Local 793’s Gallagher Condemns Poilievre’s Anti-Worker ‘Games’

Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers has condemned Pierre Poilievre and his federal Conservative Party of Canada for playing politics with the futures of working people by blocking key employment legislation. Bill-C-50, which offers protection to workers as the country moves towards a low-carbon future, and Bill C-58, which bans employers from […]

Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers has condemned Pierre Poilievre and his federal Conservative Party of Canada for playing politics with the futures of working people by blocking key employment legislation.

Bill-C-50, which offers protection to workers as the country moves towards a low-carbon future, and Bill C-58, which bans employers from using scab labour during a contract dispute, would go some way towards levelling the playing field for workers after years of attacks on jobs and wages. The passage of both bills has been held up as part of a wider Conservative attempt to block the government’s agenda.

Local 793 Business Manager, Mike Gallagher, said, “I warned our members months ago that Pierre Poilievre was no friend of workers and his antics in Parliament are now making that crystal clear.

“We have been fighting long and hard for legislation that would stop employers from using scabs to undermine workers who have a democratic right to demand better paying jobs in construction all over the country.

“Poilievre’s willingness to play silly games with the futures of our members is sickening and we will continue to call him out and make sure his attempt to stand in the way of stronger protections for all Canadian workers ends in failure.”

Read a statement from Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, here.

New Crane Safety Regulations Begin January 1

Ontario has completed the amendments to O. Reg. 213/91 (Construction Projects) and O. Reg. 420/21 (Notices and Reports under Sections 51 to 53.1 of the Act – Fatalities, Critical Injuries, Occupational Illnesses and Other Incidents) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), to be implemented on January 1st 2024. Many of these changes come […]

Ontario has completed the amendments to O. Reg. 213/91 (Construction Projects) and O. Reg. 420/21 (Notices and Reports under Sections 51 to 53.1 of the Act – Fatalities, Critical Injuries, Occupational Illnesses and Other Incidents) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), to be implemented on January 1st 2024. Many of these changes come from the recommendations of the tower crane regulation review working group, which IUOE Local 793 and OETIO took part in.

  • Beginning January 2024, tower and mobile cranes are required to meet the CSA-Z248 and CAS-Z150 standards, which is the highest standard for Crane Safety in Canada.

Some of these changes include clarifying or adding new design, installation, maintenance, inspection, and record-keeping requirements; requiring comprehensive inspections of tower cranes.

Changes to O. Reg. 420/21 (Notices and Reports under Sections 51 to 53.1 of the Act – Fatalities, Critical Injuries, Occupational Illnesses and Other Incidents) under the OHSA have also been approved. The amendments will add a new requirement for the ministry to be notified of a failure to control a crane or a load, including any rigging failure, and for an engineer’s report on the cause of the incident.

Most of these changes will come into force on January 1, 2024. Other requirements, including those involving equipment upgrades, will come into force on January 1, 2025.

For more information on the OHSA amendments, please watch the full webinar HERE

Building Homes for Ontarians

Brother Nick Grolway, a 10-year member of Local 793, operates a Liebherr 1090 mobile crane for Jarnel Contracting Ltd. Brother Grolway is hoisting modular house sections into place at a residential development in Kenora, northwestern Ontario, 215 km east of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Brother Nick Grolway, a 10-year member of Local 793, operates a Liebherr 1090 mobile crane for Jarnel Contracting Ltd.

Brother Grolway is hoisting modular house sections into place at a residential development in Kenora, northwestern Ontario, 215 km east of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Member in his mobile crane
Brother Nick Grolway operating a Liebherr 1090 mobile crane.
Housing is hoisted into place.
Brother Nick Grolway hoists pre-fabricated house sections into place in Kenora.

Join Us for the Oakville Santa Claus Parade

The Christmas season officially gets underway this weekend as the Town of Oakville stages its annual Santa Claus Parade on Saturday, November 18. Local 793 is again participating, with the OETIO float being decked out to capture this year’s parade theme of Holiday Movies and Icons. Members wishing to take part should email jwong@oetio.com by […]

The Christmas season officially gets underway this weekend as the Town of Oakville stages its annual Santa Claus Parade on Saturday, November 18.

Local 793 is again participating, with the OETIO float being decked out to capture this year’s parade theme of Holiday Movies and Icons.

Members wishing to take part should email jwong@oetio.com by 2 p.m. on Friday and plan to arrive at the staging area at the corner of Trafalgar Road and Robinson Street in Oakville no later than 8 a.m. due to set-up/line preparation and planned road closures in the area. The parade itself will get underway at 9 a.m. (rain or shine).

We ho-ho-hope to see you there!

For more details, click here

Map of route
2023 Oakville Santa Claus Parade route.

New Minister of Labour Joins OETIO at Level Up! Event

David Piccini MPP, Ontario’s recently appointed Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, was just one of many visitors who flocked to the OETIO booth on Thursday morning, day two of the latest Level Up! Skilled Trades Career Fair in Mississauga. Level Up! travels to every corner of the province allowing young people and jobseekers to […]

David Piccini MPP, Ontario’s recently appointed Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, was just one of many visitors who flocked to the OETIO booth on Thursday morning, day two of the latest Level Up! Skilled Trades Career Fair in Mississauga.

Level Up! travels to every corner of the province allowing young people and jobseekers to explore career opportunities within the skilled trades.

Minister Piccini tested his operating skills on the OETIO simulator at the event held at the International Centre and chatted with staff, including Carla St. Louis (Director of Marketing and Indigenous Affairs), Lee Charlebois (Senior IT Specialist), Brendan Ryan, Nick McGuinn, Dave De Luca and Michael Belcher (Business Reps).

