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Wellness & Well-being Highlights July 3
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of July 3, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how poverty negatively impacts a child’s brain to the benefits of hypnotherapy to the recent US Supreme Court’s rulings on colleges & affirmative action and student debt relief. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of the “graying” of America. This week I include no less than 4 articles touching on aspects of how grandparents’ duties have changed over the past couple of decades. In addition, why some people into their 80s choose to continue to work. Addressing the former, I have made it no secret in this weekly blog the extent of our country’s opioids crisis. One consequence is that more and more grandparents—who once viewed their retirement years as time for worldly travels, rest, and relaxation—are now stepping up to fill in as parents to their grandchildren. Far too many parents in the 25-54 year range have lost their lives to what I referred to as a “pandemic” long before we knew what COVID-19 was. With respect to the latter, on one hand, the instability of global markets, climate change, epidemics, and a lack of defined pension plans in most workplaces in the past 3 decades have been cause for many older Americans not having sufficient funds to live comfortably in retirement. Thus, finding PT work in retirement is a means of survival vs a need to feed a hobby. While, on the other hand, there are those of us who are able to seek opportunities to contribute. Beyond the ultruism of paying it forward, research suggests that staying active (i.e., consulting, volunteering, etc.) builds/maintains social connections which can help stave off loneliness and early death. With an apparent worker shortage, it seems to make sense for firms to recruit and accommodate retirees to assist in filling in the gaps. To this end, retirees can offer more than institutional knowledge…they can also serve as role models. As my dear friend Dr Doug Swanson recently remarked, “This is the first time in US history that we have 5 generations in the workforce at the same time.” To me, that sounds less like a death knell and more like opportunity knocking!
Sources: https://the1a.org/segments/the-opioid-crisis-is-causing-grandparents-to-become-caregivers-again/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/grandparents-get-their-version-of-parental-leave-825fa88c
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184268060/what-does-an-older-population-mean-for-the-economy-society-at-large
https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/social-fitness/amp/
On Social Fitness
Shortage of cancer drugs?
The science of trauma
Impact of Poverty on Children’s Brains
NYC / Homeless / Mental Illness
Is there a link between Marijuana / Schizophrenia / Young Men?
How to unwind w/o alcohol
On teachers & family leave
Help for vulnerable Moms in TX
Overview: EMDR Therapy
What to know about Ketamine
Dopamine & Your Brain
Stop treating back pain w/ Opioids
Good Sighs
Mental Imaging
Gen Z & MH
Coping w/ Grief: Kids
More on Social Media & Teens
Benefits of Hypnotherapy
Emotional labor’s impact on relationships
Mindtraps & Unhealthy Relationships
On fighting loneliness
Fitness vs Losing Weight
Self-care for the Summer
Intermittent Fasting
Rip currents
Motherhood & Finances
Grandparents: Opioids Crisis & Caregiving
Grandparents: Grandternity Leave
Workers bargain for hero pay
Why are there so many strikes today?
CA workers feel emboldened
New fed rules may help Miners
US Supreme Court & AA college ruling
US Supreme Court & Student Debt ruling
Biden’s response to Supreme Court & Student Debt (1)
Biden’s response to Supreme Court & Student Debt (2)
WF Shortage: Car Repair
WF Shortage: Military
Focus on future job skills
Rage applying
Loud Quitting
Grumpy Staying
Working into your 80s
What does an aging population mean to an economy?
India’s best jobs
OSHA Safety Ruling (IL)
Vietnam & China: Trafficking women/girls
NABTU / Urban League’s National Partnership: Construction Pre-apprenticeships
Rural states benefit from improved Internet access
Project Enlist: Vets & PTSD / TBI / CTE
NFL / Kosar & >100 concussions
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
State of the St. Louis Workforce event
Outreach Assistance @ STL Co Library
Yoga for Pre-K
Teens & Conflict Resolution
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Wellness & Well-being Highlights June 26
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of June 26, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how changes in states’ marijuana policies are posing problems for management to a focus on keeping working teens safe to how yoga can improve your sleep. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of work-related stress. The MO AFL-CIO established the MWI’s Worker Wellness Program in an effort to help reduce this very matter. As noted in the report from Canada herein, heavy workloads and the inability to find work-life balance are suspected culprits…even more so for women! Since COVID, many workers have been doing more with less: less staff, less support. As such, stress becomes more common. When “bad” stress consumes our lives (inside and outside of work) we find it difficult to not always be in the “on” mode. As a result, it may be time to step back before you burnout and consider taking a mental health day. Meanwhile, we also need to building and maintaining strong social networks. In so doing, we must learn the importance of forgiving ourselves and others. Experts suggest that this ability to forgive improves the physical and mental health of those around us.
