Story By Matt Sorrell
Visuals By R.J. Hartbeck
As seen in STL Made
When Aurora Bihler decided to pursue a career as a union iron worker, she didn’t know where to start. Originally from Joliet, Illinois, she came to the St. Louis area to study fine art and sculpture at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. After graduating, she searched for a career where she could put her creativity to work and get her hands dirty while still making a good living. The idea of working with iron was intriguing, but she had no family or friends in the construction trades to give her advice or direction on how to pursue that career.
“When I first got into the trades it felt like I was an anthropologist dropped into a foreign country,” she says. “It was like ‘How do I survive and respect this culture? I don’t speak the language, this is all new to me.’”
AURORA BIHLER, COORDINATOR FOR THE BUILDING UNION DIVERSITY PROGRAM.
Bihler’s experience isn’t unique. Each construction trade has its own apprenticeship process, and trade unions haven’t always had the reputation of being the most welcoming of places, with underrepresented minorities and women making up just 6 percent of the construction workforce. While Bihler did go on to find success in her career as an iron worker, she’s now part of the effort to make it easier for others to enter trade careers in St. Louis through the Building Union Diversity program.
BUD’s union construction pre-apprenticeship program was born in 2014 with the goal of getting more St. Louisans into the construction trades, focusing specifically in expanding diversity within those fields. It’s part of the Missouri Works Initiative, a nonprofit whose goal is creating economic opportunities for Missourians.
“It’s important for our union workforce to look like the neighborhoods they work in,” says Jake Hummel, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO (a federation of unions affiliated with the national American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations), which sponsors and supports the Missouri Works Initiative.
THE SPRING 2023 BUD COHORT VISITS TILE, MARBLE & TERRAZZO WORKERS – LOCAL 18 OF MISSOURI AFL-CIO.
To create the BUD program learning materials, several trade unions came together to craft a comprehensive curriculum. It covers basics in construction, math, blueprint reading and tape measure reading, as well as soft skills helpful to launching a successful career.
“The curriculum also covers some life skills about how to have a good attitude at work and how to present well in an interview,” says Megan Price, executive director of the Missouri Works Initiative. “Then throughout the cohort, we’re also taking them to the various apprenticeship training centers. And that is what students really find to be the most exciting part of the course.”
The six-week BUD program is held four times a year at no cost to students, and gives participants a taste of all the building trades so they can find which one suits them best. In addition to hands-on sessions with carpentry, bricklaying, electrical, sheet metal, plumbing and pipefitting, and cement masonry, BUD also focuses on wellness and personnel issues, with classes on subjects from financial literacy to fighting racial and sexual discrimination on the job site.
“The benefit of a cohort is that we continue to find that the model of bringing students together to go through this similar experience creates a lot of synergy, a lot of organic connections for people who are also starting their career and maybe encountering challenges,” says Price. In addition to building networking connections, the cohort also helps establish a peer support system – one way to help combat the high rates of mental health issues among construction workers.
MEGAN PRICE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MISSOURI WORKS INITIATIVE.
The first week of BUD is a full five days, but the remaining weeks are only four days long, giving students time to work or take care of getting the documents together they’ll need for their apprenticeship, like birth certificates and social security cards. Students also receive a $100 weekly stipend to help with expenses, and they’re supplied with necessary equipment like boots, high-visibility shirts and vests, work pants, ear and eye protection and a hard hat so they can hit the ground running once the program is completed. Transportation to the various training locations is also provided. Once a BUD graduate is accepted into an accredited apprenticeship program they get a $150 tool stipend as well.
Since its inception, 92 percent of BUD participants have graduated from the program, with 26.5 percent of those graduates being women and 79.2 percent being underrepresented minorities. One of those graduates is Raine McDevitt, who completed the program in November 2022.
“I went to a local private high school and they were like ‘You go to college, you get your fancy degree and you make a lot of money so you can give it back to us,’” says McDevitt. “I wish I’d known about BUD earlier.” McDevitt has a degree in graphic art and tried her hand in that field, then gave coding a shot, all the while supplementing her income with bartending and serving jobs. She heard about the program from a BUD graduate she met at a Women In The Trades meeting and decided to apply.
“I consider BUD one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” says McDevitt, who now works as a tile finisher with Stutte Tile Flooring.
