Bob Smeal Interview: CBRE, CALFA, BC Federation of Labour
Robert (Bob) Smeal (1920-1976) describes his experiences as a young unemployed man during the Great Depression in the 1930s in Vancouver. He details his involvement with various unemployed organizations, including the Single Unemployed Protective Association (SUPA) and the Relief Camp Project Workers’ Union, which were heavily influenced by the Communist Party.
The interview was conducted in the 1960s by the BC Federation of Labour in anticipation of the publication of No Power Greater: A Century of Labour in BC (1967). Interviewers were author Paul Phillips and UBC student Bill Piket. The original tapes were digitized by the BC Labour Heritage Centre in 2024.
Bob Smeal, 1959
Smeal recounts participating in the On to Ottawa Trek, protests, demonstrations, and as a division leader of the 1938 sit-down strike at the post office, art gallery, and Hotel Georgia, which led to violent clashes with the police. He discusses the poor living conditions, lack of food, and desperation faced by the unemployed at the time, as well as the attempts to affiliate with the trade union movement, which were largely unsuccessful. He was an able seaman in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War Two. After the war, he worked as a bus driver on Vancouver Island and became BC representative of the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Employees for 10 years. Later, he worked as business manager for the Canadian Airline Flight Attendants Association. He served two terms as President of the BC Federation of Labour (1959-1960).