Opal Skilling

Opal Olivia Skilling nee Bannert (1924-2014) was born in Saskatchewan. She was raised on her family homestead. She came from a strong socialist background. Her father was a member of the CCF and served as a School Board Trustee, and her brothers were union members. In 1943 she married miner Robert Skilling in Grand Forks. They couple settled in Vancouver. In 1950, Opal took her first job, and a unionized one, at Odeon Theatre as a cashier. By 1946, she was switchboard receptionist at the IWA Woodworker Hall. She started working for the Bank of Montreal in 1955 and became Secretary-Treasuer of the Bank Employees Association Local 389. She was approached by the Union to help organize the Bank. A 5-year struggle failed after a ruling mandating unionization of all branches or none. In 1960, she became Chair of the Office and Technical Employees Union (OTEU) organizing committee, and later Secretary-Treasurer for the rest of her career. Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE 15) made her an Honorary Lifetime Member. Skilling spent her last years in Grand Forks near her sons.

Audio Interview [1986]

Description

Skilling describes early years in Saskatchewan and how her father and brothers’s pro-union and socialist believes influenced her politics; her first union job as a cashier at Odeon Theatre, working conditions for women there, and the Union Theatre Employees Local B72 efforts to improve them; working as a switchboard receptionist for the IWA Woodworker Hall; organizing the Bank of Montreal (1955-1960); joining the CCF and connecting with the OTEU; the Office Employees Internationa Union Local 15; its forerunner, the Stenos, Typists, Bookkeepers and Assistants Local 18177; the 1964 organizing and strike of Port Alberni MacMillan and Bloedel pulp mill; her work with the OTEU.

Transcription

Full transcription: Skilling, Opal