Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

“RESPECT”

Date

2022

Materials

PLASTIC, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Height

0.3

Diameter

4.5

Description

WHITE BUTTON WITH BLUE CIRCLE AND YELLOW TEXT, “RESPECT.” METAL SAFETY PIN BACKING IS DISCOLOURED ALONG EDGES, EDGES OF BUTTON ARE CREASED INSIDE PLASTIC. OVERALL VERY GOOD - EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

EDUCATION

ASSOCIATIONS

COMMEMORATIVE

History

ON NOVEMBER 22, 2022, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED DR. JOSEPHINE (JOSIE) MILLS ABOUT TWO PICKETING SIGNS, AND TWO BUTTONS RELATED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE FACULTY ASSOCIATION (ULFA) STRIKE; THE STRIKE STARTED FEBRUARY 10, 2022, AT 11:00AM AND LASTED APPROXIMATELY SIX WEEKS, WITH CLASSES RESUMING MARCH 23, 2022. DR. MILLS, AT THE TIME OF THE INTERVIEW, HAS BEEN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE SINCE 2001; AS A PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF FINE ARTS, AND AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE ART GALLERY (ULAG). DR. MILLS EXPLAINED WHERE THE IDEA FOR MAKING THE BUTTONS CAME FROM: “… THE BUTTON-MAKING WAS PARTLY THAT I WAS HELPING THE PEOPLE WHO NEEDED TO DO WORK, OTHER WORK, AND NOT BE OOMN THE PICKET LINE...” DR. MILLS ELABORATED ON THE BUTTONS: “… THE IDEA WAS TO ALSO MAKE BUTTONS [ALONGSIDE THE SIGNS]… I HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF MAKING BUTTONS, BECAUSE [AS] YOU DO IN ARTS ORGANIZATIONS… [ULFA] HAD THIS DECREPIT MACHINE, THAT I COULDN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE WORK. IT WAS REALLY FRUSTRATING, BECAUSE WE HAVE A NICE NEW MACHINE IN THE ART GALLERY, BUT OBVIOUSLY I COULDN’T ACCESS IT. SO, THERE WAS A LOT OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE MACHINE WORKED, AND WHO IT ACTUALLY BELONGED TO, AND WHO COULD GIVE YOU THE INSTRUCTIONS… THERE WAS A WOMAN IN HEALTH SCIENCES WHO’D COME FROM TEXAS, AND SHE’D BEEN ILL, AND SHE JUST HAD A MISERABLE TIME [DURING THE STRIKE]… SO WE WERE AT HQ, AND JUST STRUGGLING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THIS THING WORK…” ON FABRICATING THE BUTTONS, DR. MILLS EXPLAINED: “… [WHAT] YOU HAD TO DO [TO] MAKE THE PAPER CUT. I DID THE PRINTING. SOMEBODY ELSE DESIGNED THE PATTERNS THAT WENT ON THEM, BUT I JUST GOT THEM PRINTED AT ‘STAPLES’, AND THEN WE HAD LIKE A DULL PAPER CUTTER… WE FINALLY FIGURED OUT, ALSO THE PIECES THAT GO WITH THE BUTTONS… WE JUST PERSEVERED, AND THEN I REMEMBER WHEN WE ACTUALLY SUCCEEDED, DOING THE ‘HAPPY DANCE’. WE WERE INORDINATELY PLEASED WHEN WE FINALLY MANAGED TO START CHURNING OUT BUTTONS. SO, MOSTLY I JUST HELPED HER SOURCE THE MATERIALS… AND, OF COURSE, WAS HAVING AN INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING TIME, WITH A MACHINE THAT DIDN’T ACTUALLY WORK… SHE DID ALL OF THE ACTUAL CRANKING – CUTTING THEM OUT AND CRANKING… WE MADE ONE ROUND OF BUTTONS. I CAME IN AND WORKED FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS WITH HER, AND THEN SHE SPENT THE REST OF THE DAY [MAKING BUTTONS]…” DR. MILLS