From Kerri O’Brien and Darren Yelin, Co-Founders of LaborForce Media. In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we wanted to share some important thoughts with our community. It is important to recognize the significance of Mental Health Awareness Month for all workers.
May is a month that reminds us of something very important: the strength of this country has always rested on the shoulders, hands, hearts, and minds of working people, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month when we are called to reflect on wellness and support.
Across every community, union members show up. You teach our children. You care for our sick. You build our roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, and homes. You protect our neighborhoods. You respond in emergencies. You maintain our public works, operate our transportation systems, serve our communities, and stand watch in moments when others need help the most. Advocating for Mental Health Awareness Month adds another layer of caring to these responsibilities.
This month, we recognize many of the workers who keep America moving: teachers, skilled trades professionals, nurses, correctional officers, construction workers, hospital workers, police officers, EMS professionals, public works teams, members of the Armed Forces, and all those we honor on Memorial Day. Moreover, some of these recognition days align closely with Mental Health Awareness Month and the issues that matter most to our communities.
But May is also National Mental Health Awareness Month, and that gives this month an even deeper meaning. In fact, Mental Health Awareness Month highlights the importance of emotional well-being among all workers.
Because behind every uniform, hard hat, badge, set of scrubs, classroom door, construction site, ambulance, correctional facility, hospital floor, public works truck, and union hall is a person. A person with a family. Awareness of mental health, particularly in this Mental Health Awareness Month, ensures these individuals get the support they need. A person carrying stress, responsibility, pride, fatigue, grief, pressure, and sometimes pain that is not visible to others.
At LaborForce Media, we believe the labor movement has always been about more than wages and contracts. It is about dignity. It is about safety. It is about community. It is about making sure working people are seen, heard, protected, and supported. In addition, Mental Health Awareness Month encourages us to consider these values in new ways.
That support must include mental health. Raising Mental Health Awareness Month initiatives in the workplace demonstrates commitment to genuine support.
For too long, many workers have been taught to push through, stay silent, and carry the weight alone. In many industries, strength has been defined as never needing help. But real strength is not silence. Real strength is knowing when to speak up. Real strength is checking on a co-worker. Real strength is creating workplaces and union communities where people can say, “I’m not okay,” and know they will not be judged for it. Support programs during Mental Health Awareness Month can help change those old habits.
Union members often work in high-pressure environments. Teachers are navigating complex classrooms and community challenges. Nurses and hospital workers face emotional and physical demands every day. Correctional officers and police officers operate in environments where stress and trauma can become part of the job. EMS workers respond to people on the worst days of their lives. Construction and skilled trades workers face safety risks, long hours, job pressure, and physical strain. Public works employees are often called in when storms, emergencies, and infrastructure failures put communities at risk. Addressing these issues is a priority during Mental Health Awareness Month.
These workers are trained to serve others. But they also deserve systems that serve them. By investing in Mental Health Awareness Month activities, we help ensure that support reaches everyone.
That starts with honest conversation. It starts with leadership that treats mental health as a real workplace issue, not a private weakness. It starts with benefits that are easy to understand and actually accessible. It starts with peer support, education, prevention, and early intervention. It starts with union leaders, employers, benefit funds, and families working together to make sure no member falls through the cracks, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month.
This month, we encourage every union leader to ask: Are our members aware of the mental health resources available to them? Are those resources easy to access? Are families included in the conversation? Do our members know who to call before a crisis? Are we creating a culture where asking for help is respected? These questions are particularly relevant during Mental Health Awareness Month.
We encourage every union member to check in on someone. A co-worker. A retired member. A friend from the job. A family member who always seems strong. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can say is, “How are you really doing?” This commitment becomes especially meaningful in light of Mental Health Awareness Month.
And to every union family: you are part of this movement too. The long shifts, the missed dinners, the physical demands, the stress, and the sacrifices do not stop at the workplace door. Families carry them too. Your health, your stability, and your peace matter. Furthermore, Mental Health Awareness Month is the perfect opportunity to remind families and workers to prioritize their mental health needs.
May is filled with recognition days and appreciation weeks, but appreciation must be more than a post, a banner, or a thank-you. Appreciation must become action. This is at the heart of Mental Health Awareness Month objectives.
So this month, as we honor the workers who teach, heal, build, protect, respond, maintain, serve, and sacrifice, let us also recommit to protecting the whole person — body, mind, and family. And let’s make Mental Health Awareness Month a catalyst for positive change in every workplace.
Labor built this country. Union members continue to hold it together. Let’s keep Mental Health Awareness Month at the center of our ongoing commitment.
At LaborForce Media, we are proud to stand with workers, union families, and union leaders across the country. We will continue to tell the stories that matter, raise the issues that need attention, and support the conversations that help build stronger, healthier, and more connected labor communities while championing Mental Health Awareness Month efforts.
With respect and gratitude,
Kerri O’Brien
Co-Founder, LaborForce Media
Darren Yelin
Co-Founder, LaborForce Media
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