Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We hope you’re having a great morning – we know many of you will be back out on pickets this week. UUK and UCU have done welcome joint statements indicating the pension could be restored, and they could “examine” divesting fossil fuels, and “governance reform”.

But we know it’s not a done deal till it actually happens. The reason we’ve got so far is because of your help in this legal action, and all of our collective action. We’ve got a date for the Court of Appeal, 13 June 2023, and we are absolutely determined to get there. We must raise awareness, and more money. Make no mistake, this is now the biggest pension reform and climate risk case in the UK, ever. What we do could help every other worker with a pension, and it can affect every financial institution and every corporate director. We must have a legally binding precedent that USS directors cannot abuse their powers by reporting nonsense deficits, driving through discriminatory cuts, squandering our money on fancy Threadneedle Street offices and failing asset managers, and bankrolling worthless and toxic gas, oil and coal.

We’ve had so much support from university branches, which is tremendous – but the incredible fact is nine-tenths of our support comes from thousands of individuals like you, with an average contribution of £41. So, we need to spread the word. And this morning we’d like to ask you three things:

1. print some posters and flyers and give them out! We’ve got one on divesting fossil fuels, one on reversing the pension cuts, and one with more details. Stick them up behind photocopiers, inside loo doors, in lifts, or where people queue for lunch. Or print and give out on picket lines!
2. ask your branch chair and secretary to send out an email asking your colleagues to donate to our case! Just write “Dear Friends and Colleagues…” and then use the text from “We need you…” from the detailed poster/flyer. We just need half as many new people to donate again to get to the Court of Appeal, so publicity is crucial.
3. get Ewan and Neil to visit your branch! We’re more than glad to attend branch meetings, and take the time you need to talk to all our colleagues. We can do Zoom/Teams, and we can also come in person.

Also, if you’d like to be more involved, just write to ewan.mcgaughey@kcl.ac.uk and/or neil.m.davies@ucl.ac.uk. We’re also trying to get climate groups on board, because the climate claim is so huge. We can’t do it alone – this is a big group effort – and it’s because we all help and support each other that we’ll win.

And just imagine the effect if every director in the UK had a duty to end investments in stranded assets like gas, oil and coal, and have a credible plan for 100% clean energy, now. Just imagine – and here’s a wild thought – that everyone’s right to social security, and a good pension, was really made universal. That’s why this case matters, why we’re so grateful for your support, and why we’re determined to win a better pension system for everyone.

Best wishes, Ewan and Neil

Published on behalf of Dr Neil Davies, Dr Ewan McGaughey, and many more supporters of Save university pensions, and save the planet at Crowd Justice.