Another crucial part of the program is to give students an overview of all of the trades so they can get a clear picture of which one would be best for them. Bihler plays a key part in mentoring the students to help them find the right career path.
“I think the BUD program did a great job of painting that picture overall,” says Shay Jones, who graduated from the program with McDevitt. “You feel informed and responsible for your decision.”
Jones spent years behind a desk in the home health care industry, while longing to be in a role where she could tap into her creative side. She found her fit as a glazier apprentice with Industrial Walls & Roof North America.
“I’m a baker, and caulking reminds me a lot of icing,” says Jones. “So I found it really easy to work with. I wanted to do something more hands-on, and something where I could see results of my work immediately, something more visible and tangible.”
Jones was also attracted by the competitive wages and benefits trade unions offer. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there’s about a $10,500 net difference between typical trade union and non-union annual salaries.
Once participants find a trade to pursue, often the biggest hurdle they face is finding out how to start the process to become an apprentice. One of the main focuses of BUD is to help students navigate those waters.
“I’d always been interested in the trades, but I didn’t know anything about that world,” says Jones. She feels BUD was invaluable in helping her figure out the necessary steps to successfully apply for her apprenticeship.
Bihler strives to help students realize they have what it takes to succeed in the trades, regardless of their background, and to advocate for themselves, using her own experiences coming up through the union ranks as an example.
“I felt like I was constantly standing up for myself or for other people who did not fit the mold,” Bihler says.
“Now I tell my students, ‘You need to set your limits and don’t let other people do it for you.’”
Wellness & Well-being Highlights April 9
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of April 9, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how one region in Canada is now requiring Naloxone (Narcan) to be present on various types of at-risk workplaces (i.e., construction job sites) to how oral hygiene impacts one’s health to how important apprenticeships are to the US energy sector. Today, I wish to shed some light on how AI (artificial intelligence) is being used to improve your health. Less than 2 weeks ago, I spoke at a national summit on suicide prevention in the construction industry, in KC, MO. My part as a panelist was to address “innovations” pertaining to the summit’s theme. My fourth and final bullet point focused on the use of AI in this space. And, just yesterday, the WSJ ran an article that really digs into the point I made. Doctors are turning to AI to help aid them in their decision-making processes. By no means are they turning over their responsibility to a machine. Let’s face it, no one professional can keep up with the vast amounts of data produced on a daily basis. In fact, when comes to adverse medication effects, about 70% of them are due to prescription errors. With the assistance of AI, doctors can meld deep learning with deep reasoning.
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-ai-will-see-you-now-5f8fba14?reflink=integratedwebview_share
MH in the construction industry
Steps to help prevent suicide
New Canadian law requires Naloxone in at-risk workplaces
Couple helps Tranq victims
Non-opioids approach to pain management
San Fran’s new approach to Bupe (Suboxone)
The Good Sam Law?
Do financial wellness programs work?
Debt & Well-being
Not unplugging during time off
Breakfasts for beating stress?
Will this ancient herb clam your stress?
Oral hygiene & Health
AI & Doctors
Why try PT before surgery?
Colonoscopy / Under 50
Couples & Talking/Listening
COVID’s impact on church-going
Yoga & Golf
Deep water exercise
Your mood / Your skin
OSHA / SC / Black workers
Sexual assaults @ military academies
Layoffs during leave
NLRB & NDAs
Labor shortage impacts clean energy transition
Apprenticeships make US
Support in trade apprenticeships: Barriers
Supreme Court & Legal v Ethical
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 April 2
Wellness & Well-being Highlights for the Week of April 2, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the how some communities are addressing homelessness and Mental Health issues to the impact of the Adderall shortage to how pets may reduce allergies in children. Today, I wish to shed some light on how Narcan (The Lazarus Drug) will soon become an over-the-counter (OTC) drug. Because of the seriousness of the opioids crisis across the USA, several states, including Missouri, have had a standing order for anyone who can assist a person in opioids overdose to obtain “naloxone” at their local pharmacy without a prescription. As of this summer, this will be the case in all 50 states. Make no mistake, this is not a cure-all for the opioids epidemic! However, from a harm-reduction standpoint, knowing how to administer this life-saving drug is vitally important. Too often, when I ask people in the construction industry these 3 questions, I get concerned:
The responses typically go like this: 100%, 80%, 10%, respectively. To those 90% in #3 above, I respectfully say: “It takes less than 30 minutes to get the proper training.” PLEASE reach out to your local providers for guidance and supplies. If you think drugs are NOT in your workplace, you are sadly mistaken. Regarding this issue, because of the private atmosphere, “restrooms” are often utilized to partake in related illegal activities and should be monitored on a regular basis. This reminds me of a motto from my time as a Boy Scout some +50 years ago: BE PREPARED!
