Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"EXPRESS WAGON"

Date

2022

Materials

WOOD, PLASTIC, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Height

72.7

Length

96.5

Width

45.5

Description

RED-PAINTED WOOD WAGON WITH METAL AND PLASTIC PULL-HANDLE. “EXPRESS WAGON” PRINTED ON BOTH LONG-SIDES OF WAGON, WHITE STICKER “MADE IN CANADA…” ON SHORT-SIDE OF WAGON, OPPOSITE OF HANDLE, SILVER STICKER “MILLSIDE INDUSTRIES INC.” ON PLASTIC AXEL BELOW, WHITE STICKER READS,"QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE CALL: 1-866-449-4343." ON SHORT-SIDE OF WAGON WITH HANDLE, WAGON HANDLE HAS LONG WHITE STICKER WITH WARNING INFORMATION, “WARNING… MILLSIDE INDUSTRIES WALLENSTEIN, ON N0B 2S0…” WHITE STICKER ON INSIDE OF WAGON IS WORN AND ILLEGIBLE, COFFEE STAINS ON INSIDE OF WAGON, WOOD IS SPLIT IN PARTS OF INSIDE OF WAGON, METAL SEAM ON INSIDE OF WAGON WALL IS COMING OUT FROM GROOVE, PLASTIC BUMPERS ON OUTSIDE OF WAGON ARE WORN, WHITE STICKER ON HANDLE HAS A TEAR, DIRT AND DUST PRESENT THROUGHOUT ENTIRETY OF WAGON. OVERALL GOOD – VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

