Phalen was from
Glace Bay,
Nova Scotia He was an industrial mechanical instructor at the
Nova Scotia Eastern Institute of Technology and then at the University College of Cape Breton (now
Cape Breton University) until his retirement in 1991. Active in the
Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, he served as its president from 1976 to 1979. He has also served as chairman of the faculty association at NSEIT and in various other academic capacities at UCCB. ==Political career==