Sources: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/30/1166969942/fda-approves-the-overdose-reversing-drug-narcan-for-over-the-counter-sales
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7klB8Vza9ac
We need to TALK about SUICIDE
Care of the mentally ill in the USA
MH & Fingerprinting your brain
Exercise & Depression
Homelessness / MH / Compassion
Tranq wounds
FDA & Narcan (1)
FDA & Narcan (2)
Narcan soon to be OTC
Telemedicine & OUD
Fentanyl & Mexico’s border
Fentanyl / Michigan / DEA
Adderall shortage / Kids / School
Adderall shortage & DEA
Mass shootings / Trauma / Coping
Preventive care / ACA / New ruling
Needing to renew Medicaid?
Alcohol & Health risks
AIDS / Foreign policy / Saving lives
How vaccines SAVE lives
Pets / Kids / Allergies
Treating back pain @ home?
Tragedy to Triumph
Finland is THE Happy Place
More on child labor
Dysfunctional labor laws
Black Americans / Slavery / Census
STREIK
Losing faith in the college degree?
Prisons / Rehab / Education
Female athletes / Concussions / Lack of research
Ex-Pat’s star last moments
Upcoming webinar/seminars:
Black Maternal Health
Mental Health First Aid
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 March 26
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of March 26, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the underuse of mental health benefits to the connection between menopause and memory to the impact of a new stomach bug. Today, I wish to shed some light on how the construction industry is in the early stages of addressing head injuries. So, what is this new approach? It consists of switching out traditional hard hats for safety helmets (Think: Rock-climbing style). The CDC reports that between 2003-2010, over 2200 construction workers died from TBIs (traumatic brain injuries)…this represents ~25% of all construction fatalities during that period. While not all TBIs result in death, many lead to self-medication which can lead to suicidal ideation.
Sources: https://stlouiscnr.com/construction-industry-aligns-to-fight-brain-injuries-and-fatalities/
https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2022/11/10/construction-helmets/#:~:text=The%20construction%20industry%20has%20the,100%2C000%20full%20time%20equivalent%20workers
Construction Trades & Substance Misuse
Ted Lasso & MH
Unused MH benefits
Therapy during the workday?
MH meds / Apps / Safety
Lack of access to MH resources
Well-being & Remote Work
Gen Z / Stability / Burnout
Schools & Monitoring MH
Well-being & MH First Aiders
Dream techniques
Sleep & Cannabis
Addressing teacher shortages
Inflation & Housing Costs vs Health Care
Blacks Vets & VA benefits?
Menopause & Memory
The Rise of Colon Cancer
Mobile cancer treatments
New, resistant stomach bug
America’s Drug Crisis: The 4th Wave?
Sacklers & Overseas’ Opioids Profits
Retiring w/ less than US$1m
Construction industry’s attempt to fight head injuries
MI repeals RTW
LA school workers strike (1)
LA school workers strike (2)
France’s public protests
Google & Labor Rights?
UT & Workplace Violence
How HR ghosts workers
Child care / Costs / Worker shortage
Sex abuse & Youth sports
Upcoming seminars/webinars/podcasts:
MHFA courses
Suicide Prevention Training
Mind, Body, and Spirit
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.
BUD program featured in theSTL
Story By Matt Sorrell
Visuals By R.J. Hartbeck
As seen in STL Made
When Aurora Bihler decided to pursue a career as a union iron worker, she didn’t know where to start. Originally from Joliet, Illinois, she came to the St. Louis area to study fine art and sculpture at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. After graduating, she searched for a career where she could put her creativity to work and get her hands dirty while still making a good living. The idea of working with iron was intriguing, but she had no family or friends in the construction trades to give her advice or direction on how to pursue that career.
“When I first got into the trades it felt like I was an anthropologist dropped into a foreign country,” she says. “It was like ‘How do I survive and respect this culture? I don’t speak the language, this is all new to me.’”
