Union’s ‘Rambo’ admits using intimidation
Judge doesn’t buy Bernard Gauthier’s attempt to downplay his tactics
Rambo 2: the highly anticipated second part of Bernard Gauthier’s testimony didn’t disappoint, as the North Shore union leader was just as colourful on his second day at the Charbonneau Commission Wednesday.
After denying as much Tuesday, Gauthier, the union leader for Local 791 of FTQConstruction, admitted Wednesday he engaged in intimidation tactics to get his way.
The commission heard a recording in which Gauthier told a foreman: “If I were you, I would get a team to watch your ass. Until I come to see you, you should shut your mouth, or you’ll get Rambo giving you one right in the teeth.”
“That’s intimidation,” Gauthier admitted.
But he said for the most part, allegations of intimidation are false. What may seem like intimidation to some, is just him trying to stand up for local workers.
“I speak loudly, but I never shout; I never threaten.”
BERNARD ‘RAMBO’ GAUTHIER
“It can happen that I raise my tone. … I speak loudly, but I never shout; I never threaten,” Gauthier, also known as Rambo, told the commission earlier Wednesday. “I have been accused of intimidation just for opening my eyes widely.”
Justice France Charbonneau wasn’t buying it.
“Maybe if you open your eyes widely with 150 people behind you, that’s intimidating,” she told him.
Gauthier explained to the commission that when contractors come to the region and don’t want to hire locally, he organizes a group of unemployed workers to go to the work site and make demands. He organizes the groups, and instructs them not to intimidate or to touch anyone. However, he’s never present when they arrive on a work site, and therefore he said he can’t be responsible for their actions. On Tuesday, he admitted this can be seen as intimidating.
Gauthier appeared to have a foggy memory when asked about specific incidents of intimidation heard at the commission.
Gauthier denied involvement in a 2005 incident the commission heard about last week when the two brothers of contractor Normand Pedneault were grabbed by their throats, pinned against a wall and beaten. According to Pedneault’s testimony, his brothers were beaten by a group of union thugs because they hired workers without going through the union.
“I remember hearing that they were pinned against the wall,” Gauthier told the commission. “But I wasn’t there.”
He was also asked about another incident in which Gauthier reassigned an experienced excavator operator to another job, and supplied one who was untrained and lived 100 kilometres away, leaving Pedneault’s company to foot the bill for training and travel allowance.
“I don’t remember that at all,” he said. “But I have no interest in supplying an incompetent operator. That’s not something I do.”
Gauthier did recall an incident in which Rock Savard’s construction company was working to rebuild a structure on Route 138 in Forestville. Savard said he had his own crew, but Gauthier wanted locals to be hired.
He described how between 50 to 100 workers came to the work site and started threatening the workers.
“It was a show, but it was a very stressful show,” Savard told the commission last week. “It was intimidating.”
Gauthier agreed with Savard’s version of facts.
“Rock described it well,” he said. “It was a show.”
But he said that show allowed him to get 17 of his workers hired.
Gauthier was taken to task for not allowing supervisors or foremen to lend a hand to workers by engaging in “manoeuvres” to help with a task.
He said if it’s for a few minutes, that’s acceptable, but not longer.
“What if someone wants someone to lend a hand, even if it’s for an hour?” Charbonneau asked. “It doesn’t make sense to pull someone else off a job to come and help.”
“If it’s for an hour one day, it will be two hours the next day, and then three the next,” Gauthier responded.
Charbonneau said the “Rambo system” results in many more people being hired than are needed for a job.
He said when companies don’t respect union rules, workers pay the price.
“There is so much underthe-table stuff going on,” he said. “If you give up your travel pay and you do four jobs, it costs more to everybody.”
Gauthier’s testimony is expect to wrap up on Thursday.