TOY

Historical Association

ASSOCIATIONS

EDUCATION

History

ON MARCH 29, 2022, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED FORMER UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE FACULTY ASSOCIATION (ULFA) MEMBER DR. CHRISTOPHER GRIGNARD ABOUT HIS USE OF DONOR DR. JOSH DAVIES WAGON (ULFA) LABOUR STRIKE; THE JOB ACTION STARTED FEBRUARY 10, 2022, AT 11:00AM AND LASTED APPROXIMATELY SIX WEEKS, WITH CLASSES RESUMING MARCH 23, 2022. DURING THE SPRING 2022 SEMESTER, GRIGNARD WAS TEACHING AT BOTH THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE (UOFL) AND RED CROW COMMUNITY COLLEGE. GRIGNARD AT THE TIME OF THE INTERVIEW, AND DURING THE ULFA STRIKE, WAS ON THE ULFA JOB ACTION MATERIALS SUBCOMMITTEE (JAMS). THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THE INTERVIEW WITH GRIGNARD. ON WHEN GRIGNARD BECAME INVOLVED IN THE ULFA JOB ACTION COMMITTEE, GRIGNARD EXPLAINED: “…AARON TAYLOR [CHAIR OF JAMS] REACHED OUT TO ME… I JOINED AT THE END OF 2020…” GRIGNARD CONTINUED ON WHAT HIS JAMS RESPONSIBILITIES WERE WHEN GETTING READY FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF ULFA GOING ON STRIKE: “…THE INVENTORY, THE CHECKLISTS, HOW MUCH THINGS WOULD COST… JUST KNOWING WHAT [ULFA MEMBERS] NEEDED TO HAVE… I KNEW I’D BE LOOKING AFTER COFFEE AND FOOD.” ON HOW GRIGNARD RECEIVED THE WAGON FROM DAVIES, GRIGNARD EXPLAINED: “… I PUT IT OUT THERE, [THAT] IDEALLY, I WOULD LIKE ONE OF THOSE LITTLE WAGONS TO PULL FOR THESE REASONS. AND SURE ENOUGH [DR. JOSH DAVIES] SPOKE UP. HE SAYS, ‘HEY, YOU KNOW I HAVE ONE OF THOSE, WHY DON’T YOU COME BY MY HOUSE AND I’LL LEND IT TO YOU.’ SO, I’M JUST REALLY FORTUNATE. I’VE LEARNED MORE SO RECENTLY THE IMPORTANCE OF TALKING AND SHARING BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS GOING TO RESPOND; IT’S ALMOST COMMON SENSE THAT WE NEED TO [TALK], BUT I REALIZE THAT MORE AND MORE THAT WE NEVER KNOW WHO’S GOING TO RESPOND… IT WAS PERFECT, AND I GOT LOTS OF COMPLIMENTS ON [THE WAGON], JUST PULLING IT. PEOPLE WERE LIKE, ‘WOW, THAT’S REALLY COOL. THAT’S A PRETTY SNAZZY WAGON’.” GRIGNARD SHARED HOW HE USED THE WAGON DURING THE ULFA STRIKE: “…THERE WERE DAYS WHEN I HAD FOUR [COFFEE] URNS WITH ME… THREE [COFFEE URNS] COULD FIT IN THE WAGON AND ONE I CARRIED IN MY HAND. WHEN IT STARTED GETTING WARMER, I WOULD BRING MAYBE THREE URNS, SO I COULD PUT ALL THREE IN THE WAGON. BUT I HAVE MANY MEMORIES OF PUTTING [THE COFFEE URNS] IN MY WAGON AND LIFTING THAT OUT [OF THE CAR], (BECAUSE IT WAS QUITE HEAVY), AND THEN DRAGGING/PULLING [THE WAGON] ACROSS COLUMBIA (BOULEVARD W) TO THE OTHER SIDE [OF THE ROAD] AND THEN CROSSING AT THE UNIVERSITY DRIVE…” GRIGNARD ADDED: “…I WOULD [ALSO] DO TREATS… WE HAD THESE GOODIE BAGS, SO, I WOULD PUT THE GOODIE BAGS IN THE WAGON… [AND] I TOOK AN INITIATIVE… I PICKED UP SOME SANDWICHES AT SAFEWAY. THEN WE HAD ALL THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHOCOLATE BARS AND GOODIES AND GRANOLA BARS AND TRAIL MIX, [INCLUDING] WAGON WHEELS, COOKIES, AND HAD A VARIETY OF SNACKS… I WAS WALKING WITH MY COLLEAGUE, BARBARA, AND WE WERE BOTH TRYING TO ENTICE PEOPLE TO GRAB ONE BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS POLITE AND SAYING, ‘NO, NO, I’M OKAY, I’M OKAY.’ AND WE WERE, ‘NO, TAKE IT. IT’S THE WELCOME WAGON. TAKE SOMETHING,’ AND WE COULD SEE THAT IT JUST LIFTED THEIR SPIRITS… I LIKED THAT EXPRESSION OF ‘THE WELCOME WAGON’… BUT SOME MISHAPS WITH THE WAGON IS THE URNS… [THAT] WE’RE PURCHASING FROM JT AT 'THE COFFEE COMPANY' [ON THE UOFL CAMPUS]. [THE URNS] DON’T HAVE CLOSED LIDS AT THE TOP, (MAYBE IT’S FOR STEAM OR CIRCULATION). SO, IF ONE OF THOSE URNS FELL OVER IT WOULD DUMP. I WOULD FORGET BECAUSE I WAS SO CAUGHT UP IN DOING THE JOB AND GETTING FROM POINT A TO POINT B. SO, I HAD A COUPLE OF URNS THAT WEREN’T NICELY SNUG AND SECURE IN THE WAGON [AND] I HAD A COUPLE OF INCIDENTS WHERE THE URNS SPILT IN MY CAR… BUT IT ALSO SPILT IN THE WAGON A FEW TIMES… I CAN REMEMBER I HAD TO PULL OVER [ONCE] BECAUSE AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN WHOOP UP, I COULD SMELL [THE COFFEE]. LIKE, [AN URN] SPILT BECAUSE, TAKE ONE TURN AND IT FELL OVER. I COULD JUST SENSE IT WAS FILLING UP THAT WAGON AND SURE ENOUGH THERE WAS LIKE AN INCH, MAYBE HALF AN INCH, OF A [COFFEE] SWIMMING POOL IN THE WAGON…” GRIGNARD COMMENTED: “…SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SEE [PICKING UP THE COFFEE] AS CROSSING THE PICKET LINE, BUT WE WERE SUPPORTING A [LOCAL] COFFEE COMPANY AND I NEVER WORRIED…” GRIGNARD SPOKE ON THE AMOUNT OF COFFEE DRANK BY ULFA MEMBERS DURING THE STRIKE: “… IT FLUCTUATED. SOME DAYS THERE WERE SOME REAL HEAVY COFFEE DRINKERS… SOME DAYS THERE WERE LIKE HARDLY ANYONE WAS DRINKING COFFEE… IF I SAW THE COFFEE RUNNING LOW. I WOULD HANG OUT, BUT I USUALLY WOULD STAY UNTIL ABOUT FOUR, SOMETIME TILL CLOSING (FIVE PM). I WOULD STAY UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON TO SEE HOW THEIR COFFEE WAS DOING [ON THE PICKETT LINE] BECAUSE THE SHIFTS WENT, EIGHT TO ELEVEN, ELEVEN TO TWO, AND TWO TILL FIVE. USUALLY, TWO TILL FIVE, FROM MY OBSERVATIONS… THERE WEREN’T HUGE COFFEE DRINKERS…” ON DROPPING OFF COFFEE AND SPENDING TIME ON THE PICKETT LINES, GRIGNARD CONTINUED: “I WOULD HANG OUT THERE [AT THE PENNY PICKETT SITE], VISIT WITH [COLLEAGUES], AND THEN I’D HEAD BACK. I FELT CLOSER TO THE WEST SIDE… THAT’S WHERE I SPEND ALL MY TIME… I WOULD DO THE LAP, (YOU WALK TO SITE ONE TO SITE THREE, ACROSS THE ROAD, WALK BACK)… BUT [OVERALL] I JUST LOVED BEING WITH MY COLLEAGUES… WHEN I SAID I TAUGHT ON THE FRIDAYS [AT RED CROW COMMUNITY COLLEGE], AS SOON AS I WAS DONE [TEACHING], I WOULD DRIVE IN TO THE WEST SIDE AND JUST BE WITH [COLLEAGUES] AND TALK…” WHEN ASKED WHAT HIS DAILY SCHEDULE LOOKED LIKE DURING THE STRIKE, GRIGNARD STATED: “I DIDN’T MARK [STUDENTS WORK] - I DIDN’T DO ANY WORK FOR THE U OF L. I RESPECTED THAT REQUEST. [ULFA MEMBERS] TRULY ARE WITHDRAWING OUR LABOR SO I DIDN’T DO ANY WORK AT ALL FOR THE U OF L. I DID DO WORK FOR THE RED CROW [COMMUNITY COLLEGE] BECAUSE IT WAS A DIFFERENT INSTITUTION.” GRIGNARD ADDED: “…THERE WERE DAYS WHEN I SHOULD HAVE WORN MY WINTER JACKET AND HAD MY SPRING JACKET, OR I FORGOT MY GLOVES, AND I WAS FREEZING. THE WIND WAS, (I MEAN THAT’S SO CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS LANDSCAPE AS IT IS), BUT THERE WERE SOME BITING WINDS FOR SURE. THE WINDS WERE UNBEARABLE, ESPECIALLY HOLDING THE PICKET SIGNS… THE WIND WAS CATCHING THE BOARD AND IT WAS, LIKE YOU HAD TO HOLD IT WITH TWO ARMS CLOSE TO YOUR BODY, CLENCHING [THE SIGN] WHILE WALKING AND MAKING SURE YOU’RE NOT TAKING YOUR FACE OUT… [THE WIND AND