Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 9
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of September 9, 2024
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog reveals the promotion of Suicide Prevention Awareness Week & the Sept 9th Construction Stand-Down—to trials and tribulations of establishing the “988” Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and the inauguration of the “988 Day” on Sept 8—to how Apple worked behind the scenes to kill a bill protecting our children’s mental health. This week I would like to take this opportunity to take a closer look at the issue of immigration. With fewer babies being born in the USA and over 10k people turning 65 yo each day this year, we need to think strategically about not only what our future workforce looks like but who will do the work.
It is no secret that the construction industry for the past +2 decades has been dealing with a worker shortage. Accordingly, the US-DOL’s Office of Apprenticeship has made strides to ensure our apprenticeship standards are more inclusive. Thus, the rise of pre-apprenticeship programs like MWI’s BUD and LU 562’s Champions.1 However, efforts like these have fallen short in the greater scheme of meeting tomorrow’s anticipated needs.
According to the WSJ, ~9m people have migrated to the US since 2020.2 As noted, nearly all of these people are seeking personal safety and economic opportunity. A major point of controversy is that ~70% of these people did not enter via legal pathways. That aside, a positive note is that these recent migrants are younger and of working age (78%: 16-64 yo vs 60%: 16-64 yo US-born). While I do not condone illegal activity, we must consider how to fill job openings across all sectors throughout this country. Hopefully, our leaders can step back from this so-called “problem” and redefine this moment as an “opportunity” for growth. To remain as a world leader requires us to solve tough problems. Truth be told, we are not the only industrialized nation facing this dilemma. Looking beyond our borders for answers seems like a good place to start.
IMPORTANT: Construction Suicide STAND-DOWN 2024
Suicide Prevention / Employers / Protocol
Tips for dealing w/ a suicide loss
SUD Treatment / Patients / Evidence-based
Retirement: Cost of care-giving
New ways to address Sleep Apnea
Reflection: Sports…22 going on 70
EEOC settles 3 construction Harassment cases
OSHA / Heat Standard / Comments
Economists compare Past v Present
Immigration’s impact on US Workforce
Construction: Recruiting/Retaining/Training
Career Break or Mini-retirement?
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
From Awareness to Action: Construction MH (9/12)
SUD in the Construction Industry (9/17)
Navigating Opioids in the Workplace
College Students & Mental Well-being
US-DOL Recovery Ready Workplaces Tool Kit (9/30)
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.
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