Year: 2009
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Maria Halushka was born in Germany of Ukrainian parents from the region of today’s Ukraine under Polish control during the inter-war period. The family settled on a small farm in Breton, Alberta in 1949-50. Her parents had harrowing wartime and then post-war experiences as “displaced persons.” After high school, Halushka moved to Edmonton, arriving without a job or accommodation. She worked at the bus depot, a grocery store, and a photo service. She married, became the mother of daughters, and with her husband managed apartment blocks and established an excavating business. Hired at the Centennial Library (now Stanley Milner) in 1982, she worked as a page and then a clerk. This was her introduction to unions. She was first shop steward, then recording secretary, then third and second vice president for CSU 52. Issues included low pay, part-time workers, technological changes, and safety. She reflects on some gendered challenges of library and union work, the attitudes of staff toward unions, and on changes to library work over the years. Halushka also spoke of the advantages of an “independent union” rather than being part of CUPE, and about the charitable work of CSU 52, particularly its assistance to single mothers.
Keywords: Displaced persons; Gender and library work; Gender and unions; Immigrant experiences post-World War II; Library labour; Library system in Alberta; Stanley Milner Library; Technological change; Unions and charitable work.
Interview Transcript: Download PDF
See also: Civic Service Union 52; Occupational Health and Safety; Women and Work in Alberta