COLD] ADDED TO THE STRUGGLE. BUT THE DAYS WHERE THERE WAS NO WIND… WHERE YOU COULD JUST LIFT THAT SIGN UP LIGHTLY WITH ONE HAND. YOU COULD WAVE IT, AND YOU’RE JUST MORE FREE…” ON THE HIRED SECURITY GUARDS PRESENT ON CAMPUS DURING THE STRIKE, GRIGNARD SHARED: “…I WOULD DRIVE AND PARK AT THE CHURCH [UNIVERSITY DRIVE ALLIANCE CHURCH] AND GET OUT MY WAGON AND BRING OVER THE URNS OF COFFEE… BUT, WHEN I DROVE ONTO CAMPUS [TO PICK UP THE 10:30AM COFFEE], I DIDN’T, YOU KNOW, START SWEATING. I DIDN’T GET NERVOUS. I THINK IT WAS FAIRLY OBVIOUS, THE UNIVERSITY ALREADY HAS SURVEILLANCE WITHOUT THESE PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS. I’M ON CAMPUS QUITE A BIT. THEY KNOW WHO I AM… THERE WAS ONE TIME WHERE THERE WERE SECURITY GUARDS IN THE SAME PARKING AREA, AND I WAVED TO THEM, [LIKE WITH] ANY [UNIVERSITY] EMPLOYEE…” GRIGNARD REFLECTED ON HIS ROLE IN JAMS BRINGING COFFEE TO THE PICKET LINE: “… PEOPLE JOKED SAYING, ‘YOU’RE ALWAYS THE WELL-LIKED PERSON BECAUSE YOU BRING THE COFFEE’ AND I ALSO BROUGHT LITTLE TREATS, I WOULD GET HOT CHOCOLATE PACKETS, AND FOR THOSE TEA DRINKERS THERE WERE THE HOT WATER CONTAINERS AS WELL… IT WOULD JUST BE COMFORT AND JUST SEEING SOMEONE BRING HOSPITALITY STUFF IS ALWAYS NICE TO SEE. AND IT GOT ME OUT THERE REGULARLY AND PEOPLE RECOGNIZED ME. GENERALLY, THE COLLEAGUES ONLY HAD TO DO THREE SHIFTS, I BELIEVE, FOR THREE HOURS, AND THAT WAS IT. BUT FOR ME IT WAS VARIED, I WAS OUT THERE EVERY DAY AND THEY ARRANGED IT SO I WOULDN’T HAVE TO SIGN IN/SIGN OUT. IT WAS GUARANTEED THAT I WAS ALREADY DOING MORE THAN WAS EXPECTED SO THERE WAS NO CONCERN ABOUT THAT… IT WAS JUST [ABOUT] BEING OUT THERE…” ON WHEN THE ULFA HELD THE STRIKE VOTE, GRIGNARD COMMENTED: “…FOR THAT STRIKE VOTE, I DID CONTRIBUTE TO A VIDEO FOR WHY I WAS VOTING ‘YES’ FOR THE STRIKE VOTE… I WAS GIVEN A LOT OF SUPPORT FOR WHAT I SHARED… I DON’T KNOW IF THERE WAS ANOTHER SESSIONAL INSTRUCTOR THAT SPOKE- BUT I HAVE [THE VIDEO] MEMORIZED BECAUSE I PRACTICED FOR IT, I DIDN’T READ FROM ANY SCRIPT…” GRIGNARD REHEARSED WHAT HE SPOKE IN THE VIDEO: “… ‘THIS SEMESTER I’M TEACHING THREE CLASSES, I’M SUPERVISING AN INDEPENDENT STUDY, AND I’M SITTING IN ON A PHD COMMITTEE FOR SOMEONE WHO IS HOPING TO GRADUATE THIS SEMESTER. I HAVE NO BENEFITS, NO PROFESSIONAL SUPPLEMENTS, AND NO JOB SECURITY. AND SADLY, I’M NOT ALONE. THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO ARE PRECARIOUSLY EMPLOYED WORKING AT THE UNIVERSITY. I’M VOTING ‘YES’ SO THAT THIS TREATMENT WILL STOP. IT’S GONE ON FOR TOO LONG AND IT’S BECOME NORMALIZED. AND IT’S NOT RIGHT’…” ON WHAT HIS EXPERIENCES WERE BEING PRECARIOUSLY EMPLOYED, GRIGNARD EXPLAINED: “…AN EXAMPLE OF A TIME WHERE I WAS, YET AGAIN, ASKED TO STEP IN TWICE, IN THE FALL AND THE SPRING [SEMESTERS], WHICH LED TO ME ACCUMULATING SIX COURSES. THEN WHEN I WAS OFFERED A SUMMER CLASS, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY SEVENTH COURSE… WHEN SOMEONE HAS SEVEN CLASSES, THEY’RE ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS. TECHNICALLY IF YOU GET A FULL YEAR, OR NINE-MONTH TERM POSITION, THAT’S TO BE EXPECTED, [THAT] YOU [WOULD] HAVE SEVEN CLASSES TO TEACH. BUT THE WAY [THE UNIVERSITY HAS] BEEN DOING IT IS THEY’VE BEEN GIVING ME CONTRACTS AND CHUNKS, A NEW CONTRACT BEGINS WITH EVERY SEMESTER… SO WHEN I GOT THAT