Bihler’s experience isn’t unique. Each construction trade has its own apprenticeship process, and trade unions haven’t always had the reputation of being the most welcoming of places, with underrepresented minorities and women making up just 6 percent of the construction workforce. While Bihler did go on to find success in her career as an iron worker, she’s now part of the effort to make it easier for others to enter trade careers in St. Louis through the Building Union Diversity program.
BUD’s union construction pre-apprenticeship program was born in 2014 with the goal of getting more St. Louisans into the construction trades, focusing specifically in expanding diversity within those fields. It’s part of the Missouri Works Initiative, a nonprofit whose goal is creating economic opportunities for Missourians.
“It’s important for our union workforce to look like the neighborhoods they work in,” says Jake Hummel, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO (a federation of unions affiliated with the national American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations), which sponsors and supports the Missouri Works Initiative.
To create the BUD program learning materials, several trade unions came together to craft a comprehensive curriculum. It covers basics in construction, math, blueprint reading and tape measure reading, as well as soft skills helpful to launching a successful career.
“The curriculum also covers some life skills about how to have a good attitude at work and how to present well in an interview,” says Megan Price, executive director of the Missouri Works Initiative. “Then throughout the cohort, we’re also taking them to the various apprenticeship training centers. And that is what students really find to be the most exciting part of the course.”
The six-week BUD program is held four times a year at no cost to students, and gives participants a taste of all the building trades so they can find which one suits them best. In addition to hands-on sessions with carpentry, bricklaying, electrical, sheet metal, plumbing and pipefitting, and cement masonry, BUD also focuses on wellness and personnel issues, with classes on subjects from financial literacy to fighting racial and sexual discrimination on the job site.
“The benefit of a cohort is that we continue to find that the model of bringing students together to go through this similar experience creates a lot of synergy, a lot of organic connections for people who are also starting their career and maybe encountering challenges,” says Price. In addition to building networking connections, the cohort also helps establish a peer support system – one way to help combat the high rates of mental health issues among construction workers.
The first week of BUD is a full five days, but the remaining weeks are only four days long, giving students time to work or take care of getting the documents together they’ll need for their apprenticeship, like birth certificates and social security cards. Students also receive a $100 weekly stipend to help with expenses, and they’re supplied with necessary equipment like boots, high-visibility shirts and vests, work pants, ear and eye protection and a hard hat so they can hit the ground running once the program is completed. Transportation to the various training locations is also provided. Once a BUD graduate is accepted into an accredited apprenticeship program they get a $150 tool stipend as well.
Since its inception, 92 percent of BUD participants have graduated from the program, with 26.5 percent of those graduates being women and 79.2 percent being underrepresented minorities. One of those graduates is Raine McDevitt, who completed the program in November 2022.
“I went to a local private high school and they were like ‘You go to college, you get your fancy degree and you make a lot of money so you can give it back to us,’” says McDevitt. “I wish I’d known about BUD earlier.” McDevitt has a degree in graphic art and tried her hand in that field, then gave coding a shot, all the while supplementing her income with bartending and serving jobs. She heard about the program from a BUD graduate she met at a Women In The Trades meeting and decided to apply.
“I consider BUD one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” says McDevitt, who now works as a tile finisher with Stutte Tile Flooring.
Another crucial part of the program is to give students an overview of all of the trades so they can get a clear picture of which one would be best for them. Bihler plays a key part in mentoring the students to help them find the right career path.
“I think the BUD program did a great job of painting that picture overall,” says Shay Jones, who graduated from the program with McDevitt. “You feel informed and responsible for your decision.”
Jones spent years behind a desk in the home health care industry, while longing to be in a role where she could tap into her creative side. She found her fit as a glazier apprentice with Industrial Walls & Roof North America.
“I’m a baker, and caulking reminds me a lot of icing,” says Jones. “So I found it really easy to work with. I wanted to do something more hands-on, and something where I could see results of my work immediately, something more visible and tangible.”
Jones was also attracted by the competitive wages and benefits trade unions offer. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there’s about a $10,500 net difference between typical trade union and non-union annual salaries.
Once participants find a trade to pursue, often the biggest hurdle they face is finding out how to start the process to become an apprentice. One of the main focuses of BUD is to help students navigate those waters.
“I’d always been interested in the trades, but I didn’t know anything about that world,” says Jones. She feels BUD was invaluable in helping her figure out the necessary steps to successfully apply for her apprenticeship.