Sources: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230619/dq230619c-eng.htm?utm_campaign=Headlines_062023_CAN&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/signs-you-should-take-a-mental-health-day-and-how-to-do-it/?slot=0&xid=nl_EHNLemohealth_2023-06-19_31834789&utm_source=Newsletters&nl_key=nl_mentalhealth_mooddisorders&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2023-06-19&utm_campaign=Mental_Health_and_Mood_Disorders&utm_term=creativeA&zdee=gAAAAABikG1kcRpju65OYCK7OOXNGPqsAHzj0TznqvuKxOMShKA7dc68seNhy4nsFj67Pyu5gaL7tn3lBuD6s0q5FP0XC2_KARLiqozFs-l0-aoEHEH7qiI%3D
https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/big-ways-forgiveness-is-good-for-your-health/?slot=0&xid=nl_EHNLemohealth_2023-06-21_31855319&utm_source=Newsletters&nl_key=nl_mentalhealth_mooddisorders&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2023-06-21&utm_campaign=Mental_Health_and_Mood_Disorders&utm_term=creativeA&zdee=gAAAAABikG1kcRpju65OYCK7OOXNGPqsAHzj0TznqvuKxOMShKA7dc68seNhy4nsFj67Pyu5gaL7tn3lBuD6s0q5FP0XC2_KARLiqozFs-l0-aoEHEH7qiI%3D
What’s behind work-related stress?
Jobsite safety matters!
988 awareness lags
Marijuana & Work
Opioids settlement tracker
Missouri fact sheet: Opioids settlement
7 Days in Arkansas
Indonesia / Drug rehab / Slavery
Teen wins award: Suicide prevention
Teen vaping continues
Children / Gun violence / MH
Youth workers & Safety/Well-being
Youth stressors
Kids & Summer boredom
COVID & Rise in MH apps
Screening ALL adults for anxiety?
Vagus nerve & MH
How to be happy?
Grandparents & Happiness
Caring for our elderly
When to take a MH day?
On building resilience
Vets & Yoga
Why Tai Chi?
Yoga & Sleep
Why “forgiveness” matters?
Does Ozempic reduce cravings?
Drugs & Body positivity
Senate targets labor rights
Missouri may penalize teachers
Starbucks & Pride strike
Supreme Court & DEI
Youth tests scores drop
Skills vs Degree
Dechurching
AI tools
AI: Human vs Machine touch
Young adults: Should milestones matter?
Homelessness on the rise
Force + # of hits = CTE
Concussion/CTE prevention protocol
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
Adult MHFA
Youth MHFA
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/training/videolectures/kratom-a-botanical-with-traditional-use-in-asia-to-treat-pain-and-opioid-use-problems
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/training/videolectures/change-your-brain-transform-mind
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Wellness & Well-being Highlights June 19
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of June 19, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from Illinois’ top psychiatrist sharing his vision for improving the mental health “system” to how Russia cannot find enough workers due to the exodus related to their invasion of Ukraine…meanwhile, China cannot supply enough jobs for their recent college graduates to how nearly 30% of FATHERS prefer WFH arrangements in order to establish better work-life balance. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of peer support in the construction industry. Earlier this past week, STL Public Radio’s “St. Louis on the Air” show provided a full hour coverage on how STL Laborers Locals 42 & 110 are addressing the mental health needs of their members and their dependents. I tip my hat to Don Willey, Diana Marburger, and the Laborers Health & Welfare Trust funds’ trustees for being pioneers in this much-needed space of addiction awareness and suicide prevention. The STL LEAN (Laborers Escaping Addiction Now) model is based on a 24/7/365 program in Massachusetts that has been operating for several years now. My hopes are that other trades and industries design and implement similar programs for their members/workers. In the meantime, let’s also consider how technology may play a part in our outreach efforts.
