Tackling the overdose and suicide crisis in construction trades

Talking about mental and behavioral health during building or construction trades apprenticeships can save lives 

OLYMPIA, WA (January 20, 2026) — Working construction is dangerous. There’s the obvious risks most think of, physical injuries that are clear as day. But other, often harder-to-identify risks are just as dangerous, if not more so. Substance abuse and mental health struggles are on the rise among construction workers. Nothing underlines the depth of this crisis more than this: in 2023 there were 982 fatal jobsite injuries among construction workers, but 15,910 fatal overdoses and 5,095 suicides.

A serious injury to your hand is a pretty clear-cut reason to get medical care. But how do we recognize when depression or substance use means a coworker, or ourselves, needs help too?

Recently introduced legislation in the State House aims to empower trades apprentices with the tools and resources needed to improve their own mental health outcomes and look out for their fellow construction workers. HB 2492, sponsored by Rep. Greg Nance with support from Rep. Suzanne Schmidt, would require state registered apprenticeships in the building or construction trades to provide behavioral health and wellness training. Per the bill text, that training would focus on “destigmatizing behavioral health and supporting wellness; recognizing signs of distress; suicide prevention; substance abuse disorder awareness and prevention; and providing peer support and connecting to resources.”

A focus on mental health can be life-saving. And it’s desperately needed. Suicide rates are on the rise in the U.S., disproportionately impacting men. That’s especially true in the construction industry. According to CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training, male construction workers are almost twice as likely to die by suicide than other working men. And across gender, suicide and overdose death rates for construction workers are significantly higher than for other workers.

Research supports the effectiveness of training outlined in HB 2492. NABTU (North America’s Building Trades Unions) has put a focus on mental health and treating substance use disorder in recent years, commissioning several studies both to determine how common these issues are among construction workers and how best to improve outcomes for workers. Those studies indicate that ensuring construction workers can identify warning signs of suicide and substance use disorder, as well as leaning into peer support, can improve mental health outcomes and encourage more workers to access the mental health and treatment services available to them under their union contracts.

HB 2492 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 8:00 AM on Wednesday.

TAKE A STAND: Register your support for behavioral and mental health training in construction apprenticeships by signing in ‘PRO’ on HB 2492. Here’s how:

1. Click here
2. Under “Position” Select PRO
3. Enter your name and information

If you are facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to, please call or text 9-8-8 anytime for 24/7, confidential crisis support.