Bihler strives to help students realize they have what it takes to succeed in the trades, regardless of their background, and to advocate for themselves, using her own experiences coming up through the union ranks as an example.
“I felt like I was constantly standing up for myself or for other people who did not fit the mold,” Bihler says.
“Now I tell my students, ‘You need to set your limits and don’t let other people do it for you.’”
Wellness & Well-being Highlights March 19
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of March 19, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the mental health of workers and students to Moms seeking work-life balance to how to grieve in a healthy manner. Today, I wish to shed some light on how apprenticeships are now being viewed by high school students as legitimate alternatives to the “college-for-all” mantra the US has hitched its wagon to for the past 30+ years. Having served on the US Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA) from 2003-2010, I can attest that the seeds we planted 20 years ago are finally bearing fruit. If one reviews the details of the student debt issue, you will soon find that a good portion of this debt is from community college students…most of which never earned an Associate’s degree. While college may not be for all at the age of 18, I for one, do believe that most workers “eventually” gain much needed leadership skills by attending college once they hone in on their career choice. This is why I have advocated for emulating the European model of apprenticeships since 2004 (Google: Bayless Floor Layers Middle Apprenticeship Program). Wherein, the focus is on apprenticeships at the secondary level of education. Thus, graduating high school students with job-ready skill sets! In closing, I suspect with the rise of STEM at the secondary and post-secondary levels, it has become less bitter (and less costly) for many parents to accept the importance of hands-on education which, in turn, helps temper the age-old stigma of vocational education.
Sources: https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-students-are-turning-away-from-college-and-toward-apprenticeships-15f3a05d
https://www.wsj.com/articles/student-loan-bills-are-set-to-come-due-adding-pressure-on-younger-americans-1738b6e0
US-DOL seeks input on workers’ MH
Young women & MH
Students & MH
Trials of being young
MH guide for college students & families
Period products in MO schools
US maternal mortality rate
Toxic workplace culture: Men v Women
Canadian moms & Work-Life balance
Millennials & Unkept promises
COVID & What worked?
Meth forces new protocols for CO libraries
New CDC opioids guidelines / Too little, too late?
On solving our opioids crisis
Testing for fentanyl?
Opioids in the construction industry (14:38 min mark)
Finns / Death / Drug abuse
Marriage & Technology
Marriage / Long term health / Happiness
Women / Sex / Cancer
How to meditate?
On meditating before sleep
Embracing the “dark side”
A good death?
Healthy grieving
Feeling alive…again
On chiros & neck manipulation
Never getting together?
Meetings: In-person v Tech
Student debt & Added pressure
Apprenticeship v College
Promoting Canada’s skilled trades education
Local community colleges expand mfg curriculum
Fixing child care: A work-around
The anti-Girl Scout cookie
Build housing = Attract workers?
What’s your next career?
Why trust science?
Wellness & Well-being Highlights March 12
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of March 12, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how perks in the workplace are about to change to how one religion has incorporated Yoga into their Lenten practices to the March 8th celebration of International Women’s Day. Today, I wish to shed some light on how a rare conviction in a Brooklyn court recently charged a (non-union) contractor with the (homicide) death of an immigrant construction worker. The district attorney made it clear that when contractors cut corners and allow workers to work in unsafe conditions, they will face criminal repercussions! To this end, I have 2 thoughts I want to leave you with: 1) I am thankful for the working relationship our unions and signatory contractors have with OSHA at the national and local levels; and 2) Hopefully, “Carlos’ Law” will reinforce the importance of the professional-level safety training delivered to our future workforce via our jointly-trusted US-DOL Registered Apprenticeship Programs across this great nation.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/nyregion/brooklyn-homicide-construction-worker.html?searchResultPosition=1
New work perks?
Managing MH accommodations in the workplace
MH & Supportive workplaces
Gearing MH services towards our youth
The “Youth” MH great resignation?
Young women & MH
Mindful breathing
Sleep & Suicide?
Superpowers & Highly Sensitive People
Self-confidence vs Self-esteem
Self-care & Laughing more
Moods & Essential oils
Yoga / Religion / Lent
Update: Opioids & Sacklers
Update: Mexico & Fentanyl
Update: Long COVID
NY / Homicide / Construction
NY / Immigrants / Plans?
