Mick Miller
Moving Earth
Mick Miller
Mick Miller: [00:00:00] Okay, so my name is Mick Miller. I am 38 or whoa, geez, I'm 36 years old. I live in Terrace, BC and I work as a heavy equipment operator with a small construction company in Terrace.
Pam Haasen: So we spoke about this a little bit before we were recording, but what are your thoughts on the term disabled?
MM: Uh, so, when I was younger, when I was in my early twenties, I did not like to identify as disabled.
I also did not like the word. I thought it was dirty. I thought it belittled me. But as I've grown older and I would say matured and learned more about disability, disabilities and, you know, just come to know myself better, I no longer think that word is bad and I am more than [00:01:00] happy and open to use the word disabled and say that I have a disability to people that are trying to understand me.
PH: Yeah, we spoke earlier as well before the interview, but that yeah, it's really, it does kind of seem like a personal choice, but I just know that in a lot of literature, especially about inclusivity and ableism, it is the term disabled that you see kind of used over and over again. And I know that there was a lot of polling done by the people who are creating these documents and doing these surveys and everything, but that doesn't mean that everyone fits into one box, right?
MM: Nope, definitely.
PH: So can you tell me a little bit more about what your job is and what you do?
MM: Yeah, so I actually got in kind of the construction slash earth moving industry about A year and a half ago, I have a background in marketing. I have a degree in business administration, marketing specialization.[00:02:00]
And I worked in that area for a while, but I wasn't enjoying it. And I always wanted to work in the big kid sandbox as people like to say. And I didn't pursue that when I was younger because I didn't think it was a noble career. I felt like I had to go to a university to prove something to myself, my peers, and others.
But, um, anyway, long story short, I finally took... The jump and left my career in marketing and I approached an owner of a small construction company here in Terrace, who some of my friends were working for, and I sat down with him and I was open about my disability and my limitations and how it would affect me on the job site.
But I told him that I really wanted to, you know, get my hands dirty, work on the ground and inside the machines. And if he was willing to give me a [00:03:00] chance, I would work my hardest and do everything to the best of my ability. And how long have
PH: you been working for that company?
MM: It's been about, I would say a year and a half now about that.
I only work kind of from the spring until the late fall and then I don't work during the winters. So I would say about a year and a half. And
PH: so, you know what you just told me, it sounds like you were. You know, it sounds like you kind of approached your boss, well, your boss now, but the company to kind of, I guess, explain your situation.
Do you feel like that's necessary? That that's something that you feel like you, you always have to do when you're approaching a new job?
MM: 100%. Yeah. There's been jobs in the past, like for example, marketing positions where I didn't express some of the issues I have that are linked to my medical condition.
Which affected me in the workplace [00:04:00] and actually some of my employers judged me differently and I think they, they wouldn't have done that had I been more open about my medical condition and the ways it affects me differently in the workplace.
PH: Yeah. And so, I mean, you're kind of having to do the work to basically, you know, make your wherever you work, your workplace, less ableist by By doing that work in the, in the forefront.
Do you, do you feel like that's fair? Do you feel like you wish that there was more work done by employers to make workspaces more inclusive and accessible?
MM: Yeah. I'm honestly, at the end of the day, I think the best advocate is yourself. I wish that employers kind of. Took more initiative to be open about hiring employees with a disability.[00:05:00]
And I think it is becoming more well known within various industries, but I think at the end of the day. The only way your employer is actually going to know about you and your disability is if you communicate it to them. Do you feel like
PH: construction in general is, or earth moving services as you described it, do you feel like that is an industry that is doing the work to have, to be more forward thinking and inclusive, or do you know of some industries that you feel like are, they're actually putting in the work instead of just lip service?
MM: Well, it's interesting you say that. I've, I follow some companies and some individuals on Instagram, one of which is actually a younger guy. He's about 21. He lives down in the States and he has two missing limbs and. He's worked in the industry now for [00:06:00] about three years and he's had issues with previous employers, but he just got a new job with an employer who he was open about his limitations.
And he said, they've been very adaptive and, you know, putting him in a position where he'll excel. So yeah, saying that in short, the, the construction industry, there are definitely companies that are open and inclusive to people with different abilities, because there is a strong stereotype that you have to be, you know, a strong, non emotional individual to work in that industry.
But I think that's changing slowly, slowly.
PH: Yeah, do you think that the province is doing the right amount or the right type of advocacy work to, I mean, I'll reference two provincial campaigns, [00:07:00] one, which is called the new inclusive economy, which is all about teaching employers how to make their workspaces more inclusive.
Uh, more accessible, less ableist, and more inclusive for people with disabilities. And the second is another one called Rewrite the Rules. And that was actually launched by the BC Human Rights Commission. And it was the same thing. It was acknowledging the gaps that exist in workplaces for people who are differently abled.
But do you feel that Like, do you feel affected at all by these campaigns, or do you think it's that you came and you were up front?
MM: Yeah, no, I, I definitely was not affected by these kind of campaigns. I think at the end of the day, it was just me communicating my medical condition and how it would affect me in the workplace.