Sources: https://www.constructforstl.org/how-lean-stl-helps-st-louis-laborers-fight-addiction/
https://www.wcbu.org/local-news/2023-06-15/peoria-psychiatrist-outlines-blueprint-for-improving-access-to-mental-health-care-across-illinois
https://www.themoxyvoice.com/moxy-voice/powerful-roundtable-discussion-emphasizes-peer-support-in-the-construction-industry
Dr Lancia’s blueprint for improving MH
How STL Laborers are providing peer support
More on peer support in the construction industry
A game changer: Naloxone
Harm reduction: MOBILE treatment for opioids
Who is fighting the opioids settlement?
Where are the opioids settlement funds???
Reneging on the opioids settlement!
Tranq: Xylazine’s dangers (1)
Tranq: Xylazine’s dangers (2)
Tranq: Xylazine’s dangers (3)
What is Congress doing about Fentanyl’s future?
Is Syria a bigger drug dealer than Mexico?
More on Meth
Vets & Suicide Prevention
Are lower levers of alcohol consumption good for you?
Banning Snap Chat for younger teens?
Noise’s impact on your health
Money / Youth / Brain power
Your unconscious mind & MH
Women & Sleep
Knowing your future self
A path to happiness
NCAA / Marijuana / Athletes
Ozempic & Nature’s substitute?
Floating & MH
Gardening & Exercise
Exercises for anywhere
The walking workout
PRIDE Tool Kit
BIPOC MH Tool Kit
SIH Workers Comp 2023 Summit
Update: West Coast Dockworkers talks
UPS workers strike
Amazon drivers walkout
Wage theft across the USA
Violence against teachers on the rise
When more hiring = Less work
Impact of the 4-day workweek
Rethinking our relationship w/ work
The office jerk
Layoffs & Good employees exiting
Russia needs workers
China needs jobs
On military spouses & transporting their professional licenses
Safety issue: Older Pilots
Safety issue: Younger kids
EEOC / Construction Industry / Discrimination
Update: Student loans restart
Fathers & Work-Life Balance
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
QPR Suicide Prevention
Vets & Loneliness
Drug OD Prevention (Self-paced courses)
SLPL’s Health & Resource Fair
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Wellness & Well-being Highlights June 11
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of June 11, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how the decrease in opium production has impacted the Taliban to how practicing gratitude improves lives beyond the giver and receiver to how retirees need to actively manage their money. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of child care in the USA. This week, I have posted links to at least 5 timely articles on this topic. Between the impact of COVID, grandparents living longer and seeking more adventure, and lingering student debt, caretakers (mainly women) are having to make choices that often involve dire consequences…especially for those who are trying to survive at low-wage jobs. If children truly are our future, then we need to collectively propose solutions that ensure all kids have opportunities to learn and grow in safe and loving environments. Research suggests that kids who are not reading at grade level by grade 4, are more than likely to become part of the criminal justice system. A number of European countries addressed this important topic decades ago. Might it be time that we consider their lessons learned?
Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/25/health/child-care-parenting-explainer-intl/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/upshot/child-care-biden.html
Drug addiction & prevention info (Multiple Languages)
Ontario requires some businesses to carry Narcan
Narcan: How much is too much?
Opium & Taliban’s feature
Opioid settlement funds: Going forward
Opioid settlement disappointment (1)
Opioid settlement disappointment (2)
Weight loss drugs & Addictions?
Are people w/ SUD being mistreated by medical professionals?
On triggering depression
Signs of childhood depression
Parents’ response to the loss of their daughter
How Social Media is impacting our kids
MH & Career discrimination
Mpox awareness: Summer 2023
The benefits of GRATITUDE
When self-care is no longer self-care
Religion & Health
On long term care insurance
On exhausting your retirement savings
MH & Rural Living
Tick season is here
Newt’s demise
Japan wants foreign workers
The US child care dilemma (1)
The US child care dilemma (2)
The US child care dilemma (3)
Child care & Grandma…Don’t count on it
Child care / Women / COVID rebound
The lifeguard shortage
Teaching others to SWIM
Elie’s Night: Revisited
Animal rights?
Helicopter parents…in the workplace!
RUST in the workplace
Menopause benefits?
Neonatal leave?
