September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a time for our industry to recognize that protecting workers means protecting both their physical and mental well-being.
For MCAA, the message is straightforward: Mental health and suicide prevention belong alongside every other safety and health priority affecting our workforce. That means creating workplaces where people are comfortable speaking up, leaders know how to recognize when someone may be struggling, and workers know where to turn for help.
Construction Suicide Prevention Week will be observed Sept. 14-18, 2026, during National Suicide Prevention Month. Established specifically for the construction industry, the week is dedicated to raising awareness of the disproportionately high number of suicides among construction workers and providing employers, unions, supervisors and workers with practical resources that can help prevent these deaths. The 2026 theme, Building on Progress, recognizes that recent data shows encouraging improvement while reinforcing that the industry still has significant work ahead.
Construction Suicide Prevention Week also includes a nationwide stand-down on Monday, Sept. 14, when participating organizations and jobsites are encouraged to observe a moment of silence honoring those who have died by suicide and recommit themselves to protecting the mental health of the workforce.
Learn more about Construction Suicide Prevention Week
Raising Awareness
Construction workers routinely manage demanding schedules, physical wear and tear, overtime, travel, job uncertainty, financial pressures and the expectation that they simply “push through” difficult situations. Those pressures do not automatically cause suicide, but they can contribute to an environment where mental health concerns, substance use and personal struggles may go unrecognized or unaddressed.
One of the most important things our industry can do is make it as acceptable to speak about mental health as it is to speak about fall protection, confined spaces or any other serious workplace hazard.
Awareness helps workers recognize warning signs in themselves and others. It also helps supervisors and coworkers become more comfortable starting a conversation, listening without judgment and connecting someone with professional assistance when needed. The objective is not to turn construction professionals into mental health clinicians. It is to give people the confidence to recognize that something may be wrong, ask the right questions and know where help is available.
The numbers demonstrate why this issue demands ongoing attention.
New data released by CPWR, The Center for Construction Research and Training, shows that approximately 5,000 construction workers ages 16 to 64 died by suicide in 2024, representing a suicide rate of 41.9 per 100,000 workers. That is an improvement from approximately 5,100 deaths and a rate of 43.2 in 2023, but the loss of roughly 5,000 construction workers in a single year remains staggering.
Earlier CPWR research also found that construction workers were dying by suicide at more than five times the number of fatal occupational injuries. In 2022, approximately 5,200 construction workers died by suicide compared with 991 fatal work injuries.
The risk is particularly relevant to our trades. In the CDC’s occupational analysis of 2021 data, the suicide rate among male construction and extraction workers was 65.6 per 100,000 workers. Among male pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters specifically, the rate was 49.4 per 100,000.
There is also reason for hope. CPWR’s newest data shows construction suicide deaths decreased approximately 1.7% between 2023 and 2024. Prevention, education, improved access to treatment, peer support programs and efforts to reduce stigma are all part of the industry’s ongoing work to move these numbers in the right direction.
It’s a Shared Responsibility
Suicide prevention has increasingly become a shared priority throughout construction and across the broader safety and health community. Construction Suicide Prevention Week brings together owners, contractors, labor organizations, trade associations, insurers and safety and risk professionals. OSHA participates in and recognizes the initiative, while organizations including CPWR, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) and others continue developing research, education and prevention resources.
At the national level, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recognizes September as National Suicide Prevention Month and continues promoting awareness of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Calling or texting 988 connects individuals with free, confidential crisis support.
Within our own industry, MCAA and the United Association (UA), along with partners including NECA, SMACNA and TAUC, have worked collaboratively to expand awareness of 988 and make mental health resources more visible to construction workers.
How MCAA Helps Its Members
MCAA’s approach is focused on giving member contractors practical tools they can use with their workforce, not simply raising awareness for one week or one month.
Mental health awareness and suicide prevention resources are incorporated into MCAA’s broader Safety Excellence Initiative and are available to help contractors educate workers, initiate conversations, train supervisors and field leaders, and connect employees with appropriate assistance. These tools can be incorporated into safety orientations, toolbox talks, stand-downs, supervisor meetings and ongoing company safety and health programs.