The next Level Up! event takes place at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa on November 21-22.

OETIO booth
Minister David Piccini (centre) pictured with (from left) Brendan Ryan (Business Rep), Michael Belcher (Business Rep), Nick McGuinn (Business Rep), Carla St. Louis (Director of Marketing and Indigenous Affairs), Lee Charlebois (Senior IT Specialist) and Dave De Luca (Business Rep).

Local 793 Members Digging Deeper in Markham

Local 793 members Victor Neto and Brad Burton are working for Robert B. Somerville on a series of integrity digs on Enterprise Road in Markham. Brother Victor operates a Komatsu PC360 excavator and Brother Brad operates a John Deere 524 mid-size wheel loader on site. Somerville is installing lines for Markham District Energy at depths […]

Local 793 members Victor Neto and Brad Burton are working for Robert B. Somerville on a series of integrity digs on Enterprise Road in Markham.

Brother Victor operates a Komatsu PC360 excavator and Brother Brad operates a John Deere 524 mid-size wheel loader on site.

Somerville is installing lines for Markham District Energy at depths of up to 10 metres to avoid interference with other underground utilities.

Member in excavator
Brother Victor Neto operating a Komatsu PC360 excavator.
Member in wheel loader
Brother Brad Burton operating a John Deere 524 mid-size wheel loader on site.

Local 793 Member Dan Walton Completes First Ironman Triathlon in Florida

Local 793 member and Baffinland ore haul truck mechanic, Dan Walton, showed his mettle on the weekend as he completed his first Ironman in Florida’s Panama City Beach, part of the VinFast Ironman North America Series. Dan was sponsored by IUOE Local 793 and proudly wore a specially designed suit emblazoned with the Union’s logo. […]

Local 793 member and Baffinland ore haul truck mechanic, Dan Walton, showed his mettle on the weekend as he completed his first Ironman in Florida’s Panama City Beach, part of the VinFast Ironman North America Series.

Dan was sponsored by IUOE Local 793 and proudly wore a specially designed suit emblazoned with the Union’s logo.

He completed the 3.9km swim, 180.2km cycle and 42.2km run in a rapid 12:50:47, placing him 48th in the 55-59 age group and 855th overall out of 1,789 competitors. The pro race was won by American Rudy von Berg in 7:34:41.

After crossing the finish line, Dan said, “I was very happy with my performance and didn’t stop once due to fatigue. I had a good swim, a blistering bike ride and a great run.”

You can read a full account of Dan’s journey from iron mine to Ironman in December’s Making Tracks magazine.

Congratulations Dan on your terrific achievement!

Dan Walton Ironman Florida competitor
Dan Walton celebrates completing the Ironman event in Florida.
Dan Walton emerges from ocean
Dan emerges from the ocean after a 3.9km swim.
Dan Walton on bike.
The Baffinland mechanic completed a 180.2km bike ride.
Dan Walton runs a marathon
The Ironman event concluded with Dan running a marathon.

Doing A “Dam” Good Job In Timmins

Brother Blake Triebl operates a Link-Belt LS-108B crawler crane for GDB Constructeurs at the Frederick House Lake Dam, 50 km northeast of Timmins. The rehabilitation project will extend the operating life of the dam, which was constructed in 1937-38, by approximately 50 years. The work, which will run until the fall of 2025, includes concrete […]

Brother Blake Triebl operates a Link-Belt LS-108B crawler crane for GDB Constructeurs at the Frederick House Lake Dam, 50 km northeast of Timmins. The rehabilitation project will extend the operating life of the dam, which was constructed in 1937-38, by approximately 50 years.

The work, which will run until the fall of 2025, includes concrete repairs to the dam and sluiceway structure; the replacement of gains, sills, stop logs and sectional gates; road maintenance to support construction access; and temporary in-water work (e.g. cofferdams).

Operator with crane at dam project
Brother Blake Trieble operates a crawler crane for GDB Constructeurs

London Calling for OETIO

The Level Up! Skilled Trades Career Fairs made its latest stop in London on November 1-2. Sponsored by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and supported by the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO), Level Up! allows young people and jobseekers in every corner of the province to explore opportunities within […]

The Level Up! Skilled Trades Career Fairs made its latest stop in London on November 1-2. Sponsored by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and supported by the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO), Level Up! allows young people and jobseekers in every corner of the province to explore opportunities within the skilled trades.

Staffing the OETIO booth in London were: (L to R) Mike Barons (Sarnia Business Rep), Kelly Burla (London Business Rep), Steve Booze (Southwest Ontario Supervisor), Paul Knight (Sarnia Business Rep) and Donny Collins (London Business Rep).

Next, Level Up! visits the International Centre in Mississauga from November 15-16.

OETIO booth and staff at the Level Up! career fair in London, Ont.
L to R: Mike Barons (Sarnia Business Rep), Kelly Burla (London Business Rep), Steve Booze (Southwest Ontario Supervisor), Paul Knight (Sarnia Business Rep) and Donny Collins ( London Business Rep).

No Bridge Too Far for Local 793 Members

Local 793 member and Demolition Plus operator Gary Buiting at the controls of a Cat 336 excavator on a bridge demolition job for GIP Morrisburg in Winchester, Ont.

Local 793 member and Demolition Plus operator Gary Buiting at the controls of a Cat 336 excavator on a bridge demolition job for GIP Morrisburg in Winchester, Ont.

Local 793 member Gary Buiting at the controls of a Cat 336 excavator
Local 793 member Gary Buiting at the controls of a Cat 336 excavator