SEVENTH CLASS, I WAS LIKE, ‘GREAT – THIS WILL GIVE ME THAT SEVENTH CLASS. I WILL GET THE BENEFITS’… A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE A HEAVY TEACHING LOAD, JUST HOW HARD THAT IS ON THE BODY… AND THAT’S WHEN I WENT TO MY FACULTY ASSOCIATION AND SOUGHT THEIR HELP, TO HELP ME, TO GIVE ME THAT WORDING TO BRING TO MY ASSOCIATE TEAM TO MAKE THAT CASE [ABOUT BENEFITS]… [THE UNIVERSITY] SAID TO ME… ‘WE WILL TRY TO FIND ANOTHER INSTRUCTOR FOR THE COURSE, OR WE WILL CANCEL IT’… WAS THE RESPONSE I GOT… [THE UNIVERSITY] GOT ME IN THAT WAY… THEY KNEW I LOVED THAT COURSE SO MUCH AND I ACCEPTED IT… THEY GOT AWAY WITH IT…” GRIGNARD EXPLAINED THE DIFFERENT RANKS FOR TEACHING POSITIONS: “…THE WAY IT WORKS IS I HAD THE MAXIMUM RANK FOR INSTRUCTORS IN MY POSITION. THAT FALL (2020) I HAD INSTRUCTOR THREE, AND THEN THAT SPRING (2021) SEMESTER I HAD INSTRUCTOR THREE. SO, THREE COURSE AND THREE COURSES, THE HIGHEST RANK FOR INSTRUCTOR… NOT ONLY DID I GET REJECTED IN MY OFFER OF WHAT [THE UNIVERSITY] SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAYING ME FOR THE SEVENTH CLASS, BUT THEY DROPPED MY RANK TO INSTRUCTOR TWO… THEY DO THAT DELIBERATELY, SO IF I HAVE TOO MANY INSTRUCTOR THREES, THEN I CAN MAKE THAT ARGUMENT SAYING, ‘WELL, LOOK HOW MANY INSTRUCTOR THREES I’VE HAD FOR THIS MANY SEMESTERS IN A ROW.’ BUT IF I HAVE FLUCTUATION, THEN [THE UNIVERSITY] CAN SAY… ‘YOU HAVEN’T HAD SIX CONSECUTIVE YEARS AS A FULL-TIME INSTRUCTOR. THERE’S BEEN SEMESTERS WHERE YOU’VE ONLY TAUGHT ONE CLASS’… BUT WHAT I’M OFTEN TOLD IS THAT ‘WE HAVE NO MONEY IN THE BUDGET, AND ESPECIALLY THIS SESSIONAL BUDGET,’ MEANING THAT IT WAS SOME PITIFUL SMALL LITTLE BANK ACCOUNT THAT THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY YOU PROPERLY. BUT TIMES LIKE NOW, I CAN RESPOND WITH THIS… ‘THE FACT IS, YOU HAVE MADE MONEY, SAVED MONEY OFF OF PEOPLE THAT YOU’VE EXPLOITED. YOU’VE SAVED MONEY BECAUSE YOU’VE HIRED PEOPLE CHEAPLY TO TEACH THESE COURSES. SO DON’T GIVE ME THAT EXCUSE THAT WE HAVE NO MONEY BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE MADE MONEY OFF THE BACKS OF THOSE THAT YOU’VE EXPLOITED.’ IT’S THAT SIMPLE…” ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ‘SIX CONSECUTIVE YEARS AS A FULL-TIME INSTRUCTOR’ MEANS, GRIGNARD RECALLED: “… I WAS TOLD BY SHELLEY (SCOTT), I WAS TOLD BY A SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR, AND I [ASKED], ‘HOW MANY TERMS CAN SOMEONE HAVE BEFORE THEY COULD ACTUALLY, BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY WOULD SAY YOU HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO ROLL YOU OVER?’ AND SHE SAID, ‘SIX.’ BUT I’M WONDERING IF THAT MEANS SIX FULL ACADEMIC YEARS. SO THAT’S WHY IT’S REALLY MURKY – LIKE WHAT ‘SIX’ MEANS. DOES IT MEAN SIX FULL ACADEMIC YEARS, OR DOES IT MEAN SIX TERMS? BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS. YOU WOULD THINK SIX TERMS ALREADY ON ITS OWN [IS ENOUGH]… WHAT MORE DO THEY WANT?” GRIGNARD CONTINUED ON HIS EXPERIENCES BEING PRECARIOUSLY EMPLOYED, AND HOPE FOR THE ULFA JOB ACTION: “…PART OF THE JOB ACTION WAS… I WAS HOPING FOR SOME LANGUAGE THAT THEY COULD SAY… IF IT WAS CLEAR, I WOULD HAVE HAD A CONTINUING POSITION BY NOW. BUT IT’S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IF YOU WERE TO HAVE 6 TERM POSITIONS… THEN THE UNIVERSITY