It’s January 2010 and union leader Bill Gaucher sits in his New Westminster headquarters, figuring out how his union can contain costs and make arrangements for the extra drivers working during February's Olympic Games.
But the unassuming leader of more than 5,000 workers in B.C. and Alberta has a much broader vision than looking after their needs only.
For more than 20 years, Bill has worked tirelessly to help the less fortunate in our communities. He’s coordinated staff donations for United Way of the Lower Mainland, worked at the soup kitchens and, for the last seven years, helped raise funds for Variety’s Telethon for children.
“We’re a social union and there’s a bigger part to play. I believe in giving back to the community,” says Bill, the secretary-treasurer of Canadian Auto Workers Local 114 since 1981.
In 2009, he received the United Way of the Lower Mainland Joe Morris Labour Community Service Award for his efforts.
Bill simply praises the office staff at CAW’s regional headquarters on 12th Street in New Westminster. “I’m just the guy that asks people to help out. I never have to ask twice. I am very proud of them,” he says.
Philosophically, Bill believes the government should pay for people’s basic needs, but the fact remains that there is a gap to fill, and he believes non-profit organizations and the community at large are needed to fill this gap.
“We shouldn’t have to have food banks. They were created as a temporary measure, but they’ve never gone away. I have been looking at food bank lines for 15 or 16 years and there’s a lot more 'regular Joes' standing in line now.”
He adds: “I remember last year, a bunch of us went to downtown Vancouver to work at the soup kitchen. It was very humbling.”
Bill notes that homeless shelters always seem to be the first to lose their funding, and the number of seniors in poverty is now also becoming a widespread and serious issue.
On a personal level, Bill regards himself as a lucky man. He married his childhood sweetheart Michele when they were mere youngsters, aged 17 and 16 respectively. They’ve now been married 35 years, living mostly in Surrey, where they raised three sons.
Bill started out as a warehouseman, and despite coming from a non-union background, moved into the union business in March 1980, with the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Transport and General Workers. The union merged with the Canadian Auto Workers Union in 1994, and Bill's been in charge of Local 114 ever since.
He first became involved with the community when he sat on the United Way Labour Board and credits his union work, training and a steady wage with giving him a broader picture of society’s needs.
“It’s important to realize there’s another world out there. I owe a lot to the union: this job opened my eyes to things I might not have seen otherwise,” says Bill.
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