Category: Union News

Local 793 head office, all area offices, OETIO’s Oakville and Morrisburg campuses and the OEBAC office will be closed on Friday, July 3, because of this week’s Canada Day public holiday. All offices will reopen and normal business hours will resume on Monday, July 6.

Local 793 head office, all area offices, OETIO’s Oakville and Morrisburg campuses and the OEBAC office will be closed on Friday, July 3, because of this week’s Canada Day public holiday. All offices will reopen and normal business hours will resume on Monday, July 6.

Six Indigenous students from the Ogwehoweh Skills and Trades Training Centre (OSTTC) in Ohsweken on the Six Nations of the Grand River visited OETIO’s Oakville campus last week to gain insight into life as an OE. Accompanied by the OSTTC’s trades team lead and employment coaches from the Grand River Employment and Training organization, the students are enrolled in a 13-week Work Ready Indigenous Trades Experience program that allows them to explore different career pathways before committing to a specific apprenticeship. During the visit, the students each had a chance […]

Six Indigenous students from the Ogwehoweh Skills and Trades Training Centre (OSTTC) in Ohsweken on the Six Nations of the Grand River visited OETIO’s Oakville campus last week to gain insight into life as an OE.

Accompanied by the OSTTC’s trades team lead and employment coaches from the Grand River Employment and Training organization, the students are enrolled in a 13-week Work Ready Indigenous Trades Experience program that allows them to explore different career pathways before committing to a specific apprenticeship.

During the visit, the students each had a chance spend some time with our instructors, ask questions, test their skills on the simulators and check out many types of cranes and other machinery used by Local 793’s apprentices at our world class training facility.

OSTTC coach Delhia Gray said, “The visit was informative, interactive, and engaging from start to finish. It was clear how welcoming and supportive everyone was.”

Let us celebrate this great nation we call home and all the men and women who make it work. We wish all our members and their families a very happy Canada Day!

Let us celebrate this great nation we call home and all the men and women who make it work. We wish all our members and their families a very happy Canada Day!

Please be advised that the IUOE Local 793 Hamilton Area Office, located at 35 Goderich Road, Hamilton, ON., will be permanently closed effective immediately, June 30, 2026. Hamilton Area Office staff will now work out of the Union’s Head Office location at 2245 Speers Rd, Oakville, ON., where they will continue to serve members until the planned Hamilton Area Office is constructed.

Please be advised that the IUOE Local 793 Hamilton Area Office, located at 35 Goderich Road, Hamilton, ON., will be permanently closed effective immediately, June 30, 2026.

Hamilton Area Office staff will now work out of the Union’s Head Office location at 2245 Speers Rd, Oakville, ON., where they will continue to serve members until the planned Hamilton Area Office is constructed.

Orange and yellow-level heat warnings have been issued by Environment Canada for much of Ontario, with temperatures expected to hit 36C during a prolonged event beginning today, June 30, and lasting until at least Friday, July 3. Local 793 members should be on the lookout for signs of heat-related illnesses during this period of especially hot and humid weather. For an interactive map showing the areas affected, visit the Environment Canada website here. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety warns that heat-related illnesses can strike with little warning […]

Orange and yellow-level heat warnings have been issued by Environment Canada for much of Ontario, with temperatures expected to hit 36C during a prolonged event beginning today, June 30, and lasting until at least Friday, July 3.

Local 793 members should be on the lookout for signs of heat-related illnesses during this period of especially hot and humid weather.

For an interactive map showing the areas affected, visit the Environment Canada website here.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety warns that heat-related illnesses can strike with little warning and can cause myriad problems from rashes and cramps to exhaustion and full-blown heat stroke. Symptoms of heat stress can include sunburn, fainting, heavy sweating, headaches and dizzy spells.

It’s important, then, for OEs to prepare ahead of time, recognize symptoms of heat stress and know how to treat it when problems arise.

Heat stress occurs when the body can no longer maintain its normal temperature. The body’s internal thermostat maintains a constant inner temperature by pumping more blood to the skin and by increasing sweat production. But in very hot environments the body temperature can rise, resulting in heat stress. When the body can no longer cope, several illnesses can occur, including:

• Heat Rash: This is characterized by tiny red spots on the skin that can cause a prickling sensation. It’s a result of inflammation when the ducts of sweat glands become plugged.
• Heat Cramps: These are sharp pains in the muscles caused by an imbalance resulting from failure to replace salt lost with sweat.
• Heat Exhaustion: This is caused by loss of body water and salt through excessive sweating. Symptoms include weakness, dizziness, visual disturbances, intense thirst, headaches, vomiting, muscle cramps and diarrhea.
• Heat Stroke: This condition requires immediate medical attention and is characterized by an elevated body temperature. Signs of heat stroke include dry, hot skin, a high body temperature and complete or partial loss of consciousness.

Prolonged exposure to heat can cause other problems such as sleep disturbances and susceptibility to minor injuries and sicknesses.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour recommends that workers in a hot environment should try to drink a cup of water every 20 minutes and that workers also:

• avoid working in direct sunlight
• reduce the pace of work
• take breaks in a cool or shaded area
• schedule heavy work for cooler periods
• wear light-coloured clothing
• reduce the physical demands of work

Employers have a duty under clause 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. This includes developing policies and procedures to protect workers in environments that are hot because of hot processes and/or weather.

Any Local 793 members with concerns about employers not taking appropriate steps to help workers avoid heat stroke and exhaustion should contact their business representative immediately or Local 793 Director of Health and Safety Brian Alexander at 905-469-9299, ext. 2206. You can find the contact details for your business rep by visiting Local 793’s website here.

Click here for more information about heat exhaustion and heat stroke from the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association.

Click here for more information on managing heat stress at work from the Ontario government.

A massive thank you to all our members, staff and supporters who came out to the magnificent Flamborough Hills Golf Club in Copetown on Saturday to support Local 793’s South Central Ontario Golf Tournament. A fabulous day’s golf was followed by a lunch and raffle, with all proceeds from the event again going to support local area charities. See you all again next year!

A massive thank you to all our members, staff and supporters who came out to the magnificent Flamborough Hills Golf Club in Copetown on Saturday to support Local 793’s South Central Ontario Golf Tournament.

A fabulous day’s golf was followed by a lunch and raffle, with all proceeds from the event again going to support local area charities.

See you all again next year!

Local 793 thanks everyone who again came out to support the 13th annual Gary O’Neill Memorial Golf Tournament at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club in Milton. With your help we have raised well over $1.5 million for research into esophageal cancer since the first tournament was staged in 2012. See you all again next year!

Local 793 thanks everyone who again came out to support the 13th annual Gary O’Neill Memorial Golf Tournament at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club in Milton. With your help we have raised well over $1.5 million for research into esophageal cancer since the first tournament was staged in 2012. See you all again next year!

Opportunity is knocking for members of Local 793 in northern Ontario as work officially gets underway on the first segment of the new road network to the Ring of Fire. The $61.8 million Geraldton Main Street Rehabilitation Project will connect Hwy. 11 in the south with Hwy. 584 in the north and prepare the road to handle the heavy traffic expected to come with the opening of new mines in the mineral rich area located 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay. The provincial government estimates the Ring of Fire redevelopment […]

OETIO has been awarded $400,000 by the government of Ontario to renovate the dome at the Morrisburg campus. The money, which was obtained through the Apprenticeship Capital Grant (ACG), will be used to replace the dome’s covering, which has been in place since the 400-by-135-foot structure was built in October 2009. The dome, located at the Union training centre south of Ottawa, allows courses to run throughout the winter months. OETIO was one of just six training providers to have its application for funding approved, with the ACG allocating a […]

OETIO has been awarded $400,000 by the government of Ontario to renovate the dome at the Morrisburg campus.

The money, which was obtained through the Apprenticeship Capital Grant (ACG), will be used to replace the dome’s covering, which has been in place since the 400-by-135-foot structure was built in October 2009. The dome, located at the Union training centre south of Ottawa, allows courses to run throughout the winter months.

OETIO was one of just six training providers to have its application for funding approved, with the ACG allocating a total of $1.75 million to support apprenticeship training projects.

Local 793 Business Manager Mike Gallagher said, “We are grateful to Premier Ford and Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini for the award of $400,000 for the renovation of the dome in Morrisburg, which will ensure our apprentices continue to learn their trade in a safe and controlled environment whatever the weather.

“Having invested nearly $300 million in training over the past three decades and with a third training centre soon to open its gates near Barrie, Local 793 is pleased to have a partner in government that recognizes the importance of attracting more young people to the skilled trades and giving them the tools they need to build rewarding careers and brighter futures.”

The government’s push to modernize facilities and expand access to training is designed to build a skilled workforce capable of delivering $236 billion in planned infrastructure projects.