Last month, a by-election for the position of Young Worker Representative on the Prairie Region Council (PRC) was called, following the resignation of Amanda-Rose Bourget who was elected to the position at the 2011 Prairies Regional Triennial Convention.
A call out for nominations was distributed widely throughout the region, allowing for any member in good standing, aged 30 and under and located in the Prairies to run for the position. Only members who attended the young workers caucus at regional convention were permitted to vote.
On March 26, Keith Gauthier was announced the new PRC Young Worker Rep. Gauthier is a member of Local 40005, a directly chartered local (DCL) at Casino Regina. In his eight years working for Casino Regina, he has held various positions on the Local Executive and currently holds the position of Chief Shop Steward. He also sits as the PSAC representative on the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) Young Workers Committee.
“I see a lot of employers who will do pretty much anything they can to cut costs at the expense of their employees. However, I’ve also seen a lot of victories from employees and have been able to help some of my coworkers,” says Gauthier of his interest in the labour movement and involvement in his Local. “I think the best part is being able to help someone who may not have stood up for themselves independently. Those are the situations that make me enjoy doing this.”
Gauthier first task will be to help plan meetings with young workers to discuss ideas on how best to implement the resolution to create regional youth committees (CS-026), which passed at the 2012 National Triennial Convention. The new committees will provide young members with a forum to build solidarity, share knowledge, develop skills and discuss the impact of current issues on young workers.
“I’d like to get more young people involved, and have them step up and take more active roles,” he says. “It will be great to get young workers who are interested in labour issues together to brainstorm ideas on how we can show other workers the benefits of unions.”
