A 'culture of fear' and the ex-staff complaints
And an apology, of sorts, from a Dunedin icon.
The Mish started as a way to bring you longer, in-depth reporting about Dunedin and its people. Through The Mish, you’ll have read about a jailhouse lawyer turned bestselling author, the saga of Cr Lee Vandervis’ parking ticket and the end of my grudge against Six60.
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The sign reads ‘Dunedin’s Finest Book Shop’, and it is hard to disagree. The University Book Shop, known to many as UBS, is a great place for book lovers.
But is it a great place to work? Emails and letters indicate that might not be the case.
One of the country’s oldest independent bookshops, UBS has attracted a slew of bullying and intimidation complaints regarding its general manager: Phillippa Duffy.
Several complaints about Duffy were first raised in 2015, two years into her role.
You can watch an early interview with her here.
More recently, a letter from the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) and complaints from eight former staff members, who worked at the bookshop in the last two years, were sent to the UBS board in March.
“The group does not feel that its concerns have been taken seriously or heard,” group spokesperson John Howell, who has never worked at the store, said.
Those concerns include allegations of bullying and a ‘culture of fear’, including not being allowed to talk to each other on the shop floor.
It also led to staff resigning from “a job they loved, because their working environment had become so detrimental to their health and safety due to the management style of Duffy”, Howell said.
A letter signed by those former staff members detailed some of the “tip of the iceberg” accusations against Duffy, who was approached for comment for this story but referred any comment to the UBS board.
Board chairman Paul Allison was approached for comment.
Accusations include disregarding staff employment entitlements for annual holidays, sick leave and breaks. Staff were forced to use annual leave if sent home early due to the business closing early.
Staff in the shop would not be compensated for not being able to take breaks due to a lack of cover, while Duffy expected staff to prioritise work requests outside work hours.
The process of writing the letters had “been re-traumatising for them and their families”, but those former workers wanted to protect current and future staff at a shop which they loved, Howell said.
“The group feels that there has been a complete ‘smother’ of the serious concerns raised regarding Duffy.”
If you know more about this, please email hamish.mcneilly@stuff.co.nz.
It is understood a review did not fully address the concerns raised in the letters, with current staff who took part in a workshop asked about general areas of improvement.
“In our experience this is a very good result, indicating a business with a healthy culture and workplace climate,” a survey conducted by Organisation Development Institute (ODI) concluded.
However many of those former employees wanted an apology, Howell said.
“The ex-staff only made the difficult decision to write to the UBS board because they all loved the shop and want the best for it.”
The letters come as the bookshop moved back to its renovated premises, which it originally moved to in 1960, after several years in a temporary building across the road.
From books to music.
This week I interviewed Shayne Carter, a music hero of mine. We spoke for about 40 minutes and I told him how he once scowled at me on Princes St (back when I was a student), quite possibly due to me wearing a knock-off Straitjacket Fits t-shirt.
A quarter of a century later I got an apology, of sorts.
“I don’t know if I would have scowled at you . . . it was possibly my default facial expression,” he said.
APOLOGY ACCEPTED!
You can buy tix to the gig here. You won’t be disappointed.
It was late May 2001 when Dimmer’s debut album, I Believe You Are A Star, was released.
It came and went from the New Zealand charts, dominated by the likes of Hayley Westenra, Linkin Park and Dido, just as quickly as it arrived.
But 21 years later and that album is set to be performed in its entirely “from go to woah”, Dimmer frontman Carter said.
“People really like that record. I really like it too, it is my favourite of all my records.”
A nationwide tour, initially delayed due to Covid, has led to sold-out shows in Wellington on Thursday and Christchurch on Saturday, with three gigs at Auckland’s Hollywood, with one sold-out, later this month.
And ticket sales were “reasonably respectable” in his hometown of Dunedin’s Regent Theatre, which will mark the first time Carter has played at the 1600-seat theatre.
It was in Dunedin where Carter formed the earliest incarnation of Dimmer following the demise of his previous band: Straitjacket Fits.
That was important for him to return home after what he calls his “American experience”, and be surrounded by “some Dunedin musical staunchness”.
“That was sort of my identity and where I came from, and I had sort of been traversing around the world and surrounded by capitalistic Americans . . . and bullying Australians.”
“I wanted to try something different from the whole Straitjacket thing.”
It was in the southern city where Carter penned two Dimmer fan favourites, Crystalator, and Dawn’s Coming In, which “set the blueprint for aspects of I Believe You Are A Star”.
That included penning early versions from the Dimmer debut album, including Seed and I Believe You Are A Star, with the album later fleshed out in Auckland.
