Shė:kon, my name is Jim Jacobs and I am a Proud member of the Mohawk Nation at the Six Nations of the Grand River and a Proud member of IUOE Local 793.
I have been in the Construction/Transportation Industry for 25 years working in Tennessee and the Southern USA and back home at Six Nations Ontario. Experience in both non-union and union environments with the Union experience being the highlight of my career. Working in many sectors such as pipeline, EPSCA, utilities, and heavy civil on many major projects in the province eventually leading to an opportunity to work as an organizer for Local 793 and to my present position as the Indigenous Relations Coordinator.
I believe my childhood experiences of growing up on the family beef cattle and cash crop farm led me to be successful pursuing many goals along the way. Some of those include attending Missouri Valley College on a football scholarship, also the University of Oklahoma, and a semi pro season with the Buffalo Lancers and Hamilton Wildcats winning the Great Lakes Football league Championship. I have also pursued music along the way while working in Nashville Tennessee eventually releasing my first album in 2022 earning a Country Album of the Year award at the SSIMA’s held in Ottawa in June 2023 and most recently a nominee and finalist for Best Country Recording in the Native American Music Awards.
Most recently I’ve been focusing on the recruitment of Indigenous apprentices across Ontario by attending as many trade shows, career fairs, and conferences as I can as well as touring with APSIP to reach high schools in Ontario attended by young Indigenous Men and Women informing them on our fee free apprenticeships at OETIO ( Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario) and the importance of working a union job to earn a pension and benefits.
“If I wasn’t working in the Union of my trade, I wouldn’t have a house for my family, and a lot of other things in my life. Also, I would not have been able to afford the many trips back and forth from Nashville to record.”
“If I was still working non union I would still be renting, still struggling week to week, have no pension to retire on, and no benefits” Local 793 has changed my life.