The association, which claims to represent 1,200 union contractors in New York, has called on the city to include mental health in the training construction workers receive and to report on suicides in the industry.
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of Building Trades Employers Association (BTEA) The call is part of a series of recommendations made amid reports that construction workers have the highest suicide rate of any occupation in the United States.
They are nearly six times more likely to die from suicide than from workplace injuries, and four times more likely to commit suicide than the average American. Numbers The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this last year.
At its Safebuild conference on 27 June, the BTEA called for a series of reforms, including:
- The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reports annually on suicides broken down by industry.
- NYC Department of Buildings integrates mental health into job site safety training program
- Require that mental health be discussed as part of on-site safety orientation
- Require that naloxone (Narcan) be made available to treat drug overdoses at large construction sites
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will now include mental wellness in its OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 training.
“Mental health and suicide prevention are uncomfortable topics, especially in the construction industry,” said Elizabeth Crowley, president and CEO of BTEA.
“People don’t want to discuss this, but we need to talk about it. Construction workers have the highest suicide rate of any occupation in the country, and we urge city, state and federal leaders to strengthen protections for these essential workers who serve as the backbone of our nation’s prosperity.”
“New York City’s approximately 390,000 construction workers, and countless others across the country, are required to receive safety training, but that training does not include content related to mental health,” added Patrick A. Wehle, executive vice president of the BTEA.
“This is a huge missed opportunity that, if fixed, could save lives.”
Bob Gebbia, CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), said: Partnering with Bechtel to Prevent Suicides on Construction Sites “America’s hardworking construction professionals are vital to the nation’s future, and sadly, the industry is losing too many of them to suicide,” he said.
“At AFSP, we’re providing critical mental health resources and programs to 500,000 construction workers across the country over the next five years, and we support the BTEA’s proposal to connect construction workers to mental health and suicide prevention training and ensure life-saving treatment is available on construction sites. We applaud the BTEA’s commitment to mental health and look forward to working with them to save lives.”
