or bombed in their homes by the Russian armed forces.
That this same motion features a common antisemitic trope by including an entirely gratuitous point associating the Ukrainian president, Israel, and the US.
That in a letter from union members at UCL SSEES dated 31 May 2023 to UCL General Secretary Jo Grady, these colleagues stress the damage done by the passing of motion no. 5 at UCL Congress, and the fact that many UCU members have decided to leave UCU because of it.
Believes:
That the Russian Federation should immediately cease fighting and withdraw its forces. If Russia stops fighting, there will be no war. If Ukraine stops fighting, there will be no Ukraine.
That allowing Russia to fulfil its demands, even partially, will create further instability in the Eastern Europe, and will signal to the aggressor that such actions may remain unpunished.
That Ukraine is lawfully exercising its right to self-defence, according to the Charter of the United Nations.
That military aid to assist Ukrainian self-defence saves lives. Stopping it would appease the aggressor. Hesitating and delaying it prolongs the war and brings more losses and suffering.
The UCU Congress motion no. 5 is ill-informed, discriminatory, and does not reflect the branch majority views of the branch. It equates the victim and the aggressor, denies Ukraine’s agency, and only helps the Kremlin’s propaganda.
That the debate on this important issue did not include proper representation of the Ukrainian perspective and did not facilitate an informed discussion, which is a core feature of academia.
That the UCU Congress motion no. 5 damages the union’s ability to undertake its core mission by taking energy and focus away from the current disputes, angering members, causing colleagues to leave the union.
That the passing of UCU Congress motion no. 5 has done considerable reputational damage to UCU.
Resolves:
To condemn the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression of Russia against Ukraine.
To support the provision of Ukraine with any form of aid that it needs, including military aid, humanitarian aid, and tougher political and economic sanctions against Russia.
To consider possible cooperation and affiliation with the Ukrainian Solidarity Campaign.
To engage with the Ukrainian community in the UK, including Ukrainian academics hosted by British universities, and ensure adequate representation of Ukrainian voices.
To state opposition to the UCU Congress motion, and to call upon UCU to revise and recall it.
To follow in our activities the suggestions of the Ukraine Peace Appeal towards a more informed solidarity (https://www.ukrainepeaceappeal2023.info/), and to call for its wider support by UCU.
To call on UCU to denounce the devastating impact of the Russian aggression on Ukrainian institutions of higher education more forcefully.
To call on UCU to energetically support solidarity with Ukraine in general, and in particular with colleagues working in higher education (as academics or in professional services) and students, whether in Ukraine itself, or displaced as a result of the war, or those within the wider Ukrainian diaspora.
To support initiatives at UCL supporting displaced Ukrainian colleagues and students and aiming at the reconstruction of Ukrainian institutions of higher education.
o call on UCU to review and change the governance procedures relating to the avoidance of discriminatory wording or framing in motions (more generally, and specifically here), and the procedures that resulted in passing the UCU Congress motion.
To send this motion to London Region UCU, without the sections specifically concerning the UCL branch, for adoption by the region.
Later this evening the SWP cadres in the union will announce that they have shifted their loyalty to Prigožin.