Jim Jacobs

Jim Jacobs has worked in the construction and transportation industry for over 26 years, gaining experience in Tennessee and throughout the southern United States, as well as back home at Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario. His career includes experience in both non-union and union environments, with his union experience being the highlight of his career.

Jim has worked across many sectors, including pipeline, EPSCA, utilities, and heavy civil construction, on numerous major projects throughout the province. This experience eventually led to an opportunity to grow into a role as an Organizer with Local 793, and later into his current position as Indigenous Relations Coordinator.

“I believe my childhood experiences of growing up on a beef cattle and cash crop farm were the backbone of my work ethic and led me to successfully pursue many goals along the way.”

Some of these achievements include attending Missouri Valley College on a football scholarship, studying at the University of Oklahoma, and playing a semi-professional season with the Buffalo Lancers and Hamilton Wildcats, where he won the Great Lakes Football League Championship. Alongside his career in construction, Jim also pursued music while working in Nashville, Tennessee. He released his first album in 2022, earning Country Album of the Year at the SSIMA Awards held in Ottawa in June 2023, and is currently a nominee for Best Country Recording at the upcoming Native American Music Awards.

Most recently, Jim has focused on the recruitment of Indigenous apprentices across Ontario by attending trade shows, career fairs, and conferences, as well as touring with APSIP (Aboriginal Post-Secondary Information Program) to visit high schools across the province. Through this work, he informs young Indigenous men and women about fee-free apprenticeships at OETIO (Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario) and the importance of working in a unionized environment to earn a real pension and benefits.

Jim also encourages Indigenous construction companies to consider becoming signatory contractors or partnering with existing signatory companies to gain access to major construction projects. This approach helps companies build the skills and capacity needed to undertake large-scale projects while providing pensions, benefits, no-cost upgrade training, and long-term employment opportunities for First Nation workers.

“If I wasn’t working in the union in my heavy equipment trade, I wouldn’t have a house for my family or many of the other things in my life. I also wouldn’t have been able to afford the many trips back and forth from Nashville to record.”“If I were still working non-union, I would still be renting, struggling week to week to scrape by, with no pension to retire on and no real health and dental benefits.”

Local 793 has changed my life.