Women / Men / Time
The job of attracting & retaining apprentices
Take the PHISHING quiz
The Gay badge of honor
Upcoming webinar:
Queering the farm
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Wellness & Well-being Highlights June 4
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of June 4, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how jails across the nation are experiencing an influx of mentally ill “inmates” awaiting competency treatment to advice on how today’s workers are seeking work with meaning to how more high school grads are skipping college. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of homelessness in America. Hardly a week goes by where I do not see an increase of panhandlers on street corners in my region. According to the article cited below, California has seen its homeless population grow by 50% in the last 6 years. In fact, this state has about ½ of nation’s unsheltered people (~115k)! Leaders there recognize that the $17b spent on resolving this issue in the past 4 years has NOT worked. Some experts suggest that closing down encampments merely moves the “problem” to other nearby areas. Make no mistake, this is a public health issue; Drugs, crime, sanitation are just a few matters these “host” cities must contend with in this context. More importantly, as a nation that claims to be a world leader, isn’t it time we find more humane ways to assist those in need (i.e., Vets, drug addicts, mentally ill)? Too often, our govt officials seek one-size-fits-all cures. Hopefully, this article will help clarify that simple responses rarely result in lasting solutions that positively impact the people who make up our communities.
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/california-homeless-population-oakland-wood-street-encampment-78d42cc3?mod=Searchresults_pos3&page=1
Prisons as psych wards
Sacklers / Opioids lawsuit / Bankruptcy (1)
Sacklers / Opioids lawsuit / Bankruptcy (2)
Sacklers / Opioids lawsuit / Bankruptcy (3)
Opioids / Suboxone / Greed
Opioids solution & African plant
Opioids solution & Tech
Depression & Appetite
More on dementia
Workquake: Today’s new rules?
Americans & Free Time
Walking & MH
Binge eating as a MH issue
Mindful Tech
Do ALL video games harm kids?
Kids / Parents / Social Media
Supreme Court / Unions / Strikes (1)
Supreme Court / Unions / Strikes (2)
LA Strippers Unionize
NLRB & Noncompete clauses
More are forgoing college
Aging out & Construction
Canada’s talent shortage?
Oakland’s homeless encampment
Military & Mold
Tech & Tracking your spouse
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
MH Screening Tool
Business skills for formerly incarcerated
Summer’s here – Be prepared (Quiz)
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Wellness & Well-being Highlights May 28
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of May 28, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from why one’s mental health can impact her/his body’s aging to how scientists are applying COVID-related research techniques to help identify drug misuse in communities to the pros and cons of retiring abroad. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of industries across the board insisting that OSHA treat the mental health aspects of safety in the workplace with the same level of care that they currently require for the physical aspects of safety. Recently, a major contractor took a stand on this very issue in spite of OSHA’s claim that these hazards “are outside the agency’s purview for providing a safe workplace.” Hopefully, the research about to get underway on psychological safety in the construction industry will help provide additional evidence to move OSHA from a passive stance to an active approach to mental health. Focusing only on the physical aspects of safety is a half-hearted strategy to keeping workers safe. After all, people do not leave their personal baggage at the time clock. What more needs to be considered? It is no secret that: 1) Illegal drug use exists on the job (white- and blue-collar); and 2) Addiction is a brain disease. As May (Mental Health Month) comes to a close, let’s commit to making mental health in the workplace an everyday issue not unlike requiring tool guards, masks, and hearing & eye protection. If our workers truly are our most valuable asset, then why are we waiting to include at least a 1-hour segment addressing these mental health “hazards” in our OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 courses?
Sources: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/suffolk-osha-require-suicide-awareness-training/649667/?:%202023-05-10%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:50365%5D
https://www.constructiondive.com/news/researcher-secures-174k-grant-study-psychological-safety-construction/650852/?:%202023-05-23%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:50715%5D
Pushing US-DOL’s OSHA to require Suicide Awareness training
New grant awarded to study psychological safety in construction
Getting to know the adolescent brain
Youth promoting MH for the young
Youth / Social Media / Surgeon General / MH (1)
Youth / Social Media / Surgeon General / MH (2)
On MH and the aging of your body
Blacks / Police violence / MH
Wearables & MH
DEA / Opioids license / Failures
Lessons learned from COVID wastewater & Drug overdoses
New Narcan?
Why ALL of us should carry Narcan!
Is OR legalizing psychedelics?
On treating chronic pain
Ozempic: Who pays for weight loss?
Infants / Sleep / Lullabies
On practicing forgiveness
Art & MH
Hypnotherapy & MH
Ashley Judd on Mom’s suicide
Retiring abroad (1)
Retiring abroad (2)
New kickoff rule = A safer NFL?