Unions & Scabby Rat
Migrants & Child Labor
Afghan Women & School
Iran’s Girls & Poisoning
International Women’s Day (1)
International Women’s Day (2)
Finding the “missing workers”
Surviving a layoff?
WARNING: Mexico’s Medical Tourism
Upcoming seminars:
Dementia 101
Brain & Body
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 March 5
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of March 5, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from addressing if AI (artificial intelligence) can help treat Mental Illness to the benefits of sleep to how one should continue to exercise regardless of age. Today, I wish to shed some light on how one school district is now requiring ALL teachers to be trained in administering NARCAN. Since the beginning of the blog, nearly 2 years ago, I have included numerous articles pertaining to the opioids crisis in the USA. In fact, you may recall seeing an article a couple of months ago where I was part of a team of first responders on a SWA flight to Las Vegas that revived an opioids overdose victim…while 35,000 feet off the ground. Had my spouse NOT been carrying NARCAN in her purse on October 22, 2022, I fear, for him and his family, that young man would no longer be with us today. To this end, people from ALL walks of life—social standing be damned—are dying on a daily basis from opioid overdoses. As such, I have 2 “immediate” asks of you:
Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/teachers-trained-to-administer-narcan-amid-opioid-crisis/#x
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
Training teachers to use NARCAN in schools
GA opioids trial
MH & Obstacles to Accessing Benefits
Improving Worker Well-being
Supporting MH Builds Resiliency
Update: Suicide Data
Insulin pricing?
AI / Doctors / Patients
AI & Treating Mental Illness
Are you a “fixer”?
Caregivers & Burnout
Kids & Screen Time
Sleep Benefits
Sleep Discipline
Loneliness / Workers / Costs
Grief & Ignoring Advice
Beating Brain Fog & MH
The 11-minute Walk = Longer Life
Aging & Exercise
The Ongoing Alzheimers’ Debate
Missing your work spouse?
Biden’s nomination for Walsh’s replacement
Supreme Court weighs in on Student Debt Relief
UMWA strike ends
STL nursing home closes
Firms losing worker w/o layoffs
5 Generations in the Workplace
Women & Title IX (1)
Women & Title IX (2)
Another NFLer passes: Stage 4 CTE
Upcoming Trainings:
QPR & MHFA (FREE – Onsite)
Past webinars:
Tale of 2 Surgeries
Opioid Risk Reduction & Minimizing Claims
Holistic Approach to Campus Mental Health
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 February 26
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of February 26, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the failure of the US War on Drugs to how a “phone call” can help cure loneliness to stories on the links between depression & inflammation as well as exercise & pain. Today, I wish to shed some light on the podcast touching on the Forgotten Mothers of Civil Rights’ Leaders. As Black History Month soon comes to a close it would be remiss on my part not to share such an impactful this piece. It reminded me that NONE of us are self-made! Most of us have had people in our lives who have been there to support & guide us through the good times and bad times during this journey we call life. PLEASE find 50 minutes during this coming week to listen to these three moving stories. You will NOT be disappointed!
Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ted-radio-hour/id523121474?i=1000597760729
On the USA losing the Drug War
Harm reduction in the USA
US resistance to effective treatments
More on harm reduction
Fentanyl / Smuggling / Mexico Border
Mexico / Law / Bribery
Emojis / Kids / Drugs
MH & 988 progress
Girls & Sadness: What parents should know
College / Discrimination / Depression
Depression & Inflammation
Are you at risk for loneliness?
A Loneliness Cure: The Phone Call?
When is best time to exercise?
Exercise & Pain
Lower back pain?
IBS & Anxiety/Depression/Suicide
Running out of time?
Slowing time down?
On “saving” others
Update: US COVID Death Toll
COVID & Kids’ Learning Loss
A School Counselor & Kids’ Anxiety
Spirituality & Well-being
Benefits of Music Therapy
MH Workforce Shortage
HC Apprenticeships
Labor’s Spring Rising
NLRB & Severance Packages
Forgotten Mothers of Civil Rights’ Leaders
Seattle & Banning Caste
Happiness & Work
Tailoring benefits to the employee’s needs?
MH in the Workplace
MH & Better Managers = Better Workers
The 4-day Workweek?
Tracking your brain @ work?
Does implicit bias training work?
Men’s Soccer joins AFL-CIO
MLS Union / FIFA & Concussion Subs?
