“Every union meeting I went to, we were talking about suicide,” said LIUNA Vice President and Northwest Regional Manager Bob Abbott. “It was reaching our leaders, our members and their families.”
It was 2017, and the mention of suicide had become too common, too normal.
Around this time, Cal Beyer, who was with Washington state signatory contractor Lakeside Industries, attended a District Council meeting. Beyer talked about Lakeside’s suicide prevention efforts, including packets with materials aimed at raising awareness for available resources and encouraging members to come forward.
Soon, with involvement from Northwest LECET and its Board of Trustees, the Region was putting together their own suicide awareness packets and creating videos on how to talk about it. Abbott also credits retired LIUNA Vice President and Midwest Regional Manager John Penn for his guidance and ideas on how to get started.
“In 2019, we did a tutorial video on suicide in construction and the contents of these packets,” said Aubrey Abbott, Director of Northwest LECET. “It’s a difficult subject for many people to talk about. We had to build the confidence level at District Councils, Locals, training centers and on jobsites. These are the people our members would be reaching out to.”
Since 2017, the Region has put together and distributed 20,000 to 30,000 packets a year, for an estimated total over 150,000. Over the years, Spanish materials have been added, and more recently, tribal resources for the Region’s Native American and Indigenous populations were also incorporated. Post-vention resources – or how to cope after being impacted by a suicide – are also now part of these resources.
Taking time to stuff all those envelopes isn’t something that’s outsourced, either. Staff from District Councils, Local Unions, LECET and the Northwest Regional Organizing Coalition (NROC) all pitch in to handle that too. When possible, these envelope-stuffing sessions take place before other team building events, such as the Region’s annual W. Vernie Reed Scholarship golf tournament.
“Putting these materials together as a team really opens up conversations,” said Renee Michener, TriFund Field Coordinator for the Northwest Region, who also participated during her time at NROC. “We’d be in an assembly line and the person across from you would start talking about how suicide had touched their life. It built camaraderie and showed why we were doing this at the same time.”
Suicide prevention in the Northwest Region is a year-round effort. It’s discussed at their regional conference and at Local Union meetings. At training centers, new apprentices hear about suicide and its disproportionate impact on the construction industry.
It also helps having champions for mental health within the Region. When the LHSFNA’s Mental Health Matters video featuring Chuck Moe plays at a training center, many members recognize the Assistant Business Manager of Local 252 in Takoma, WA. Having a LIUNA leader opening up about mental health is an automatic conversation starter.
“The confidence the Locals have to share these materials and the willingness to discuss suicide prevention has flourished,” said VP Abbott. “Once Business Managers and Agents got on jobsites, that initial hesitation fell away. Members wanted this information. We were being approached by other trades. The employers were into it 100 percent.”
More and more signatory contractors in the Region are making suicide prevention part of their orientation, especially large employers like Bechtel and Kiewit. And when it comes to getting this information into the hands of workers, the reach doesn’t stop at LIUNA members.
“These materials and this message are for everyone on site, all the trades. We purposefully didn’t brand everything in LIUNA orange. It affects the whole jobsite, the same as a serious injury,” said Abbott. “If someone loses their life on a site, it doesn’t matter if they weren’t a LIUNA member. Our members are part of the inner circle on that jobsite and they feel that loss.”
And when the Regional Manager shows up on a project to talk about suicide prevention, that carries a lot of weight.
“If I’m not talking about it as the leader of the Region, how is someone else going to take it and view it as a priority?” said Abbott. “The Locals know that mental health and suicide prevention is a big deal. And our contractors are seeing that too.”
At meetings and trainings throughout the Region, it’s also made clear these programs and resources aren’t only for members.
“We’re creating them for other people, but they’re for us too,” said Abbott. “We all need to remind ourselves to do a wellness check from time to time.”
Thanks to the focus on suicide prevention throughout the Region, the resources available have also expanded.
“Nevada used to be the only state in the Region with a mental health assistance program. Now Washington, Oregon and Alaska have them too, and Colorado is exploring one,” said Abbott. “With the job that the Health & Safety Fund has done talking about mental health and suicide, you will see these programs becoming more available.”
When asked about the cost of the programs to provide this support to members, Abbott didn’t hesitate.
“The change we’re seeing is something you can feel, but you can’t touch. If we can save one life, it’s worth every penny we’re spending.”
[Nick Fox]
