Overview
Construction workers face some of the highest rates of suicide and drug overdose in the U.S. Dangerous and physically demanding working conditions, exposure to traumatic incidents and stigma around expressing vulnerability contribute to the crisis, while discouraging workers from discussing mental health or seeking help.
To address the crisis, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York (BCTC), representing approximately 100,000 union members in the New York City region, began developing a peer assistance program led by directors of union member assistance programs (MAPs) in 2024.
BCTC subsequently partnered with the Worker Institute to co-create the Building Trades Peer Support Network (BTPSN), launched in March 2026 with funding from the New York Building Foundation. Drawing on MAP directors’ frontline experiences, the BTPSN is pioneering a comprehensive training program in peer support and crisis response to destigmatize mental health and reduce suicide in New York City’s construction industry.
Key Findings
- Construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than from jobsite-related injuries and four times more likely to commit suicide than the average American.
- BTPSN has already trained 20 union-based instructors to deliver peer support education across participating unions.
- During the current pilot phase of the initiative, the BTPSN has placed 20 trained peer supporters on union job sites in New York City.
- BTPSN plans to train 1,000 union members (1% of BCTC membership) to act as on-site peer supporters.
Recommendations
- New York state should continue to provide financial support for the ongoing operation and expansion of the BTPSN program, enabling it to train more workers and instructors while increasing workers’ access to peers who can recognize distress and provide appropriate resources.
- The program’s efficacy should be evaluated. The New York City initiative could serve as a model for similar multi-union programs to promote the mental wellness of unionized construction workers throughout New York state and potentially the nation.
Program Impact
The BTPSN is an innovative peer support and training program that is creating a system of care and emergency response. The two-hour “It’s Not Weak to Speak” training is open to all union members and addresses industry stressors and cultural norms and helps to reduce mental health stigma. Recruited members may then complete a seven-hour advanced peer supporter course that prepares them to provide confidential jobsite support, assess crisis levels and refer appropriate cases to MAP directors or other resources.
The Worker Institute is conducting an ongoing “train-the-trainer” program that prepares MAP directors to deliver both curricula to union members.
BTPSN offers a potentially scalable model for reducing mental health stigma and strengthening suicide and overdose prevention across the construction industry.
AUTHORS:
Arianna Schindle, Worker Institute director of training and curriculum design; Jeff Grabelsky, Worker Institute senior extension associate
CONTACTS:
Patricia Campos-Medina
Executive Director
pec1@cornell.edu
Risa Lieberwitz
Academic Director
rll5@cornell.edu
The Worker Institute engages in research and education on contemporary labor issues to generate innovative thinking and solutions to problems related to work, economy and society. The institute brings together researchers, educators and students with practitioners in labor, business and policymaking to confront growing economic and social inequalities, in the interests of working people and their families. A core value of the Worker Institute is that collective representation and workers’ rights are vital to a fair economy, robust democracy and just society.