CONTINUED ON THE FEEDBACK AND THE DESIGNS MADE: “… EVERYBODY LOVED THEM, AND THEY WERE SNAPPED UP ON THE LINE… THEN WE CAME BACK, AND BY THE SECOND TIME, WE STARTED TO GET THINGS FIGURED OUT BETTER. WE MADE A LOT MORE OF THEM… WE ENDED UP MAKING ABOUT A COUPLE HUNDRED BUTTONS. SO, WE MADE THE ONES THAT WERE ‘RESPECT,’ AND THEN HAD THE ‘ULFA’ LOGO. AND I’M NOT SURE ABOUT THE ‘FACULTY SUCCESS, STUDENT SUCCESS’. IT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ONE I WAS THRILLED WITH, BECAUSE IT’S TOO MESSY A MESSAGING.” DR. MILLS COMMENTED: “…I SPILLED COFFEE ON MY BACKPACK, SO I HAD TO TAKE STUFF OFF IT, BUT I STILL HAVE A ‘RESPECT’ BUTTON THAT I PUT BACK…” ON THE LACK OF A CONTRACT AND COMMUNICATION FROM UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION, DR. MILLS STATED: “…IT WAS 600, AND SOME, DAYS, SO WE’D BEEN ALMOST TWO YEARS WITHOUT A LEGAL CONTRACT… AND WE WERE GETTING NO COMMUNICATIONS – ZERO FROM THE SENIOR ADMINISTRATION. ULFA DID A REALLY GOOD JOB… THEY WERE SUPER-CLEAR IN THEIR COMMUNICATIONS; THEY WERE REALLY TRANSPARENT; THEY WERE REALLY FAIR. THEY COMMUNICATED WITH THE STUDENTS. THEY HELD ZOOM SESSIONS. THEY ALLOWED PEOPLE TO ASK QUESTIONS, WHEREAS THE SENIOR ADMINISTRATION FELT LIKE MARIE ANTOINETTE, HURLING EDICTS FROM BEHIND A CASTLE WALL. IT WAS SO ABSURD! AND THE THING IS, THAT IN A UNIVERSITY THE DIVISION BETWEEN FACULTY AND MANAGEMENT, (THE WORKERS AND MANAGEMENT), IS A VERY FRAIL LINE. IT’S NOT LIKE A FACTORY WORKER, WHERE YOU’RE JUST GOING TO BE A FACTORY WORKER, AND THEN MANAGEMENT ARE [THE] RICH PEOPLE, WHOSE FAMILY OWN THE COMPANY… YOU GO BACK-AND-FORTH. YOU MIGHT BE AN ASSOCIATE DEAN, OR YOU MIGHT HAVE OTHER RESPONSIBILITY. SO, THERE ISN’T THIS TRENCH BETWEEN US… AND THE NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE UNIONIZED STAFF AND NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE JUNIOR MANAGEMENT WAS JUST GOB SMACKING, TO ME. I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW INCOMPETENT YOU’D HAVE TO BE, TO NOT FIGURE THIS OUT. AND TO NOT THINK THAT THERE’S ALL SORTS OF BALLS GETTING DROPPED ALL OVER THE PLACE.” WHEN ASKED IF SHE THOUGHT IT WAS EVER EVEN GOING TO GO TO THE STRIKE VOTE, DR. MILLS COMMENTED: “OH, I THOUGHT IT WOULD GET SETTLED BECAUSE THE THING IS, THE RUMORS WERE, THE BELIEF FROM SENIOR ADMINISTRATION WAS THAT IT WAS A SMALL GROUP OF MALCONTENTS… I THINK THEY ALSO COMPLETELY UNDERESTIMATED THE EMPATHY OF THE RESEARCH FACULTY FOR THE TEACHING FACULTY, AND THE FACT THAT, AGAIN, THERE’S NOT A HARD DIVISION. THERE’S PEOPLE WHO BECOME INSTRUCTORS, OR BECOME TERMS, WHO WERE MY FORMER STUDENTS, AND THAT’S THE SAME FOR EVERYBODY AT THE UNIVERSITY… LOTS OF THE RESEARCH FACULTY, WE UNDERSTAND, BUT THE SOLIDARITY JUST INCREASED, BECAUSE YOU SPENT TIME ON THE PICKET LINE. AND YOU’D HAVE THE SAME SHIFTS, SO YOU’D TALK TO PEOPLE, AND JUST REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE UNFAIRNESS OF HOW THE INSTRUCTORS ARE TREATED, AND THEY’RE DOING THE BULK OF THE TEACHING… THERE WAS A STATISTIC ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AGAINST