On worker shortages & rolling back Child Labor Laws
LA Strippers unionize
US having fewer babies: Impact of Limited Social Mobility & Weak Safety Net
Share of immigrant workforce grows in USA
Surge in youth immigrants reaching the US border
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
Narcan Training
Improving perinatal care
Stretch yoga
Yoga + Dance
Missouri Household Survey: Broadband
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Wellness & Well-being Highlights May 21
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of May 21, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the use of vending machines for Narcan to how “optional” perks from the past are now becoming “essential” for addressing employees’ MH to how recent inflationary pressures are impacting prison inmates. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of opening our borders so that qualified foreign workers can obtain gainful employment while filling areas where workforce shortages exist and are persistent. A number of developed countries (including Canada, Japan, and Germany…our allies) have recently tweaked their immigration policies in response to their aging populations (wherein birth rates have severely decreased over the past 3-4 decades). The USA is facing a similar situation but continues to resist a systemic approach to this dilemma. As a baby-boomer, sooner rather than later, I am concerned that not addressing this matter in a holistic manner will result in a lesser quality-of-life for not just me but our nation as a whole. In closing, let’s try to learn lessons from BJC’s foray into attracting nurses from abroad and expand this concept to other sectors of our economy…while trying NOT to kill the goose laying those golden eggs!
Sources: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-worlds-biggest-economies-cautiously-open-their-doors-to-more-foreign-workers-664c3549
https://www.ksdk.com/video/news/health/faced-with-nursing-shortage-this-st-louis-hospital-is-looking-for-workers-abroad/63-3fe14f9e-ce87-4084-9835-ff936f8e0cde
MAY is Mental Health Awareness Month
Update: Overdose deaths (1)
Update: Overdose deaths (2)
Campaign to expand the MH workforce
Narcan vending machines
A new “War on Drugs”?
Police / Fentanyl / Risks
Teens / Drugs / Guns
On taking a MH day
Benefits of supporting others at work: Men v Women
MH in the workplace: Options v Essential
Warning: Processed meats
Schools & Diabetes
Tik Tok / Teens / Darkness
Dealing w/ Long COVID
More on Loneliness
Remaining sharp in Retirement
MLK: The Christian Radical
Scabby the Rat
UPMC v Union Nurses
Update: Writers’ strike
The meaning of “picket”
Rage-applying & Employee Well-being
Women & Burnout
On landing white-collar job
The disappearing white-collar job
Is a college degree worth it?
Funemployment
College students’ migration
China & College grads
Opening doors to foreign workers
STL hospitals / Nurses / International recruiting
Biden / Diploma divide
US students flunk civics
Workforce Development & Fraud?
How to ID workplace bullies
Terrible tips / Happiness
Inflation in prisons
Poverty in the US: Why?
Adults & Community Colleges
India / Women / Construction
AI’s impact on the workplace
When wives out-earn husbands…
US Military & Sexual Slavery
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
Recovery Friendly Workplaces
Building personal resilience
Mindful Teen Meditation
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Wellness & Well-being Highlights May 14
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of May 14, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the change in COVID-19’s public health emergency status to how teens are being negatively impacted by technology to when it comes to savings, nearly half of today’s baby boomers are ill-prepared. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of Child Labor. Last Sunday, CBS ran a 60 Minutes segment on this very topic. Wherein, children under the age of 18 were working the overnight shifts, at numerous slaughterhouses, for an independent contractor. They were cleaning processing equipment with dangerous chemicals around and with dangerous tools. Most of these children were also attending school after their work shifts. Sadly, a few of them have been scarred and several have fallen asleep in their classrooms. Thanks to attentive educators, this packing company and their contractor have been called out. This reminds me of a common saying in airports since 9-11: See something, say something. Profits and capitalism at all costs contradict what unions have worked long and hard to protect: Human Rights, Civil Rights, and Workers’ Rights…for ALL, not just a select few!
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/government-investigation-into-slaughterhouse-cleaning-company-that-hired-children-60-minutes-transcript-2023-05-07/
US workers & Chronic pain
How fentanyl is devastating the USA
Why Narcan matters
Kroger’s Opioids settlement
Mammograms @ 40
COVID-19 Update
More on Loneliness
Teens & Screens
Tech / Teens/ FOMO
Girls / Dance / MH
Kids / Plant therapy
Outdoors & Anxious teens
Workers / MH / Taking time off
Post-partum depression & Suicide
Happiness & Mental tricks
Gun violence & Public Health
Diabetes & Debt
Baby boomers & Retirement savings
When you stop feeling young
Youth & Hearing aids
Breast PUMP law
College: Who needs psychotherapy?