PH: What are some of the areas of society that you think need the most fixing in regard to ableist [00:08:00] structures, and that can be both physically, so for people that have maybe a physical disability, or within groups like workplaces or community events or public spaces that just don't seem accessible due to, let's say, someone who has hearing loss, but what are the areas of society that you think Thank you.
Really need to address and fix public spaces to be more, to be more accessible.
MM: Ooh, I mean, that's a tough question. I guess the answer is gonna be different depending on kind of your situation, your disability. So for me, my disability is that I have. Peripheral neuropathy, which affects the muscles in my lower legs, my ankles, my feet, my lower arms, my, like my forearms, my wrists, and my hands.
So I'm. I'm mobile, but I do have problems with [00:09:00] mobility and stability due to lack of strength. So I guess for me, it's a tough question. What, what can society do to kind of, to help me and maybe my other peers that have a similar condition? Uh, I mean,
PH: if it's too hard of a question to, I guess it could just be things that you're like.
Maybe it's like as simple as if more doors were pushed to enter a place rather than pull or like I'm, you know what I'm, I'm just thinking about. Peripheral neuropathy and just, you know, like issues with like, where it's like, you need to have so much tactile, like you need to be able to use your finger, like all the way down to your fingers sort of thing.
If there's things that it's like, wow, I never really noticed how annoying that is. Like for instance, that you have to, at some grocery stores, probably not in the North, but in Ontario, you put, you have to put a loonie into a grocery cart to pull a chain, to get a free, to get, to get your cart. Like if you didn't have great hand mobility, you wouldn't be able to get a grocery cart.
MM: You know what, [00:10:00] it's actually funny you say that, because I was thinking that the other day, we do have that at our Save On, and I think Safeway. And there have been times where, especially when my hands get cold, my dexterity, is awful. And there, there's been a few times where actually I have not been able to get the quarter out of the cart.
And I just said, heck with this. I'm, I'll just leave it for the next person. I can't be bothered. But in, yeah, no. So there are, and Yeah. Tactile, you know, like doorknobs. I have troubles. There was actually a, a business not too long ago where I couldn't open the door because I couldn't get a good grip on the doorknob to turn it.
And even like getting in and out of big machinery can be incredibly challenging. You know, you, you sometimes need a lot of strength to be able to step onto the bigger machines. So yeah, even having like little. Tations on those [00:11:00] machines because it can be dangerous if you don't have the strength to pull yourself up into the machine properly.
PH: Well, absolutely. And, you know, down to harnesses and things like that. So how did your employer, how did your employer, I guess, did they make, make adjustments, I guess? And feel free to not answer this question. Cause it's about your business. Like it's about the company you work for, but if you feel comfortable, like, are there, are there things that they did that you were like, that was a small thing that made a big difference?
MM: No, like they, they didn't do any adaptations to the machine. And they were just. Like, they just told me to, like, take my time, and there were times when I would bring, like, for example, like, a jug of, like, machine oil, engine oil, and I would use that to kind of help me get up into the machine. Okay, yeah. But we talked about having, like, a stepladder and stuff like that, but...
Yeah, I haven't been on the big machines lately. As of recently, I've actually been on like little mini [00:12:00] excavators and stuff, which are way easier for me to get in and out of.
PH: Yeah. So, Mick, I work in radio. What is the way that radio and podcasting can be more accessible?
MM: I actually have a podcast where I talk to entrepreneurs, traveling nomads, and other people that have disabilities who are living their best lives.
Yeah, I only have about seven episodes. Unfortunately, I, I have not worked on it in a while, but yeah, I started it about a year and a half. It's called Adaptive. So yeah, and I've, I've thought about how that can be more, how my podcast can be accessible to people with maybe hearing or sight conditions. And they're.
Like, I guess, for example, for like, podcasting [00:13:00] and radio, there's programs where you can get your, all of your content written out, and then it, there's a speaker, so, like a person who, I guess, is blind. It can be read out to them. Yeah.
PH: Yeah. No, that's a really, that's a really good point. And also I'm happy when people shamelessly plug their podcasts because I'm always looking for new podcasts to listen to.
So I'm very appreciative of that. Yeah. Now, I'm kind of like asking you questions about your, you know, your life and your work and all that sort of stuff. But is there anything that I didn't ask about that you think is important for people to know? Maybe someone who's listening, who is differently abled, living in a community in the north, do you find that other resources that you rely on that maybe not everybody knows about or, or a piece of information or insight that you would like for someone to hear?
MM: I wouldn't say any resources I rely on, but I've kind of been a bit. A [00:14:00] big believer in connecting with other people that have disabilities and not necessarily the same disability as I have, but just seeing how they live their lives and because everyone has advice on how to do things differently. And there's always a takeaway on, you know, how you can live your life, you know.
With their, yeah, with their given information.
PH: Absolutely. Well, I really appreciate you taking the time and speaking with me today. And yeah, I just hope that there's, I think that if, if ever as a newscaster, I'm going to be speaking about, you know, disabilities and, and, and ableism and everything, you know, voices like yours are the ones that are, that really do matter and that sink in with people.
So I'm, I'm really appreciative that you took the time to speak with me today.
MM: Yeah, no problem. It was a pleasure. Thank you.