OTHER UNIVERSITIES, AND WE WERE JUST SO POORLY PAID, COMPARED TO OTHER UNIVERSITIES. IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE WE ARE 30-SOME PERCENT LOWER THAN [OTHER UNIVERSITIES] IN TERMS OF HOW [MUCH] WE ARE PAID...” DR. MILLS NOTED: “… THE OFFER THAT WE HAD, UP UNTIL WE WERE ON STRIKE, WAS A 4% RETROACTIVE CUT FOR 2 YEARS, SO WE WOULD BE ACTUALLY CUT 4% ON SALARY WE HAD ALREADY PAID TAXES ON. HOW WOULD YOU EVEN IMPLEMENT THAT?... I MEAN, IT WAS ABSURD. WE DID NOT END UP WITH A GOOD DEAL… [BUT] WE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED A WORSE DEAL TO AVOID THE STRIKE… DR. MILLS COMMENTED: “… I DIDN’T WANT TO GO ON STRIKE, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE SITUATION HAD GOT TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAD TO GO ON STRIKE…” DR. MILLS RESPONDED ON THE RESULTS OF THE STRIKE VOTE: “… SO IT WAS VERY, VERY STRONG, AND YOU THOUGHT THAT, AT THAT POINT, SENIOR ADMINISTRATION WOULD GO, ‘OH, OK, SO WE’RE DEALING WITH INCREDIBLE SOLIDARITY, AND THIS MEANS THAT RESEARCH SCIENTISTS ARE VOTING YES.’ YOU JUST DO THE NUMBERS, RIGHT?... THIS MEANS IT’S NOT JUST THE INSTRUCTORS AND IT CERTAINLY ISN’T A FEW MALCONTENTS…” DR. MILLS COMMENTED ON THE ADMINISTRATION LEADERSHIP DURING THIS TIME: “… BECAUSE I DO MANAGEMENT, ONE OF THE BIG PARTS OF BEING IN MANAGEMENT IS YOU HAVE TO RESOLVE DIFFERENCES, AND WORK WITH PEOPLE THAT YOU DON’T LIKE. AND ALL THE RUMORS ARE THAT THE PRESIDENT, AND THE PROVOST REALLY DISLIKE THE PRESIDENT OF THE FACULTY ASSOCIATION, AND SOME OF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE. SO, IT’S LIKE, YOU KNOW, ‘PUT ON YOUR BIG BOY PANTS, AND GET OVER IT.’ DON’T LOCK HORNS, AND SAY, ‘I’M GOING TO WIN’… THERE’S A THING WHERE YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE GREATER GOOD AT THE UNIVERSITY. THE THING THAT I HAVE REALLY TAKEN AWAY FROM THIS (I’VE SAID THIS TO LOTS OF PEOPLE, AND I AM A TENURED FULL PROFESSOR, SO I DON’T MIND SAYING THIS) IS IT JUST SHOWED THAT OUR PRESIDENT (MIKE MAHON) DOESN’T HAVE PROPER LEADERSHIP SKILLS. AND HE’S DONE A REALLY, REALLY GOOD JOB IN TERMS OF THE INDIGENIZATION OF THE UNIVERSITY. HE CAME IN AND MADE THAT CLEAR THAT THAT WAS WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO, AND WE HAVE AN INDIGENOUS CHANCELLOR, AND YOU’VE JUST SEEN THE TRANSFORMATION, SO THERE’S ALL THIS GOOD WORK THAT’S HAPPENED. BUT I REALLY DO THINK IT’S THE THING WHERE WHEN PEOPLE, WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT A LEADER, IT’S THIS TALL, WHITE MAN, RIGHT? CONFIDENT-ACTING, AND HOOP DEE-DO-DO. AND I THINK YOU JUST GET AWAY WITH IT BECAUSE WHEN YOU’RE PUT IN A LEADERSHIP POSITION, PEOPLE GO, ‘HE’S THE LEADER. YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT THEY SAY.’ BUT IT ACTUALLY SHOWED AN INCREDIBLE LACK OF LEADERSHIP SKILLS. THE POOR COMMUNICATION. THE NOT BEING ABLE TO DEAL WITH THE DIFFICULTY. AND I GET THAT HAVING COME THROUGH BOTH THE BUDGET CUTS, AND THE PANDEMIC WOULD HAVE BEEN HORRIFICALLY DIFFICULT, BUT, WHAT THE HECK?” ON HOW IT WAS BEING ON THE PICKET LINE, DR. MILLS RECALLED: “… I LIVE ON THE WEST SIDE, SO I WAS DOING THE PICKETING AT THE CAMPUS… IT WAS SUPER WELL-ORGANIZED, SO WHEN YOU GET THERE, THERE WERE PICKET CAPTAINS… THEY HAD REALLY PREPARED FOR IT. AND THEN, YOU SIGNED IN AT A TABLE, BECAUSE, OF COURSE, WE WERE GETTING STRIKE PAY. YOU COULD GET A SAFETY VEST… [AND] BASICALLY, WHEN PEOPLE WERE DONE WITH THE SIGNS, THEY JUST PILED THEM UP BY THE TABLE, SO EACH SHIFT JUST PICKED UP SIGNS… THEN THERE WERE BIGGER FLAGS, AND BANNERS, DEPENDING ON HOW WINDY IT WAS… SOME DAYS, IT WAS SO WINDY CARRYING THESE [SIGNS] WAS NOT AMUSING. I REMEMBER HOLDING IT, BASICALLY BRACED AGAINST MY CHEST. OTHERWISE, I WAS GOING TO CATCH A SAIL… IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE THE FACULTY, I MEAN EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT SKILL SETS AND IT REALLY KICKED IN…” DR. MILLS ADDED: “… THERE WAS A WHOLE THING ABOUT THAT YOU HAD TO DO ‘X’ NUMBER OF HOURS A WEEK. IT WAS EITHER 3 PICKETING SHIFTS, BUT THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO COULDN’T… PHYSICALLY THEY COULDN’T; THEY WERE AWAY. ONE OF THE BIZARRE THINGS WAS, EVEN PEOPLE WHO WERE ON SABBATICAL WERE INCLUDED, WHICH THEY SHOULDN’T’ HAVE BEEN, BUT IT’S PROBABLY THE SORT OF THING THAT, IF YOU TOOK IT TO COURT, THEY’D SAY ‘NO’. BUT IT’D DRAG THROUGH THE COURTS FOR YEARS, AND WHAT’S THE POINT?...” ON THE UNIVERSITY-HIRED SECURITY DURING THE STRIKE, DR. MILLS RECALLED: “… THE SENIOR ADMINISTRATION TREATED US LIKE WE WERE CRIMINALS. FIRST DAY WE ARRIVED [TO PICKET], THEY HAD PRIVATE SECURITY SITTING. THEY PUT UP CAMERAS TO [OBSERVE]. WHAT WERE WE GOING TO DO? WE’RE PROFESSORS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. THEY’RE JUST A BUNCH OF NERDS! AND THEN, THE ARCHAEOLOGY FACULTY (KEVIN MCGEOUGH AND SHAWN BUBEL), BECAUSE WE WEREN’T ALLOWED ON UNIVERSITY PROPERTY, THEY PUT IN THEIR SURVEYING SKILLS, AND THEY PUT LITTLE ORANGE FLAGS ALL THE WAY ALONG UNIVERSITY DRIVE ON CAMPUS, WHERE WE WERE ALLOWED TO GO. BUT I MEAN IT WAS RIDICULOUS… BECAUSE THERE WAS ONE POINT WHERE I’M PRESUMING IT WAS LIKE AN UNDERCOVER COP. A GUY CAME WALKING ALONG, JUST ON THE EDGE OF THE ROAD, (BECAUSE WE WERE LINED UP ON UNIVERSITY DRIVE), AND JUST HOLDING HIS CELL PHONE UP, AND CLEARLY JUST GETTING EVERYONE’S FACE, AND I WAS JUST KIND OF LIKE ‘WAIT. WHAT IS HE -?’ I MEAN WE ARE LEGALLY ON STRIKE, AND YOU COULDN’T BE NERDIER…” DR. MILLS ADDED ON ANOTHER EXPERIENCE ALONG THE PICKET LINE: “… AT ONE POINT, A PICKUP TRUCK STOPPED. I WAS TALKING TO MY FRIEND, MARK ROUSSEL, WHO IS A CHEMIST (A CHEM. PROF) AND WE’RE WEARING MASKS ON THE LINE… THE GUY LEANS OUT, YOU KNOW. ‘TAKE OFF YOUR F -IN MASKS!’ AND MARK LOOKS AT HIM, AND JUST SAYS, ‘I’M PART OF AN MNRA LAB.’ AND HE COULDN’T HAVE HAD A NERDIER RESPONSE!... HE ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS HOW A VACCINE WORKS, YOU DORK!...” ON STUDENT SUPPORT DURING THE STRIKE, DR. MILLS COMMENTED: “… BECAUSE OF MY JOB, I WORK WITH SENIOR ADMINISTRATION A LOT. AND ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR OF THE UNIVERSITY HALL IS WHERE THE PRESIDENT’S AND VICE-PRESIDENT’S OFFICE, IN AN AREA THAT HAS A DOOR YOU ENTER, AND THEN YOU’RE IN LIKE ANOTHER CORRIDOR, AND OFFICES… THEY PUT LIKE A DIGITAL LOCK, AND A PASS-CARD FOR THOSE WHO WORK THERE. AND, BECAUSE THE STUDENTS WERE AMAZING. THEY ACTUALLY DID A ‘SIT-IN’ [DURING THE STRIKE], THEN YOU SEE, ON SOCIAL MEDIA… THE U OF L PRESIDENT, MIKE MAHON, STEPPING OVER THEM. FOR GOD’S SAKES! SO, THEY’VE NOW PUT IN THAT YOU HAVE TO PRESS A BUZZER TO GET IN, AND I KEEP THINKING I AM GOING TO GET ELECTROCUTED WHEN I PRESS IT. IT’LL BE LIKE A JOKE ‘BZZZ’ BUZZER, BUT THEY HOOKED IT UP, SO IT’S STILL THERE. [ADMINISTRATION IS] LITERALLY BEHIND A LOCKED DOOR. I MEAN FOR WHAT? IT SEEMS COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS TO ME!...” DR. MILLS REITERATED HOW THE PICKET LINES WERE RAN, AND THE SUPPORT FROM STUDENTS: “… THE ACTUAL PICKET LINES WERE RUN SUPER-WELL. PEOPLE FROM THE DRAMA DEPARTMENT WERE AWESOME AT IT, BECAUSE, OF COURSE, THEY KNOW HOW TO STAGE, AND ORGANIZE. PEOPLE WOULD COME AND COOK FOR US, WE HAD REALLY GOOD FOOD. AND THE MUSIC STUDENTS, (EXCEPT WHEN IT WAS TOO COLD)… WOULD COME AND PLAY MUSIC… THERE WERE A LOT OF STUDENTS WHO JOINED US ON THE PICKET LINES, SO THAT WAS NICE, TOO. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THEY WERE PEOPLE WHO I HADN’T REALLY SEEN IN PERSON, BECAUSE WE HAD BEEN TEACHING ON-LINE, SO THEN, DISCOVERING, ‘OH, YOU ARE A WAY SHORTER THAN I REALIZED,’ OR ‘YOU’RE A LOT TALLER THAN I REALIZED’…” DR. MILLS COMMENTED ON CONSEQUENCES FROM THE STRIKE: “… I WORKED HERE [AT THE UNIVERSITY] FOR 21 YEARS, AND BEEN REALLY HAPPY WORKING HERE, UNTIL, AS WE SLID INTO THIS [STRIKE]… JUST WAS SO DEPRESSING, AND DEMORALIZING, AND IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. BUT, I MEAN, THE STUDENTS WERE THE ONES THAT PAID THE BIGGEST PRICE, IN COMING IN AFTER PANDEMIC, AND THE FACT THAT IT WENT ON FOR SIX WEEKS… THE U OF L ALUMNI ARE SO FIERCELY LOYAL TO THE U OF L, IT’S INCREDIBLE… AND [ADMINISTRATION] JUST DESTROYED THAT FOR… THIS GROUP OF STUDENTS [THAT] ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT. IT HAS AFFECTED OUR ENROLMENT…” DR. MILLS ADDED: “…BUT THE STUDENTS… WHEN THEY CAME BACK… THE SEMESTER WENT INTO MAY, WHICH MEANT THOSE STUDENTS, WHOSE LEASES END AT THE END OF APRIL, HAD TO FIND SOMEWHERE TO LIVE, OR RENT FOR AN ENTIRE OTHER MONTH. AND ALSO, THE STUDENTS NORMALLY START THEIR SUMMER JOBS, THEY CAN [START] WORK FULL-TIME STARTING MAY 1… THERE WAS A STUDENT I WAS WORKING WITH, AN INDIGENOUS STUDENT… HE HAD TO LOSE A [WORK] CONTRACT, BECAUSE HE COULDN’T START MAY 1. AND, I MEAN, THE CLASS THAT HE WAS TAKING WITH ME, I WAS LIKE, ‘YEAH, YOU CAN BE WRAPPED UP. WHEN YOU’RE DONE, YOU’RE DONE THE END OF APRIL. YOU’RE NOT DOING ANY WORK INTO MAY.’ BUT HE HAD OTHER CLASSES THROUGH DHILLON’S SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, SO HE LOST, LIKE A THREE-WEEK CONTRACT, BECAUSE HE COULDN’T START THE JOB THREE DAYS LATE.” DR. MILLS CONTINUED ON CONSEQUENCES RELATED TO WORKING AT THE UNIVERISTY ART GALLERY: “…THE THING THAT WAS REALLY APPALLING IS I’M THE DIRECTOR OF THE ART GALLERY, SO I’M, IN-FACT, MANAGEMENT, BUT I’M NOT, BECAUSE I AM FACULTY, AND YOU ARE EITHER FACULTY OR YOU’RE NOT. IT’S LIKE YOU CAN’T BE HALF-PREGNANT… THE WORK I DO IS HALF-FACULTY, AND HALF- RUNNING THE GALLERY... I MANAGE STAFF; I MANAGE A BUDGET… ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. AND THEY JUST LOCKED US OUT COMPLETELY, SO I WAS LOCKED OUT OF MY E-MAIL; LOCKED OUT OF ON-LINE FORMS; AND PHYSICALLY NOT ALLOWED TO GO IN [TO THE GALLERY]. BUT HERE’S THE KICKER. WE HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER, WHO IS AN APO… THEY ARE EXEMPT FROM THE UNION, AND THEY ARE JUNIOR MANAGEMENT. AND HE GOT ZERO COMMUNICATION… NORMALLY, IN A STRIKE… YOU BRING IN ALL THE MANAGEMENT TOGETHER, BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO FILL-IN, AND YOU’RE GOING TO COVER ESSENTIAL THINGS. NOTHING! CRICKETS! HE GOT NO INFORMATION! SO, I GOT A PASS. I CHECKED WITH THE UNION AND GOT A PASS TO BE ALLOWED TO VIRTUALLY CROSS THE PICKET LINE, SO THAT I COULD TALK TO JON (OXLEY), BECAUSE, I MEAN, WE MANAGE GRANTS, SO WE WERE EXPECTING ANOTHER CANADIAN HERITAGE GRANT. WE HAD A REPORT DUE…” “… THEN, THE HILARIOUS THING, JON TOLD ME, AS THE STRIKE WORE ON, THERE WERE JOURNAL TRANSFERS THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN, AND I’M THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO DO THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE FEDERAL GRANT MONEY THAT COMES TO THE GALLERY, AND THAT WAS WHEN IT WAS KIND OF LIKE, ‘OH, WE CAN’T DO THIS. WE CAN’T AUTHORIZE SOMEONE ELSE TO DO THIS, OTHER THAN JOSIE.’ AND [ADMINISTRATION] STILL DIDN’T GIVE UP. BUT, I MEAN, THEY DID FAR WORSE THINGS. THEY WOULDN’T LET THE NURSE PRACTICUM STUDENTS – THE UNION WANTED TO HAVE THAT EXEMPT. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION WOULDN’T LET IT HAPPEN… ANYBODY SUBMITTING A RESEARCH GRANT WASN’T ABLE TO GET [THE GRANT], THE UNIVERSITY HAS TO SIGN OFF ON THEM, SO I MEAN POTENTIALLY COSTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. FOR ONE OF THE NEUROSCIENTISTS I TALKED TO… HE HAD TO SWITCH WITH THE FACULTY OF THE U OF C WITH THE LEAD ON THE GRANT, AND HE HAD TO MOVE TO A SUPPORT ROLE. I WAS REVIEWING GRANTS FOR SSHRC- SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA – SO I HAD TO CONTACT THEM AND GET THEM TO REACH ME ON MY PRIVATE E-MAIL. I MEAN, IT WAS EMBARRASSING… WHY WOULD YOU JEOPARDIZE THE RESEARCH FUNDING?...” ON WHAT SHE DID AFTER COMING BACK FROM STRIKE, AND THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENT ON CAMPUS, DR. MILLS REFLECTED: “[THE STRIKE] WAS SIX WEEKS... THE PRESIDENT, HE’S DONE AT THE END OF JUNE, AND SO IT’S THAT KIND OF NO AUTHORITY IS LEFT. IT’S BASICALLY WE’RE JUST WAITING FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT. BUT I COULDN’T GET OVER JUST HOW DEMORALIZED [I WAS], I JUST FELT LIKE THIS SLUG OF DESPAIR, DRAGGING MYSELF BACK INTO WORK AFTER THE STRIKE WAS OVER. I WASN’T TEACHING THAT SEMESTER BECAUSE I HAVE ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY. [BUT] I HAD A COUPLE OF STUDENTS WHO I