Carter recalled being criticized after the album’s release, with detractors labelling it as “funky”, far removed from the guitar sound of Straitjacket Fits.
“There is always going to be someone complaining,” Carter said.
Looking back at a music career which began with his high school band Bored Games in the late 1970s, it was clear to him that I Believe You Are A Star was his best work.
“I would love to have a perfect back catalogue, but then I take solace in the fact the greatest geniuses of music don’t have perfect back catalogues.
“You risk failure if you try stuff, I have always tried to be adventurous or to try different tangents in what I do.”
“The easiest thing to do is to plough the familiar furrow . . . I see it all the time with artists that as they get older the most important thing to them is maintaining their position of success, and that becomes their main motivation.”
Carter never wanted to make music that was imitative, as “why copy something else when there is already a better version of you out there”.
“Holding onto a purity of vision, even if you fail, that’s your battle as an artist.”
I Believe You Are A Star has been vindicated, despite Carter pointing out he was dropped by record label Sony.
He noted that the album’s drummer, Gary Sullivan, recently said I Believe You Are A Star didn’t “smell like 2001”.
The album featured some songs, including Pendulum, Sad Guy, Evolution, Smoke, and Under the Light which haven’t been played live.
Carter was looking forward to performing the album from start to finish, “it is actually quite hard as two of the most difficult songs to play are the first two”.
“We’ve made it difficult for ourselves, but no-one says it is going to be easy, did they?”
Thanks Shayne, and if you’ve got time check out this great video.
This morning, a significant tribal treasure held in Tūhura Otago Museum was returned to Ngāti Maniapoto. It comes before the tribe’s Treaty of Waitangi claim is settled in Parliament.
The taiaha, named ‘Maungārongo’ was associated with the enforcement by Ngāti Maniapoto of their boundary line, which led to Pākehā barred from unauthorised entry into the region in 1860.
A quarter of a century later, and Maungārongo was to be placed in Parliament, but was rejected and instead given to Port Chalmers MP, James MacAndrew, who placed it in the Otago University Museum.
The taiaha is particularly large and adorned with orange kākā feathers and white kurī (dog) fur that denotes it significance.
“It is humbling for us at Tūhura Otago Museum to be able to contribute to this return,” Dr Gerard O’Regan, Curator Māori at Tūhura Otago Museum, said.
Brilliant.
And we are nearing the last of our mayoral profiles, here is Aaron Hawkins, 38.
Occupation: Mayor
Political affiliation: Green Ōtepoti
Tell us about yourself, and why you want be mayor of Dunedin.
I’ve had the privilege of serving as Dunedin’s Mayor since 2019, after two terms as a city councillor.
I’m proud to lead a council that’s getting on with getting things done, from fixing our ageing infrastructure to long overdue upgrades to our pools, playgrounds and public spaces.
At the same time, we’re doing the longer term thinking around how we plan for growth, what a 21st century transport network looks like, and how we support our low lying communities into the future.
There’s plenty more to do though, so I’m asking for the mandate to continue on this positive path.
What are the biggest issues facing Dunedin next term, and what are your solutions?
Tackling the causes and effects of climate change head on. Building a constructive relationship with mana whenua. Resisting the politics of austerity and continuing to invest in the future of our city.
We’ve made good progress over the last three years, but I want our Emissions Reduction Plan next year to be the most ambitious in the country, building on everything we’re already doing and giving us a shot at a safer climate future.
The Three Waters debate has had a significant impact on our relationship with local rūnaka. Working towards repairing that has to be a priority.
If you had to vote for another mayoral candidate, who would you vote for and why?
I’m the only candidate who has demonstrated the leadership this job requires on both our climate change and Treaty of Waitangi aspirations, particularly around Three Waters.
That aside, the only other candidate who is broadly supportive of the direction we’ve been heading in as a city is Sophie Barker.
And if you want to geek out and see pictures of the Jetty St overbridge, check these out.
After our first snow day this winter, I made the following quip:
That leads me on to the coveted Tweet of the Week:
Have a great week.
I have to question why the incumbent mayor's profile was left until last. Arguably, others seem to have got an unfair advantage. Nonetheless, I for one am grateful to have waited. Aaron #1
I see that you're still hanging around that extremist by the name of Dudley Benson on Twitter Hamish as he lies from here to Kaitaia about me on the back of lies from another extremist called Rangi Kemara.
Have a read of this;
https://hatchardreport.com/message-to-a-relieved-but-grieving-nation-just-published-research-raises-alarming-red-flags/
I'm afraid grief is not going to be enough here. We need prosecutions.