Wellness & Well-being Highlights August 4th
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of August 4, 2025
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at how changes to OSHA will place profits BEFORE people—to how the understaffing at the VA affects medical care which has resulted in an increase in veterans’ suicide deaths—to how DC edicts have negatively impacted women and minority construction contracts in the STL region. This week I would like to take a closer look at the tragedy that unfolded earlier this week in Manhattan.
In 2021, nearly 49,000 lives were lost to firearms in the USA. By now, many of us are aware that another mass shooting took place earlier this week, in this nation, where several people were killed including the shooter. The gunman’s alleged target was the NFL. He linked the NFL to his mental health condition and indicated that his high school football career may have caused CTE.
For those of you who do not know what CTE is I have included several related articles that do a good job explaining the neurodegenerative disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.[1, 2] In the interest of full disclosure, I lost my son, John Jr, to suicide in March of 2017. John Jr was a multi-sport high school athlete who suffered multiple concussions in his junior and senior years. After he died, we requested that his brain be studied for CTE. To date, the ONLY way to positively identify CTE is posthumously. Dr Ann McKee, the world’s foremost expert on CTE, in Boston, and her team of researchers shared with us on December 6, 2017 that my son had Stage 1 CTE. While we know so much more about CTE today than we did 8 years ago, here are some facts worth sharing:
* CTE can manifest with a range of symptoms, including memory loss, confusion, mood changes (depression, anxiety, aggression), impulsivity, erratic behavior, and difficulty with judgment and motor skills.
* CTE is a progressive disease, meaning symptoms worsen over time, and the changes can occur slowly over years or even decades.
* Reducing the risk of head injuries, particularly through safety measures in sports and other activities, is the primary way to prevent CTE. (Gemini AI)
Two points I wish to leave you with:
The first point is related to the last bullet above. Not all head protection is equal. In construction, it is high time we make the switch to safety helmets from hard hats. Safety helmets provide protection from the sides as well as from above. (See https://www.hardhatstohelmets.org/ for more info.)
The second point refers to the need be vigilant with those around us…especially when it comes to lethal means. To this end, I highly recommend taking a course known as CALM: Conversations on Access to Lethal Means. This is NOT anti-gun…it is anti-suicide! (See https://learning.agrisafe.org/products/conversations-on-access-to-lethal-means-calm-training-live-81125 for more info.)
Please check out the rest of this week’s blog: https://moworksinitiative.org/category/worker-wellness-news/
Sources: [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/07/29/cte-brain-disease-head-trauma-nyc-shooting-explained/
[2] https://one.npr.org/?sharedMediaId=nx-s1-5483956:nx-s1-9391098
OSHA: Optional Safety & Health Act?
Combat Cocktail & Vet Suicides
WARNING: Stronger than Fentanyl
PA Recognizes Construction Opioids Awareness
Patients Forced to Switch Weight-loss Drugs
Boilermakers Sue Past President
RI Hospital Workers Reject Contract
CA UFCW / Fed Mediator / Safeway
ICE Raids & Construction Labor
STL / DEI / Construction Projects
Construction / Interest Rates / Reaction
Construction / Misclassification / Workers
Fed Workers Paid for NOT Working
Job Vacancies: Lowest since 2017
AI’s Impact / New Grads / Entry-level Jobs
Apprenticeships & Internships Close Skills Gap
What Does Your Gen Want from Work?
DANGER: Air Traffic Controllers
Unintended Consequences / Trump / Africa
Student Loans: Interest Rates Jump
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
What is Emotional Intelligence? (8/5)
Responding to a MH Emergency (8/12)
Construction / Suicide Prevention / Safe Messaging (8/13)
Women’s Special MH Issues (8/20
COMET: Rural MH Training (9/23)
Healthcare Apprenticeships (10/14)
Suicide Prevention Guide for Schools
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 jgaal@moworks.org with related questions or comments.
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