Female athletes / Head injuries / Suicide
Upcoming webinars:
https://www.slcl.org/content/virtual-program-compassion-fatigue
https://www.slcl.org/content/virtual-program-chair-yoga
Wellness & Well-being Highlights February 20
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of February 19, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from emergency rooms not being able to adequately accommodate children with Mental Health issues to one’s Mental Health following a stroke to a history of head injuries in sports. Today, I wish to shed some light on the articles touching on the increase in sadness being experienced by teen girls, the state of worker wellness, and how peer support is being provided by college students. There is no doubt that COVID has raised the level of awareness when it comes to Mental Health and somewhat lowered the stigma that surrounds this once taboo topic…with this comes an increase in reporting mental health issues. It is no secret that the US is confronted with a shortage of Mental Health professionals. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to step up and help solve this dilemma. One approach would be to increase the number of para-professionals known as Peer Supporters. This model is being utilized in a number of venues (i.e., OUD/SUD rehab, schools, remote villages, etc.) across the world and showing some success. After all, if you needed help who would you rather speak to…a peer with lived experience OR a person you never met before with no connections to your way of life?
Sources: www.wsj.com/articles/teen-girls-experiencing-record-levels-of-sadness-and-suicide-risk-cdc-says-b30b7e8e
www.constructforstl.org/dodge-interviews-mo-afl-cios-dr-john-gaal-on-the-state-of-worker-wellness/
www.wsj.com/articles/with-therapists-in-short-supply-college-students-counsel-each-other-b9cb5eb2
Teen girls & Sadness (1)
Teen girls & Sadness (2)
ERs failing / Kids / MH
Doctors / Kids / MH
Doctors / Infants / Financial Literacy
MH / Stigma / Politics (1)
MH / Stigma / Politics (2)
Depression after Stroke? (1)
Depression after Stroke? (2)
Hypnosis & MH
Moral Injury & MH
Men / ODs / Trades
Gun violence & MH
Ohio & Opioids Settlement
Exercise & Energy
Is rejection good for you?
Mice & Male Contraceptives
The Love Languages
Dating & Therapy Speak
Teens & Driving?
Win or Learn vs Win or Lose
Vapes on Planes?
Update: Fentanyl & Mexico
Child labor & Meatpacking
Chinese retirees protest
Railroads & Lack of safety
State of worker wellness
High paying jobs: No degree required
College students & Peer support
Training vs Learning
coNFLicts of interest
History of head injuries in sports
Upcoming webinar:
Managing pain: The tale of 2 surgeries
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 February 13
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of February 12, 2023
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from providing more Mental Health assistance to children in ERs to why women continue to leave the workforce to the risks of Magic Mushrooms. Today, I wish to shed some light on the article touching on the possible repeal of child labor laws. With a >35% increase of child labor law violations in 2022, this is not an issue to take lightly…worker shortage or not! We are not merely talking about kids working more than the allotted hours in a given week in the “safe” confines of your local grocery store. In fact, a number of these abuses stem from reports at suppliers to foreign car plants (mostly located in the south). As a lifelong advocate of Career & Technical Education, I can attest that the majority of these schemes over that past +4 decades have less to do about the virtues of work-based learning and more to do about sourcing another form of cheap labor…at the cost of worker safety, in general…and our children’s futures, in specific!
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/11/us-child-labor-laws-violations?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
988 Guide for Schools
More govt funding for MH?
Deadly Fentanyl Wave
How to be happier?
Are Trigger Warnings working?
MH / Obesity / Isolation / College & COVID
Sailors / Nukes / MH
Setting boundaries
Microdosing & Mushrooms
Ketamine & Mushrooms: Risks
Vets / Ketamine & Therapy
Kids / Crisis / ER v Home
COVID / Food scarcity & College
Athletes & Personal Reporting
Women / Workforce / Health Inequalities
Co-workers & Well-being
On falling asleep
Syncing moods & Sex
Porn & Sex Addiction
Mixed handedness
Having it all v Falling apart
US Secretary of Labor’s next move?
The dangers of tweaking US child labor laws in 2023
Resenteeism
Learning to say NO
Women in construction
Productivity v Safety?
Navigating Rec Marijuana in MO
STL Co Jail & College
Kids / Concussions / Sports
UPDATE: CTE found in 92% of former NFL players
Upcoming webinar, etc.:
A tale of 2 surgeries
Mental Health in Construction Summit
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.