Endorsements

I strongly endorse Regine Pilling’s candidacy for Vice President from the Further Education sector.  I know Regi through our work on the National Executive Committee. She is a tireless activist who fights tenaciously for members at every level of the union. Her experience is wide ranging. She is an excellent organiser and communicator.

She is a strong advocate for the FE sector, campaigning for workers to be properly valued and respected in the form of job security, coupled with decent terms and conditions. Her direct experience of being a casualised worker in the sector means she is well equipped to advocate for the most marginalised members of our union, whose labour is often rendered invisible and uncredited, particularly those impacted by the scourge of casualisation that blights Post 16 education. She brings an understanding of the effects of job insecurity and precarious contracts to her work on members' behalf.

Addressing structural inequalities in the workplace and beyond is central to her organising approach.  Her work highlights the importance of the FE sector in opening up post 16 education opportunities for people at all stages of life. Widening access to education is particularly important as equality gaps continue to expand against a background of the rise of the far right and the threat AI poses to job security and critical thinking. Her wider anti racism work is also informed and driven by her dedication to the social importance of broadening access to a properly resourced education system.

Please vote for Regi for FE VP

I strongly endorse Regi and urge you to vote for this experienced branch and NEC officer to be your VP. She has been active in the branch - Westminster Kingsway College, now part of CCC - for over 15 years. She has taking a lead in negotiations and consultation committees, with a keen eye for detail on policy consultations. Regi has organised successful actions notably over pay, workload, lesson observations, equality and diversity issues. The branch has gone from strength to strength with her support.

Regi is also highly skilled at representing individual members - she is caring, supportive and will do everything to fight for members. She has worked brilliantly to build an active, outspoken branch at a time when the FE sector is under attack.

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I've known Regi for a few years as a comrade and friend, and have seen her commitment to UCU continuing to be a progressive, democratic and fighting union firsthand. She is an excellent organiser in her branch, and works well with colleagues across UCU in her role as an NEC member. She is knowledgeable, practical, and organised - she has the skills and ideas to get things done, and no task is too small or too big for her to contribute to.

Regi is articulate and forthright in her defence of union democracy, on matters of solidarity and for justice and liberation for all. I am always impressed with her commitment to UCU work, and I know she will make a brilliant Vice-President. Please give her your vote.

Having worked alongside Regi, both as colleague and fellow committee member, for almost twenty years, I can attest to her unwavering dedication and drive to fight for members’ rights. She works tirelessly to build the branch as well as strategise & launch campaigns to protect and improve the working conditions of all.

Regi recognises that our role as representatives in an educational context is not restricted to fighting for lecturers alone. In addition to the many initiatives to engender & ensure equality for staff, she has organised, planned and delivered workshops and debates for students, one example being a themed learning week to debunk myths on immigration. At CCG, we are extremely fortunate to have her as branch secretary. UCU as a whole would benefit greatly from her successful election to VP.

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Hardworking and dedicated, Regi Pilling surely must be every member’s choice for Vice President FE.  She has a good, practical way of talking and writing.  With no fuss, Regi gets so much done.  When I say she is hardworking, this is with everything she has to do – not just at work, but in her home life – from looking after her students and colleagues and her young children, through bargaining and negotiation, to organising and chairing meetings and rallies.  Regi has an efficient practical way about her, which means that everything she puts her mind to doing turns out well.

I have known Regi Pilling through her work organising at the grassroots within UCU. What has really impressed me about Regi is her ability to take big tasks on, and do them well, without making a fuss. Regi is hard working, mature, intelligent, and politically astute. She understands complexity, is willing to delegate and has a wise head on young shoulders. 

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Regi has important experience serving not just in her branch but also on UCU's NEC. She has made important contributions to the key debates in our union. She is adept at organising within her branch and region and providing a robust response to exploitative employers. Regi would make an excellent Vice President and will be a trusted voice representing our members and our union. 

I first met Regi on a bus more thanfifteen years ago, travelling to protest against a large gathering of the BNPin Derbyshire. In all the years since, I’ve known her to be a deeply committedpolitical activist and trade unionist. I believe strongly that our union needspeople in senior elected positions who have extensive experience of running abranch and organising effectively in their workplace. Regi has this experience,having been a leading UCU branch officer and rep in her college for many yearsnow, as well as the knowledge of the national UCU structures through her timeon the NEC. Just as importantly, she’s a dedicated FE lecturer, with a strongcommitment to an educator sector that is accessible to all. I strongly endorseher candidacy.

Regine Pilling is an energetic and hard-working unionactivist who serves UCU ably at branch, regional and national levels. In herbranch she is active in representing members, negotiating and leading strikeaction, when it is necessary. As a member of London Region, she supports UCUorganisation throughout the London area. She is an elected member of the NECand a National Negotiator. This work gives her the necessary knowledge and experienceto serve UCU effectively as Vice President.