WOULD CONSIDER, OR BE OBLIGATED, TO ROLL YOU INTO A CONTINUING POSITION. BECAUSE, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THEY DO THAT TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM BEING EXPLOITED AND JUST BE CONTINUOUSLY HIRED ON AS A CONTRACT INSTRUCTOR THAT… LIKE, THEY’VE SOUGHT YOUR SERVICES FOR THIS MANY TIMES SO THERE IS A NEED TO FILL BECAUSE IT’S CLEAR THAT YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER…” “…THIS (SPRING 2021) SEMESTER IS MY TENTH TERM CONTRACT…” ON WHAT HE HOPED WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE NEGOTIATIONS, GRIGNARD STATED: “I KNOW THAT ULFA IS WORKING ON WHAT IS CALLED THE ‘RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.’ I DON’T KNOW HOW THAT WAS RECEIVED WITH THIS RECENT ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS; BUT THEY ARE WORKING TO ENSURE THAT IF A SESSIONAL GETS OFFERED A CLASS THEY CAN BE THAT FIRST ONE TO BE ASKED, THAT FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL. [THE SESSIONAL] WOULD HAVE TO SUBMIT, AFTER THEY COMPLETED [THE TERM], AN INDICATOR THAT THEY DID WELL AND OR THAT THEY GOT GOOD EVALUATIONS, AND THAT THEY’RE INTERESTED IN TEACHING IT AGAIN. SO THAT WOULD ENSURE THAT THEY WOULD BE APPROACHED [FIRST] AS OPPOSED TO, ‘WELL, WE’LL JUST HIRE SOMEONE THAT’S CHEAPER NEXT TIME’… THERE WAS A LOT ON THE TABLE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO GET THROUGH FOR SESSIONALS.” GRIGNARD ADDED: “…AND IN TERMS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, GIVE PEOPLE IN MY POSITIONS [AS SESSIONALS] SOMETHING TO WORK TOWARDS… IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK TO WORK OUT A PLAN?... IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK TO TURN TO YOUR EMPLOYER AND SAY, ‘HOW CAN YOU HELP ME DEVELOP AND GROW HERE IN MY CAREER AND IN MY PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT?’ I DON’T THINK IT’S A REALLY DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ANSWER. AND WHEN I DO ASK THAT, I’M NOT GIVEN A RESPONSE.” GRIGNARD REFLECTED ON THE RESULTS FROM THE NEGOTIATIONS: “I WOULD HOPE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE SOME LANGUAGE CREATED THAT WOULD HELP PEOPLE IN MY POSITION WHO HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT LOYALTY FOR AS LONG AS WE HAVE, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE SOME CONVERSION LANGUAGE… IT IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS LIKE, ‘ONCE AGAIN, WE’LL TALK ABOUT IT AND WE’LL PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT IT’…” ON GOING INTO THE RATIFICATION VOTE, GRIGNARD COMMENTED: “…THE WAY THAT THEY WORDED IT WAS, ‘THERE WAS ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE EXECUTIVE FOR US TO VOTE ‘YES.’ YOU’D BE VOTING YES TO RATIFY’… THEY SAID VOTING ‘YES’ WAS NOT TO SAY YOU LIKED IT… THAT WAS THE ‘YES,’ IT WASN’T A SHOW OF SUPPORT OR THAT YOU BELIEVED THAT WAS THE BEST OUR NEGOTIATING TEAM COULD GET…” GRIGNARD CONTINUED: “…I UNDERSTAND THAT [ULFA] RESOURCES WERE DEPLETED. WE NEEDED TO SAVE THE SEMESTER. WE WERE BACKED INTO A CORNER AND WE REALIZED THAT, AND IT WAS LIKE A STALEMATE, THAT WE COULDN’T MAKE ANY MORE GAINS AND IT TRULY WAS THE BEST WE WERE GOING TO GET. SO, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I STUCK TO MY GUNS AND I