Dive Brief:
- The Pennsylvania State Senate has officially designated the week of July 21-25 as “Construction Opioid Awareness Week,” according to a July 17 news release.
- The acknowledgement came via Senate Resolution 133, which was introduced by State Sen. John I. Kane, a plumber and labor leader who is minority chair of the state’s Labor & Industry Committee. Sen. Devlin Robinson, chair of the Labor & Industry Committee, and Sen. Tina Tartaglione also sponsored the measure.
- The resolution encourages the construction industry in Pennsylvania to continue promoting awareness of the dangers of opioids and prescription drug abuse, with special emphasis during the summer months when construction activity is at its peak, according to the news release.
Dive Insight:
The link between opioids, and broader drug abuse, with the construction industry is well documented. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, construction and extraction jobs led all other occupations with 162.6 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 workers nationwide, according to a 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the awareness week comes with a silver lining, as the lawmakers cited a decrease in drug overdose deaths nationwide from 110,037 in 2023 to 80,391 in 2024, per the news release.
“As someone who spent decades in the construction trades, I’ve witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of opioid addiction on our workforce,” Kane said in the news release. “I’ve lost friends, colleagues, and community members to this epidemic. This isn’t just policy for me — it’s personal.”
Additional calls to action from the initiative include:
- Advocating for keeping naloxone on construction sites and in contractor offices.
- Promoting the 988 mental health and suicide crisis prevention hotline, which has helped over 14.5 million people since 2022.
- Distributing “Warn Me” stickers for workers’ insurance cards to encourage healthcare providers to discuss opioid issues.
- Organizing “Drug Take Back” events to combat prescription drug abuse.
Alongside the legislation, 15 organizations are collaborating to promote awareness throughout the week, including the Keystone Contractors Association, Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council, Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and the General Building Contractors Association, per the release.
The resolution also recognized the efforts of organizations working to combat opioid abuse within the construction industry, including the Keystone Contractors Association, which provides free naloxone to any construction company in Pennsylvania that requests it.