I have worked with Regine in UCU for several years. She isstrongly committed to the struggle to defend post 16 education provision and toobtain better pay and conditions for the workforce. She has been active inbuilding lobbies of Parliament for FE funding, appreciating the necessity tosecure the funding base of the sector to support lifelong Learning.

Regine strongly supports UCU’s equality and internationalsolidarity work. She believes in building a united, effective and democratictrade union. I am happy to endorse Regine for Vice President. ‍  

I have known and worked with Regi for over ten years, and throughout that time she has been someone I have trusted completely as a colleague, a Union representative, and a case worker. She plays a central role in maintaining a strong, well-organised UCU branch that consistently supports and defends its members.

Through sharing a staffroom with Regi, I have seen first-hand the care and commitment she brings to her work, whether supporting individuals through difficult cases, negotiating workload agreements, or pushing important conversations forward around equality, diversity and inclusion. Her involvement in Palestine days of action also reflects her strong sense of solidarity and justice beyond the immediate workplace.

Regi is politically aware, thinks things through carefully, and acts decisively when it matters – while always grounded in the real conditions facing staff.

I have learnt a lot from working alongside Regi and would wholeheartedly endorse her in any Union role.

I wholeheartedly support Regine Pilling's campaign for FE VP. Regi is a tireless activist with many years experience and unparalleled commitment. Her support for our strike efforts have delivered a very appreciated message about the value of adult education, for which we are very grateful. Regi not only shapes the union's 'direction of travel' through passionate action in her own branch, but at national level too. She supports fellow reps from other branches, providing assistance and fosters a sense of community amongst her fellow elected officers in London and beyond.

Regi has consistently and courageously championed the rights of students, lecturers,and support staff across Further Education. Her tireless work at Capital City College stands as a powerful testament to her unwavering commitment, integrity,and dedication to union values and the wellbeing of both staff and students. Her efforts have earned the trust, respect, and recognition of colleagues across the college community.

If Further Education is to be brought to the forefront of education and campaigning, Regi is the leader we need. Her record speaks for itself: determined, principled, and effective. Regi has already proven what she is capable of—and she is the right person to drive meaningful change and deliver real progress as union representative.

Whether it is improving working conditions, fiercely advocating for members,strengthening the student experience, or shaping a bold vision for the future of Further Education, Regi has an exceptional contribution to make. Her voice is strong, her commitment is proven, and her leadership is exactly what our union needs.

I fully and proudly support Regi’s candidacy—just as so many members across our branch do. She is the right person to represent us and to lead the fight for a better, fairer FE sector.

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I fully endorse Regine and will be voting for her. Regine has many years of concrete experience as a brilliant teacher at her College, as a National Negotiator and a FE rep who understands both UCU and the world with astute clarity and confidence.

Regi engages with all members with respect, democracy, dedication, equity, and is passionate about all our sectors, FE, Adult Education, Prisons and Higher Education. I'm always inspired by Regine's ability to fight for the complex marketised FE sector, and her dedication to fighting for an inclusive equality agenda.

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I believe Regi is the best candidate with her outstanding leading abilities. Regi has sat on the Women's Committee , Equality Committee , Education Committee, Climate and Ecological Committee , the Legal Panel, and Recruitment and organising Committee.

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Actions can speak louder than words, and Regine's experience of leading her members to win concessions from management are second to none. Regi does all this with full respect to all the diverse voices in UCU. These are some of her actions:

• Regi has led on improved workload agreements
• Leading on HPL members which led to a fractionalisation win
• Securing pay rises
• Full commitment towards winning national binding bargaining
• Providing empathy and solidarity to members
• Deep commitment to equality and justice for anti racism, migrant rights, gender rights and disability rights in an increasingly hostile environment by developing themed learning curricula.

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I have full confidence in Regine and fully endorse her for VP FE. Please vote for her.

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I’m endorsing Regine Pilling for UCU Vice President (FE) because I know what an effective campaigner she is, at local, regional and national level. She is a key organiser within her branch and has played a leading role in fighting for some of the best working conditions in FE. I believe strongly that unions should be member-led and with Regine as VP, that’s what you’ll see.

I am supporting Regine for Vice President of UCU as she is passionate, dedicated and works hard for the grass roots membership of the union. She cares deeply about education and wants to break down barriers for our students to ensure they are all supported with high-quality learning. Regi will oppose the marketisation and unmanageable workloads that blight the post-16 education sector. She has a long history and track record of commitment to all post 16 education – FE, HE, ACE and Prison Education. 

