Beyond Boots and Gloves: Safety Conventions Address Mental Health, Addiction
By Robert Fulton
Members of IBEW Local 11 represented well at a pair of safety-focused conventions in Milwaukee last month.
One major takeaway from the 2025 IBEW Safety Conference and the National Safety Conference that followed is that the definition of safety now goes well beyond that of hard hats, boots and gloves.
The IBEW International invited Local 11 District 1 North Business Agent Zac Solomon to speak on a panel about addiction, recovery and mental health.
Solomon helped found Local 11’s own recovery group which meets monthly.
“We started a recovery group in our Local to help break the stigma of not just alcohol abuse and drug abuse, but alcohol recovery and drug recovery,” Solomon said. “There’s a stigma against having an issue, but there’s also a stigma against doing something to correct the issue.”
Solomon shared that he’s been a sober member of a 12-step program for 13 years, He started Local 11’s recovery group to offer a safe space for members who also have an understanding of the construction grind, of getting up at 3 in the morning and humping conduit across a jobsite all day.
“Here, at the very least, you know that you have this common bond, that we are IBEW members, that we’re tradespeople,” Solomon said. “The members of our recovery group, we know what it’s like. We’re you, we’re going through the same thing on a daily basis as you. So it adds this common bond and understanding.”
Studies have shown that approximately 15% of tradespeople struggle with substance abuse, twice the rate of the general population.
Mike Costigan, Local 11’s District 3 Business Agent, has attended several conferences over the years and has played a pivotal role in Local 11’s safety initiatives. He said that this year’s conferences emphasized pain, physical wellness and mental wellness. The National Conference also addressed possible cuts to OSHA by the Trump administration, though California has its own OSHA.
Costigan said that he’s been focused on job hazard analysis and stretching at the beginning of a shift. The spread of 988, the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, was also a key theme this year.
Natalie Anaya joined the Safety Committee after hearing about mental health issues at a Tradeswomen’s Conference. She reached out to Business Manager Robert Corona, who put her in touch with Costigan.
The construction industry faces a mental health crisis, with one of the highest suicide rates of any profession. Male construction workers are especially at risk — their suicide rate is 75% higher than that of men in the general population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022 alone, an estimated 6,000 construction workers died by suicide, up from the previous year. That’s six times the number of workers — about 1,000 — who died from job-related injuries.
“I didn’t know that mental health was under the same safety umbrella. It definitely needs to be talked about a lot more,” she said, adding that she can be an ear for her brothers and sisters out in the field.
Anaya, a seven-year Local 11 member and inside wireman, attended both conferences and found them eye-opening.
“It just kind of opened up my mind to see the bigger picture of safety, not just surface-level things,” she said.
Hector Navarro is the Chairman of the Safety Committee and recently joined Local 11’s Executive Board. His interest in safety started at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic when his toolmate passed away.
When it comes to issues like cutting OSHA, he had a blunt message.
“How you vote is how safe you are,” he said. “Social reasons are one reason, but your pocketbook, your wallet, your safety, sometimes have to supersede when you vote.
He reflected on how things have changed in his 35 years in the trade, in how mental health is discussed.
“Mental health seems to be the number one topic and how it ties to pretty much all the rest of safety,” Navarro said. “We weren’t doing this. We weren’t talking about it. It’s a whole different generation and different mentalities. It’s exciting.”