TOOK ON FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES, AND I JUST BASICALLY, WITH THEM [SAID], ‘YOU’VE DONE YOUR WORK. YOU’RE GOOD. FOCUS ON CRAMMING YOUR OTHER CLASSES IN BY THE END’…” DR. MILLS RECALLED PARTICIPATING IN A VOTE OF NON-CONFIDENCE AFTER THE STRIKE: “IT WAS RIGHT AFTER WE CAME BACK TO WORK, SO IT WAS WHILE THE SEMESTER WAS ON… IT WAS ORGANIZED INDEPENDENTLY BY A REALLY HIGH-PROFILE RESEARCH FACULTY, WHO WERE SO ANGRY ABOUT THE MESSING WITH RESEARCH GRANTS, BUT WE HAD A VOTE OF NON-CONFIDENCE IN THE PRESIDENT AND THE TOP TWO VICE-PRESIDENTS. AND, AGAIN, THEY HAD A HUGE TURNOUT, AND WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION; [FOR EXAMPLE] IN THE ART DEPARTMENT, (BECAUSE THE DISCUSSION WAS THAT WE VOTED BY DEPARTMENT), SO WE HAD A REALLY GOOD KIND OF CONSENSUS TRUST THING. ‘DID EVERYBODY FEEL GOOD TO VOTE YES?’, THAT WE DIDN’T WANT TO BE SPLIT WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT, AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS WERE THE SAME. THEN THERE WAS THE WORRYING ABOUT REPERCUSSIONS FOR THE UN-TENURED, AND JUNIOR FACULTY, SO IT WAS PARTLY ALSO THAT THOSE OF US WHO WERE TENURED WOULD STEP UP, AND WE WOULD DO IT DEPARTMENT-BY-DEPARTMENT. SO, THERE WERE CERTAIN PARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY THAT DIDN’T PARTICIPATE. I’M PRETTY SURE DHILLON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS DIDN’T. BUT, AGAIN, IT WAS A HUGE NUMBER OF FACULTY THAT VOTED, AND JUST THIS HILARIOUS LETTER FROM THE BOARD CHAIR, SAYING THAT IT DIDN’T MEAN ANYTHING, AND IT WAS A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE...” DR. MILLS REFLECTED ON REPAIRING RELATIONSHIPS AFTER THE STRIKE: “… THE THING THAT HAS BEEN NOTICEABLE IS THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE, THAT ARE MORE LIKE THE DEANS, OR ASSOCIATE DEANS, AND THEY’VE STARTED WORKING ON REBUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, BECAUSE THE THING IS THE WORST PART OF A STRIKE IS AFTER THE STRIKE IS OVER, BECAUSE YOU’VE HAD SUCH BAD BLOOD THAT’S BEEN CREATED, AND SO IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK TO REPAIR THAT. YOU CAN’T JUST STICK YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND AND IGNORE IT.” ON HOW THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT WAS AFFECTING THE SITUATION DURING NEGOTIATIONS, DR. MILLS COMMENTED: “WE KNOW THAT, AT THE MEETING WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING THE CONTRACT THAT WE VOTED ON, WE WERE TOLD THAT… THE BOARD NEGOTIATORS, THAT ONE OF THE ULFA FACULTY NEGOTIATING TEAM COULD HEAR THEM TALKING TO THE REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTLY FROM THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT, WHICH IS JUST FLAT-OUT ILLEGAL, BUT, AGAIN, YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE IT TO COURT? IT’LL GO ON FOR YEARS! AND THAT THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT WERE BEING DICTATED DIRECTLY BY THE PROVINCE. THAT THEY [THE GOVERNMENT] QUITE SPECIFICALLY WANTED US TO HAVE A WORSE DEAL THAN THE U OF A, BECAUSE WE