I have worked with Regi on the National Executive Committee and on the London Regional Committee where she has consistently fought for members both within her branch through case work and campaigning and fought for them within regional and national structures. She clearly understands that our union needs to have a clear industrial strategy that can protect and improve our terms and conditions – but also that equality is at the heart of our union.

Above all I will be voting for Regi Piling for Vice President of UCU, because of her qualities of judgement and her capability of chairing union meetings in a democratic and inclusive manner. Regi will be a hard-working and conscientious VP and President who will do a good job for all UCU members.

I am very happy to endorse Regi Pilling to be our next FE vice president and serve as president of UCU.I first met Regi when she was co-chairing an anti-casualisation annual meeting in 2011. As one of the few other FE people there, she instantly made me feel welcome, and I left inspired by her energy and sharp organising focus. Regi has all the qualities the union needs in a chair and leader. She is patient, pragmatic, highly intelligent, kind and resourceful. She is prepared to fight for education. She has both the skill and the charisma to engage others in being prepared to take action, and also the courage not to shy away or bury her head in the sand while reactionary forces threaten our sector and society as a whole.

Regi understands keenly the role of trade unions and of trade union leadership in these times. She will stand on the shoulders of generations of women trade unionists who have been the front line of the past.I will be voting for Regi, and I encourage members across our sectors to join me - everyone in the union has a vote for the VP position.

I'm voting for Regi Pilling. She will make a great UCU President. She is hardworking, dedicated principled and accountable.  She has a proven record of supporting her members in cases when they have problems at work and standing up for equality. She has led her branch to sector leading wins collectively. As a national negotiators she is not afraid to look The employer in the eye and tell it like it is. The role of the President is to be the guardian of member democracy in the union and ensure the union listens to members and supports them, and crucially their local reps, when they stand up for their pay, conditions and rights.

I am delighted to endorse Regi for UCU VP FE. I’ve worked alongside Regi in London Region and we were both TUC Delegates. She is truly impressive to witness in action - a powerhouse of energy and drive, focused on outcome, full of positivity and humour. Most of all her leadership qualities are apparent. Caught on the stairs at TUC, a mic thrust in her face, Regi was able to, without hesitation, and passionately sum up the current crisis in post 16 education AND offer clear solutions - it was impressive. This is what we need at the heart of our movement.

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I’m delighted to endorse Regi Pilling. Although we haven’t known each other for years, working alongside her has been a pleasure – she’s shown me time and again just how committed, thoughtful, and hardworking she truly is. As a mother of two young children, Regi somehow manages to balance family life with a deep dedication to UCU and its members, and I’m constantly inspired by the energy and determination she brings to everything she does.

Regi has been incredibly active in the union ever since I met her - at Congress several years ago, she has shown herself to be a principled campaigner who’s written and moved motions supporting the Welfare Not Warfare campaign, opposing cuts to adult skills funding, and recently leading strike action in FE to fight for better funding and a fairer workload balance. Beyond the union, she’s deeply committed to wider struggles for justice: joining peaceful protests against the genocide in Gaza, supporting events that challenge colonialism and imperialism, and consistently standing up for social justice, women’s rights, and trans rights.

What I especially admire is how much she values building a more democratic UCU, where decisions are genuinely shaped by members at the grassroots, and where voices from across the union are heard and respected. She believes in collective discussion, accountability, and member-led action.  

I have no doubt Regi would be a warm, committed, and effective VP, who would serve members with real integrity and solidarity.

I have known Regi Pilling for several years through her work on London Region and the NEC. Regi is a clever, principled and dedicated trade unionist and socialist who has led her FE branch in direct struggles against her employer. 

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I remember when she came to speak at one of our UCL UCU meetings about their FE college strike. Her branch went on strike in 2016 over pay and insecure contracts. They won a pay rise of 6% and 30 staff were moved from hourly-paid contracts to secure jobs. My members, who work in a 'posh' university were proud to give solidarity to her and her colleagues, voting to give £1000 to each of the 3 FE college branches on strike.

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The union needs activists at the rank and file like Regi. But they also need leaders who are activists. Vote Regi for Vice President and together let's build the union we need.

I am endorsing and voting for Regi Pilling for the position of Vice-President from the Further Education sector. My university is an inner-city post-92 university.  We recruit students from some of the most disadvantaged communities in London.  Many of our students come to us from FE colleges, proof that HE and FE are intimately linked and face common challenges.  My experience of working with Regi and talking with her about our experiences in our workplaces and in the union has proved to me that Regi understands this close connection between FE and HE as well as the enormous challenges that both sectors face.  

I also know Regi to be a committed, hardworking, and experienced union activist at branch, regional, and national level. Regi would be an amazing Vice-President for all of our union.  Please vote for her.