[Fdu] Statement of Solidarity from U of Glasgow Geographies of Labour

[Cynthia Wright]

Statement of Solidarity from University of Glasgow Geographies of Labour, Social Movements and Activism Group

As members of the University of Glasgow Geographies of Labour, Social Movements and Activism Group, we stand in support of the current labour actions taking place at the University of Toronto and York University. We are proud of their brave efforts to improve working conditions at a moment when corporate agendas are undermining public universities and intellectual integrity around the world.

We are concerned that precarious work conditions at these institutions are hindering contract instructor’s ability to engage in their own research and confidently invest their energies in the classroom. We respect the excellent contributions contract faculty make but it is unacceptable that it comes at such a significant cost. We are also distressed by the lack of sufficient funding available for PhD students at both universities. Funding packages that require students to subsist below the poverty line hinder new research and teaching.

It is deeply inspiring to see the variety of connections being made across occupational, socioeconomic and political lines in the course of this strike. These connections establish a precedent for relations of solidarity elsewhere, and produce critical insights that have value beyond the specific struggle from which they have arisen.

(Disclaimer, we write this in a personal capacity and do not represent the views of the University of Glasgow)

Heather McLean
Diarmid Kelliher
Laura Jane Nolan
David Featherstone
Peter Martin
Lazaros Karaliotas
Erin Despard
Kye Askins
Paul Griffin
Neil Gray
Peter Martin
Bridget Holtom

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