Category: Union News

While many people will be excited to experience the solar eclipse as it travels through much of Ontario today, Local 793 members are reminded that the rare event also presents a safety hazard. Across the province, the eclipse will start at approximately 2 p.m. before peaking between 3:15 and 3:25 p.m. in most major cities. While all of the province will see a partial eclipse, only certain areas will experience totality, including Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, Kingston, and Burlington. While it may be tempting to look up as the […]

While many people will be excited to experience the solar eclipse as it travels through much of Ontario today, Local 793 members are reminded that the rare event also presents a safety hazard.

Across the province, the eclipse will start at approximately 2 p.m. before peaking between 3:15 and 3:25 p.m. in most major cities. While all of the province will see a partial eclipse, only certain areas will experience totality, including Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, Kingston, and Burlington.

While it may be tempting to look up as the moon passes between the earth and the sun, doing so could result in damaging your eyes.

Overexposure to UV light from the sun can cause blurry or distorted vision and blind spots and can also contribute to longer-term vision problems. There are no pain sensors in your eyes, so it is possible you will not know your eyes have been damaged by the sun’s rays for up to 48 hours after the event.

The only safe way to directly look at a solar eclipse is by using eclipse glasses or solar viewers that meet the ISO 12312-2 standard. It is not safe to watch the eclipse with regular sunglasses (no matter how dark they are), a welder’s mask with a filter rating below Shade 14, or a camera, telescope or binoculars unless they are fitted with specially designed filters.

Members could also face other hazards during the eclipse, such as distracted drivers on the roads and temporary darkness making fellow workers or jobsite obstacles difficult to spot. By following the safety guidelines, all members will be able to enjoy the solar eclipse safely.

Ontario’s path of totality of the solar eclipse of April 8, 2024

All times are local.
Source: Royal Astronomical Society of Canada

IUOE Local 793 member Shanna Hodgins is the focus of a new video that was released by the Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen (OBCT), a committee established by the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario (PBCTCO) to advocate for women in the skilled trades. In the video, Sister Hodgins tells her story of how she went from selling cranes to operating them, with help from IUOE Local 793 and the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO). The OBCT hopes her experience will show other women and girls […]

IUOE Local 793 member Shanna Hodgins is the focus of a new video that was released by the Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen (OBCT), a committee established by the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario (PBCTCO) to advocate for women in the skilled trades.

In the video, Sister Hodgins tells her story of how she went from selling cranes to operating them, with help from IUOE Local 793 and the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO). The OBCT hopes her experience will show other women and girls that there is a route into the skilled trades open to them and that a career as an Operating Engineer can be both exciting and financially rewarding.

Watch the OBCT video on IUOE Local 793 member Shanna Hodgins:

Members, On behalf of myself, the Officers, Executive Board and Staff of IUOE Local 793, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a very happy Easter. With its promise of spring and new beginnings, this time of year allows all of us to look forward to the brighter days ahead. As the construction season ramps up, I know you will again be working hard to provide for your families and build the homes, hospitals, roads and transit systems the province needs and that […]

Please be advised that all Local 793 offices will be closed for the Easter holiday on Friday, March 29, 2024, to Monday, April 1, 2024. Regular office hours will resume on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

Please be advised that all Local 793 offices will be closed for the Easter holiday on Friday, March 29, 2024, to Monday, April 1, 2024. Regular office hours will resume on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

The provincial government’s latest Budget, announced on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, continues its commitment to the construction section and workers. That was certainly music to the ears of Local 793 Business Manager Mike Gallagher, who attended the announcement at Queen’s Park as a guest of Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini. Titled Building a Better Ontario, Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy said the budget expands the most ambitious capital plan in the province’s history, with $190.2 billion in spending over the next decade. That figure includes […]

The provincial government’s latest Budget, announced on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, continues its commitment to the construction section and workers.

That was certainly music to the ears of Local 793 Business Manager Mike Gallagher, who attended the announcement at Queen’s Park as a guest of Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini.

Titled Building a Better Ontario, Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy said the budget expands the most ambitious capital plan in the province’s history, with $190.2 billion in spending over the next decade.

That figure includes another $100 million in the Skills Development Fund Training Stream, which funds training for workers in key industries, including the skilled trades. Local 793 receives funding from this program to help pay for training provided by the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO).

There is also $21 million of new money for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and $42 million to launch 100 pre‐apprenticeship training projects around the province.

