Throughout Suicide Prevention Month, we have talked about awareness, workplace safety, warning signs and the importance of asking for help. As we close the month, one message must continue long after September ends:
No one in the labor community should have to carry pain alone.
That promise includes everyone. It includes construction workers, truck drivers, healthcare professionals, educators, public employees, utility workers, first responders, transportation workers and every other trade and profession represented by organized labor.
It also includes union leaders, business managers, stewards, benefit administrators, communications teams and office professionals. The people supporting union members may spend their days solving problems for others, but they need care and connection too.
Your title does not protect you from grief. Your trade does not make you immune to fear. Leadership does not mean carrying every burden in silence.
It Is Okay Not to Be Okay
Labor culture is built around strength, responsibility and showing up for others. Those values have carried generations of workers through difficult times. But strength should never be confused with silence.
Sometimes strength is saying, “I am not doing well.”
Sometimes leadership is admitting, “I need help.”
Sometimes solidarity is noticing that someone has changed and asking, “How are you—really?”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies connectedness and social support as important parts of suicide prevention. Healthy connections can reduce isolation, encourage coping and help people feel that they belong and have value. cdc.gov
Creating those connections does not require someone to become a counselor or diagnose a coworker. It requires us to listen, respond without judgment and help connect people with appropriate support.
Suicide Affects More Than One Person
A suicide death creates a circle of grief that can extend through families, friendships, workplaces, union halls and entire communities.
Those who knew the person may experience sadness, anger, confusion, guilt or unanswered questions. Some replay past conversations and wonder what they missed. Others may feel numb, isolated or hesitant to discuss the loss. There is no single correct response and no schedule for grieving.
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline recognizes that the aftermath of suicide can bring confusing and painful emotions—and that loss survivors may need support themselves. 988lifeline.org
The same is true after a suicide attempt. Family members, friends and coworkers may feel fear, relief, uncertainty and concern about saying the wrong thing. The person who survived may also face complicated emotions while trying to heal. Hope after an attempt is possible, and support is available for survivors and the people who care about them. 988lifeline.org
If you have been affected by someone’s suicide or attempt, your pain matters. You do not need to minimize it because “someone else had it worse.” Speaking with a mental-health professional, grief counselor, spiritual leader, peer-support program or trusted person can be an important step.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention also maintains a directory of suicide-bereavement support groups and offers Healing Conversations, which connects loss survivors with trained volunteers who have experienced suicide loss themselves. afsp.org
Building a Culture of Care Across Labor
Every union organization can help create an environment where it is safe to speak honestly.
Union leaders can make mental health part of regular safety and wellness communication. Benefit administrators can explain behavioral-health benefits in plain language. Stewards can keep confidential resources available. Apprenticeship instructors can teach that caring for mental health belongs alongside every other safety practice.
Office professionals and communications teams can ensure that crisis information appears in newsletters, websites, benefit materials and union halls—not only after a tragedy.
Workplaces can also provide confidential peer support, improve access to mental-health services and reduce stigma around seeking care. The CDC’s workplace guidance identifies these as practical strategies employers and organizations can advance. cdc.gov
Most importantly, we can follow up. A single conversation matters, but continued connection reminds people that our concern was genuine.
Our Commitment Must Continue
Suicide Prevention Month may be ending, but the work cannot end with it.
Let us build a labor community where a first-year apprentice can ask for help without fearing judgment. Where an experienced tradesperson does not have to hide pain. Where a union leader can acknowledge feeling overwhelmed. Where an administrator supporting thousands of members remembers to care for themselves.
Let us also remember those we have lost, stand beside those who have survived and support everyone carrying grief, fear or unanswered questions.
“It is okay not to be okay” must be more than a September slogan. It must become part of how we lead, work and look after one another.
Solidarity means no one stands alone. Together, we can replace silence with conversation, isolation with connection and despair with hope.
If you or someone you know needs emotional support, is thinking about suicide or is worried about another person, call or text 988 or chat at 988Lifeline.org. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 911.
Tags: Community Wellness, Union Workers