Tired of living?
More on meditating
STL MetroLink & MH
Are you a mosquito magnet?
STL construction strike
Balance of power: Workers & Employers
On honoring a Latino General
40m US students w/ some college but no degrees
Work vs Work-Life Balance
VERY few of us are GOOD at multi-tasking
Blue collar / Child care / Barriers
STL low unemployment rate
Influx of youth & Construction industry
Will India replace China as the world’s factory floor?
1937 Chicago Labor Day Massacre
More on Child Labor
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
CPWR: Residential Safety
UM-Ext: MH Parity Update
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Wellness & Well-being Highlights May 7
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of May 7, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how the DEA is taking a new approach to stemming our nation’s opioid (fentanyl) crisis to how John Legend is supporting efforts to help former prisoners re-enter the workforce to the Surgeon General’s take on the negative impact of isolation and loneliness in our society. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of how a medical doctor’s recent life and death experience (related to a food allergy) on a SWA flight has garnered national attention. Apparently, SWA’s first aid kit did not have an EpiPen to assist her but fortunately another passenger (first responder) was available to administer a shot of epinephrine. Not too long ago, I wrote about my experience last October on SWA’s Flight 928 wherein a first responder and I used Narcan to revive a passenger who was in throes of an opioid overdose. If you recall, afterwards, SWA ignored my request to address the issue in a professional and responsible manner. As I reflect on these two distinct events, I feel a need to ask if SWA’s failure to act months ago had more to do with the “stigma” of drug misuse vs saving face (i.e., flying ill-equipped planes w/ ill-prepared employees)? More importantly, the FAA is in the process of reviewing their minimum standards regarding airlines’ first aid kits. Hopefully, by the end of this summer, we will see ALL commercial carriers carrying Narcan and EpiPens on their flights as well as have flight crews trained to administer these life-saving drugs!
Sources: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/movement-equip-airplanes-epipens-gaining-traction-rcna82392
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/tony-messenger/messenger-st-louis-man-who-saved-overdose-victim-pushes-airline-to-carry-narcan/article_54ced5c1-9d10-5867-9101-979b08e9bc3e.html
Kids’ declining MH
Senate / Limits / Social Media / Kids’ MH
Gun assaults on kids more than double during COVID’s peak
DEA’s new Fentanyl strategy
Fentanyl deaths spike
Test strips for Fentanyl
I can, You can, We all can, NARCAN
Will a near death on SWA flight prompt FAA to review rules?
High School suicide results in reviewing current MH system
WHO / COVID-19 / New era
Life after prison
Marijuana & Federal jobs
Sans alcohol & Sober derby
Back pain & Cooking
How to say goodbye
Surgeon General / Isolation & Loneliness (1)
Surgeon General / Isolation & Loneliness (2)
Surgeon General / Isolation & Loneliness (3)
Women & Maternal Health
Period products in men’s restrooms?
Fried foods / Depression & Anxiety
Women / Construction / Injuries
STL-based General Contractor transitions to Safety Helmets
UFCW opposes Kroger merger
More on Child Labor (1)
More on Child Labor (2)
Missouri’s book banning?
Amazon’s affordable healthcare & Privacy?
Are nurses flocking back to hospitals?
Billboard firm sues Carpenters’ Union
Are HS seniors spurning college?
Is community college a waste of time?
College students / Housing crisis / Trailers
NFL & Employment Discrimination
KY High School football player dies
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
MHFA: Mental Health First Aid
QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer (Suicide Prevention Training)
Illume MH Training schedule
National Suicide Prevention Survey
“May is Mental Health Month” Tool Kit
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.
Job Opportunity: Dislocated Worker Program Coordinator
The Dislocated Worker Program Coordinator is a professional position dedicated to providing Transitional Assistance and Liaison Services between Organized Labor and the Missouri Office of Workforce Development, local Workforce Coordinators, and the Missouri Job Centers.
The MO AFL-CIO is an equal opportunity employer.
Interested candidates should submit an employment application, cover letter, and resume to aphillips@moaflcio.org. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Candidates selected for an interview will be notified.
Essential Job Functions:
Essential Job Qualifications
Benefits:
Download the application here. Please email completed employment applications, a cover letter, and resume to Amy Phillips at aphillips@moaflcio.org or mail to:
MO AFL-CIO
Missouri Works Initiative
Attn: Megan Price
131 E High St., Ste 100
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101