The goal is to help contractors create an environment where mental health becomes part of the organization’s overall safety culture and where asking for help is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness.
Explore MCAA’s Mental Health Awareness & Suicide Prevention Resources
The United Association’s Pipe PALS
A critical part of this effort is the UA’s Pipe PALS: Peer Allies for Life Success program.
Pipe PALS promotes suicide awareness, prevention, mental health support and addiction resources throughout UA local unions in the United States and Canada. Rather than relying solely on outside resources, the program works to build a network of trained peer allies, people who understand the culture and pressures of the trades and can listen, recognize potential warning signs and help connect a brother or sister with appropriate support.
Pipe PALS also provides mental health and addiction resources, peer support education and specialized training such as VitalCog, which teaches participants to recognize warning signs of suicide and become more comfortable having conversations with someone who may be struggling.
MCAA actively participates in the Pipe PALS initiative, including representation on its advisory committee. This labor-management partnership helps connect contractors and the UA workforce around a common goal: making sure workers know that support is available and that they do not have to navigate difficult circumstances alone.
The encouraging decline in construction suicide deaths between 2023 and 2024 cannot be attributed to any one program, but it reinforces the importance of continuing industry efforts around peer support, education, treatment access, awareness and stigma reduction.
The UA-MCAA Mental Health Summit
The UA and MCAA will take another significant step this fall with the inaugural UA-MCAA Mental Health Summit, scheduled for Oct. 18-21, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C.
Guided by the theme From Awareness to Action, the summit is designed around the realities of the mechanical contracting and union workforce. The limited-capacity event will bring together labor and management leaders, safety and health professionals, field representatives and mental health experts to examine practical approaches to suicide prevention, substance use, peer support, Employee Assistance Programs, workforce education and building stronger systems of support.
The purpose extends beyond discussing mental health. Participants will focus on what organizations can actually implement when they return home: how to recognize workers who may be struggling, strengthen EAP and peer support programs, improve access to resources, prepare leaders to have difficult conversations, respond to substance use concerns and create a culture where seeking help is accepted.
The summit represents the next stage of the UA and MCAA’s shared commitment to mental health: moving the industry from awareness to action.
More MCAA Mental Health Resources
MCAA members have access to resources that can be put to work immediately:
- Mental Health Awareness & Suicide Prevention Video – A workforce-focused video featuring the story of an industry veteran and perspectives from construction and mental health leaders. The video can be incorporated into orientations, safety meetings, stand-downs and company mental health programs and is available in English and Spanish.
- UA/MCAA Mental Health Toolbox Talks – Short, easy-to-use discussions designed specifically for the mechanical construction workforce. The talks give supervisors and safety professionals a practical way to start conversations about mental health, suicide prevention and available support. English and Spanish versions are available.
- UA/MCAA 988 Chips and Hard Hat Stickers – MCAA and its industry partners have distributed 988 awareness chips and hard hat stickers to place a potentially lifesaving resource directly into the hands, and in front of the eyes, of workers. The objective is simple: Make 988 easy to remember before someone needs it. A chip can be carried in a pocket or wallet, while hard hat stickers provide a visible reminder on the jobsite that help is available by calling or texting 988. To order chips, contact Lindsay Korpiniski at [email protected] and reference the MCAA and UA 988 Chips.
- Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry Webinar – MCAA’s recorded webinar with industry alliance partners examines construction’s suicide challenge, the role stigma can play in preventing people from seeking assistance, and steps employers and workers can take to support one another.
Additional mental health, suicide prevention and safety resources are available through MCAA’s comprehensive Safety & Health Resource Center.
Access MCAA’s 700+ Safety & Health Resources
Let’s Keep the Focus Going
Suicide prevention cannot be limited to one week in September. It requires an ongoing commitment from employers, labor organizations, supervisors, safety professionals and, most importantly, the men and women working beside one another every day. Every conversation, toolbox talk, 988 sticker, trained peer ally and available resource provides another opportunity to connect someone with help.
To support your participation in Construction Suicide Prevention Week, review the resources available through the initiative. You can also share how your organization is participating and help encourage industrywide engagement in this important effort.
Resources – Construction Suicide Prevention
How to Participate – Construction Suicide Prevention
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