The beefing up of the Skills Development Fund was welcomed by Business Manager Gallagher. He said, “It’s a very positive thing for us as a Union as we utilize that fund through OETIO. It represents an investment in the future of the skilled trades and is an important part of the larger strategy to ensure this province has the skilled workers it needs to keep growing.”

Other infrastructure investments laid out in Budget 2024 will also keep current members busy for many years.

To help municipalities meet their housing targets, a $1 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program has been created, while there is $625 million more for the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, bringing total funding to $825 million. This is on top of the existing $1.2 billion Building Faster Fund.

These investments are designed to help the province reach its goal of building at least 1.2 million homes by 2031.

The government also committed $200 million to a Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund to support new and upgraded sport and recreation facilities.

Investments in roads and transit are also being stepped up, including recommitting to building Highway 413, Highway 7 and the Bradford Bypass, although details on timelines and costs remain undecided. In Ottawa, a new interchange at Highway 416 and Barnsdale Road will support future growth in the south of the city.

New transit spending, amounting to an extra $3 billion, includes expanding the Hazel McCallion Light Rail Transit Line transit to downtown Mississauga and Brampton, including a two‐kilometre extension and loop through to Confederation Parkway.

The province also remains committed to its four major subway projects in the GTA, the Ontario Line, Scarborough Subway Extension, Yonge North Subway Extension into York Region, and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.

One new measure in the Budget that did concern Business Manager Gallagher was the item relating to auto insurance reform. Under the new rules, drivers would still pay into mandatory auto insurance to cover health and personal injury, but would have the option to opt out of paying for coverage for other benefits, including damage to property, death benefits and income replacement benefits.

One reason for the change is that the government says some drivers are paying for coverage they already have through their existing workplace benefits.

However, Brother Gallagher said, “My concern is that members would look to cut their immediate insurance costs in the hope that the Union plan would cover the difference should they be involved in an accident.”

He recommended that members stick with their current level of auto insurance until the Union and its benefits administrator, OEBAC, has had a chance to study the impact the changes would have on its plan so that no member risks being left under-insured in the case of an accident.

Following a blockbuster 2023, Local 793 members can look forward to another busy year, with a $200 billion project pipeline helping to fuel positivity among contractors. That was the main message to come out of the Ontario Construction Secretariat’s (OCS) annual State of the Industry and Outlook Conference, which took place at the International Centre in Mississauga on March 7. The OCS represents the collective interests of the unionized construction industry in Ontario’s industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) construction sector. Local 793 President and Assistant Business Manager, Dave Turple, is […]

Following a blockbuster 2023, Local 793 members can look forward to another busy year, with a $200 billion project pipeline helping to fuel positivity among contractors.

That was the main message to come out of the Ontario Construction Secretariat’s (OCS) annual State of the Industry and Outlook Conference, which took place at the International Centre in Mississauga on March 7.

The OCS represents the collective interests of the unionized construction industry in Ontario’s industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) construction sector. Local 793 President and Assistant Business Manager, Dave Turple, is one of seven labour representatives on the OCS board. Local 793 Executive Board member and ICI, Heavy Civil and Landscaping Sector Coordinator Jordan Glendenning represented Local 793 at the event.

A host of industry experts spoke at the event, including BMO Canada senior economist Robert Kavcic and Infrastructure Ontario (IO) president and CEO Michael Lindsay.

Lindsay reported that IO is overseeing $42 billion worth of projects currently under construction across the province, with a further 31 projects in pre or active procurement, valued at $35 billion.

“No jurisdiction is doing more building than we are here in Ontario,” he said.

That claim was backed up by the findings of the OCS’s 2024 Contractor Survey, which was released alongside the conference and showed that 71% of unionized contractors reported having a positive outlook for the year ahead. That figure fell to 64% among non-union contractors.

However, given the strength of 2023, it is not surprising that the report also found expectations for this year have cooled slightly when compared to 12 months earlier, with employers pointing to higher interest rates and material costs and a shortage of skilled labour as being of particular concern.

When broken down by region, contractors working in northern Ontario proved to be the most optimistic about the year ahead, with 31% saying they expect to handle more work this year. This compares to a province-wide average of 26%.

Operating Engineers can expect to be in high demand in 2024, with 34% of contractors intending to increase hiring. There was good news, too, for those members starting their careers with Local 793, with 78% of unionized contractors employing apprentices, compared to just 50% of non-union firms.

CLICK HERE to download a copy of the 2024 Contractor Survey.