“If my son hadn’t used meth, he would never have known his killer, he’d be alive today,” said Tammy Sheary at a community forum recently in Snohomish County.

Tammy’s 18-year-old son was murdered last spring and his mom is speaking out in hopes of preventing other young people from the same terrible fate.  Another mom, a member of the Communications Workers of America, discovered help in a workplace safety meeting where she said, “I only wish I’d known this six months ago, I thought that my son was just going through another part of being a teen, until it was too late. Now I need to make sure he gets the right treatment and he doesn’t get into more trouble. Can you help?”

The scourge of drug abuse, including alcohol, tobacco and illegal substances, continues to cost working families a tremendous toll of pain and loss.  The Washington State Labor Council has partnered with the state’s Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse and the President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Northwest HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) to provide workplace-training sessions for union members and community forums for those who don’t have the benefit of unions about how to identify and cope with drug problems.

Working Drugfree is our program that reaches out to the public, union leaders and members in our state on ways to prevent alcohol and drug abuse, and to find the right intervention and treatment for a loved one.  Teaching people about the warning signs and risk factors is a key to saving a family member or co-worker.  Some of these warning signs are:

— Increased tolerance for alcohol and/or drugs

— Preoccupation with alcohol and/or drugs

— Use despite knowledge of negative consequences

— Distortions in thinking i.e. denial

Organized labor is taking an active role in substance abuse prevention by coordinating with treatment providers and law enforcement professionals to provide training both at work and at home.  Thousands of Washington’s workers, students and citizens have heard the message in workplace safety meetings, community forums or through Union provided member assistance programs.

Approximately one in 10 Washington adults needs treatment for substance abuse or addiction. But public funds are available to provide treatment for only 20% of those who are eligible. Often, those who have coverage, have limits that prohibit them financially from receiving appropriate treatment and aftercare.

Right now one of the most troublesome drugs being abused is methamphetamine, a toxic, addictive stimulant drug that affects many areas of the nervous system. Recent reports have put Washington State in second place only to California in the rapid spread of illegal drug labs.

Washington’s Department of Ecology, local public health and law enforcement agencies have been overwhelmed with calls to respond to lab sites and to investigate related crimes. Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart attributes two-thirds of all crimes committed in his county with methamphetamine.  Partnerships with law enforcement have been helpful in raising awareness of how meth affects communities, families and the workplace. 

As an example, one of our largest unions, the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents nearly 60,000 retail, supermarket and health care workers around the state, began a meth education campaign last August at their convention. Since then, they have included meth training in general membership meetings and shop steward trainings with King County Sheriff Dave Reichert and his meth team providing technical education and insight to the local community challenges. 

Working Drugfree has also provided curriculum materials for many of the apprenticeship programs operated by the building trades unions around the state. One of the essential elements of a safe workplace is a drug-free workplace, so working with training programs to emphasize the safety requirements of the construction trades is a tremendous opportunity to influence safety and health on the job and off the job.

Various community services programs such as the King County Labor Council Food Bank, and the partnership of labor with United Way in Spokane, Pierce and Snohomish counties are another way we support making our communities a better place for working families. We provide training for workplace Union Counselors who can refer members who need services.  

In Snohomish County, Operation Shortfall helps provide union families with emergency assistance.  And every spring, tons of food is collected by our Letter Carriers in the nation’s biggest food drive.  Unions pitch in to help their members as well as the less fortunate among us. Programs such as Working Drugfree are another way that we can help.

The Washington State Labor Council is the largest labor organization in the state, and as such, we have a special responsibility to look beyond the usual subjects of wages and benefits, legislation and political action. For more information, check our web site at: www.workingdrugfree.org. We are committed to make our communities a better place for all working families. 

Rick Bender is President of the Washington State Labor Council, the largest labor organization in the state.