WENT ON STRIKE. BUT I THINK THERE WAS ALSO [THE IDEA]… TO [SEND A MESSAGE TO] US, BASICALLY. AND THEN THERE’S BEEN A LONG-STANDING – ALBERTA RIGHT-WING GOVERNMENTS HATE LETHBRIDGE BECAUSE… WE’RE A LITTLE LIBERAL, A LITTLE LEFTIE, CENTRIST- LEFTIE COMMUNITY… ANYWAY THEY INSISTED, SO WE GOT A WORSE DEAL THAN THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA DID. AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA ALSO AVERTED THE STRIKE, AND I MEAN THAT WAS THEIR SENIOR ADMINISTRATION. THEY NEVER WERE OFFERING A CUT OF 4% RETROACTIVE… IT HAD NEVER BEEN DISCUSSED WITH U OF A. BUT, YEAH, THEY GOT A BETTER CONTRACT THAN WE DID. AND WE’RE [IN] THE SAME PROVINCE. WE SHOULD HAVE THE SAME CONTRACT.” ON AN UNINTENDED RESULT OF THE STRIKE, DR. MILLS CONTINUED TO REFLECT: “…APPARENTLY, PART OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STRATEGY WAS TO LITERALLY TRY TO BREAK THE UNION, YOU KNOW, TO SEE WHETHER WE WOULD COLLAPSE. IT ABSOLUTELY BACKFIRED. IT CREATED INCREDIBLE SOLIDARITY. PEOPLE GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HADN’T SEEN PEOPLE, IN PERSON, FOR OVER A YEAR, BUT I KNOW I CONNECTED WITH PEOPLE THAT I JUST KNEW BY NAME… AND, PARTICULARLY, IT CREATED SOLIDARITY ACROSS THE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS OF FACULTY, LIKE THE INSTRUCTORS TO THE RESEARCH FACULTY. I MEAN, IT HAS DEPLETED OUR STRIKE FUND… BUT THE KIND OF SOLIDARITY THAT WE HAD, I THINK WE’D STILL BE STRONG, EVEN IF WE HAD LOWER STRIKE PAY. PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THE HARDEST HIT PEOPLE, EVEN AT LOWER STRIKE PAY, THEY WOULDN’T BE MAKING LESS THAN THEY MAKE [REGULARLY]...” DR. MILLS REFLECTED ON HOW SHE FEELS ABOUT THESE ITEMS AND LOOKING BACK AT THE STRIKE: “…IT WAS REALLY FUN. I WOULD ENJOY GOING BY, AND SEEING PEOPLE CARRYING THE SIGNS THAT WE MADE, AND THEN HEARING FEED-BACK FROM PEOPLE WHERE THEY WOULDN’T KNOW THAT I’M THE ONE WHO ORGANIZED THEM, BUT YOU [COULD] JUST SEE HOW HAPPY THEY WERE WITH THEM… IT FELT LIKE I GOT TO CONTRIBUTE TO IT. AND THEN, BECAUSE I FELT SO DEPRESSED, ONE FELT INCREDIBLE ANXIETY, IT HELPED ME TO FEEL BETTER TO FEEL THAT I WAS DOING SOMETHING, AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE EFFORT, BECAUSE DIFFERENT PEOPLE STEPPED UP IN DIFFERENT WAYS…” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE “RESPECT” BUTTON, NEWS ARTICLES ON THE ULFA STRIKE, RESEARCH RESOURCES, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATIONS PERMANENT FILE. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ULFA STRIKE IN 2022, INCLUDING MACLEAN’S INTERVIEW WITH DR. JENNIFER MATHER, AND AARON RICHARDSON, A STUDENT AT THE UOFL AT THE TIME OF THE 2022 STRIKE, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE P20220012001-GA. PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE P20220015000-GA. FOR MACLEAN’S INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS GRINARD, A SESSIONAL INSTRUCTOR AT THE UOFL AT THE TIME OF THE 2022 STRIKE.

Catalogue Number

P20220012003

Acquisition Date

2022-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail