Interview with Frank Collins

Interview with Frank Collins

In 1987, Stanley Grizzle interviewed several former sleeping car porters, one of whom was Frank Collins. Frank Collins worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in Vancouver. He was born in Vancouver on August 11, 1915, and became a sleeping car porter in June 1933 until he resigned in 1956. Collins was one of the first Canadian members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, joining in 1939. Collins explains why he joined: “We needed representation… The job was terrible… Wages were poor, no respect. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters gave us most of these things and got the union going.” The monthly cost of being a part of the BSCP was $2 (at least $23 in 2025 according to the Bank of Canada inflation calculator), but Collins thought this was more than worth it. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters got certification as a union in 1944, and their first contract was signed the next year.

Stanley Grizzle, Frank Collins.

Collins, Frank. Interview by Stanley Grizzle. Library and Archives Canada, 1987. https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=filvidandsou&id=417402&lang=eng&ecopy=417402-2007-00431-3-0025-S1.

Library and Archives Canada

1987

Library and Archives Canada

Interview