VOTED ‘NO’ [TO THE RATIFY VOTE]…” ON THE RESULTS OF THE RATIFICATION VOTE, GRIGNARD OBSERVED: “…IT’S FAIRLY OBVIOUS EVERYONE KNOWS HOW THIS IS GOING TO END. SO THEN HAVING THIS SCHEDULE OF HOW THE WEEK WAS GOING TO LOOK; THAT THE RATIFICATION VOTE WOULD HAPPEN ON THE MONDAY AND BACK TO CLASSES ON WEDNESDAY. IT WAS ALREADY A DONE DEAL. I SENSED THAT AND SO THERE WAS ALREADY THAT PREPARATION [FOR CLASSES]…” GRIGNARD REFLECTED: “…WE’VE ALWAYS SAID WE CAN’T BE NAÏVE THAT WE’RE GOING TO GET EVERYTHING WE WANT IN THIS NEGOTIATION… BUT AT LEAST ISSUES WILL BE RAISED… AND THERE WERE GAINS. ALL MY COLLEAGUES SAY THAT THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT GAINS. THE PROFESSIONALS DID GET A PAY INCREASE BUT FOR MYSELF… RIGHT NOW IN THIS MOMENT, NOTHING HAS CHANGED… I HAVE TO PROCEED WITH HOPE KNOWING THAT IT’S REALLY HARD… WE’VE GOT TO BE PATIENT… [BUT] I FEEL LIKE WE LOST THE BATTLE…” ON WHAT HIS HEADSPACE IS FOLLOWING THE ULFA STRIKE, GRIGNARD STATED: “…WE JUST RETURNED FROM JOB ACTION AFTER ABOUT 6 WEEKS… BACK TO CLASSES LAST WEEK… SO I’VE ALREADY MET WITH ALL THE CLASSES AND EXPLAINED HOW THE REMAINDER OF THE SEMESTER IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BECAUSE ALL THE INSTRUCTORS HAVE HAD TO RE-STRUCTURE THEIR COURSE TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES, SO THAT IT’S A FAIR REMAINDER OF THEIR COURSES… I SENSED THAT I’VE BEEN FAIR WITH THE PROPOSAL; I CREATED DRAFTS OF THE REVISIONS AND I’VE WELCOMED STUDENTS INTO THE PROCESS OF WHAT THEY BELIEVE WOULD BE FAIR GOING FORWARD… SO FAR, THE STUDENTS HAVE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE AND QUITE HAPPY ABOUT IT, AND WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY IS WHEN I CAN SEE THEIR EXCITEMENT WHEN THEY SEE THAT, ‘HEY, THIS IS POSSIBLE. I CAN DO THIS’ BECAUSE A LOT OF THEM, YOU KNOW, WERE IN DESPAIR AND ANXIOUS… NOT KNOWING IF THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO PULL IT OFF. SO, I SAID, ‘YOU KNOW, IT IS POSSIBLE’… I KNOW I’M DIFFERENT FROM THE MAJORITY OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE CONTINUING POSITIONS… I HAD TO EXPLAIN TO THE STUDENTS THAT, FOR PEOPLE IN MY POSITION (AT LEAST AS I SEE IT), I DON’T BELIEVE WE GOT ANYTHING FROM ALL OF THIS. BUT IT’S REALLY HARD FOR ME TO SAY THAT BECAUSE, AS I’VE BEEN SHARING WITH MANY PEOPLE, IT’S STILL TOO SOON TO KNOW WHAT WE TRULY GOT OUT OF IT…” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE WAGON, NEWS ARTICLES ON THE ULFA STRIKE, DONOR SUPPLIED IMAGES, EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE WITH MEMBERS OF THE ULFA, AND TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ULFA STRIKE IN 2022, INLCUDING MACLEAN’S INTERVIEW WITH AARON RICHARDSON, A STUDENT AT THE UOFL DURING THE STRIKE; DR. JENNIFER MATHER, A PROFESSOR IN THE PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT DURING THE STRIKE; AND DR. JOSEPHINE MILLS, A PROFESSOR IN THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT AND DIRECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE ART GALLERY DURING THE STRIKE, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILES P20220012001–P20220012004-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20220015000

Acquisition Date

2022-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail