W. George Lovell, Professor, Queen's Department of Geography

I am delighted to learn that Queen's staff are in the initial stages of organizing themselves with the goal of forming a union.

As several of my faculty colleagues have pertinently observed, staff constitute a critical human element at Queen's. Their presence makes all the diference to how the University operates and functions not only on a day-to-day basis but also in the long run, as many of them make a lifetime career commitment that speaks highly of their loyalty and allegiance. Valued experience that can be called upon time after time is what I associate most with Queen's staff.

For me, any initiative that allows people's working rights to be better acknowledged, respected, and negotiated with improvements in mind constitutes a step forward, a move in the right direction. Just as all faculty benefit from the unionized existence of QUFA, so too do I believe that all staff will benefit from a similar association, and the University too.

I wish staff members every success in this important undertaking.

W. George Lovell,
Professor of Geography