PRINTER'S NO. 1691
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 307
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY KANE, ROBINSON, TARTAGLIONE, STREET, HAYWOOD,
FONTANA, LAUGHLIN, CAPPELLETTI, SANTARSIERO, HUGHES AND
BREWSTER, JUNE 6, 2024
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, JUNE 6, 2024
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the week of July 22 through 26, 2024, as
2 "Construction Opioid Awareness Week" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Opioids are deadly and are responsible for claiming
4 more than 600,000 American lives between 1999 and 2022; and
5 WHEREAS, In 2022, drug overdose deaths in the United States
6 reached their highest point ever recorded with more than 107,941
7 deaths according to the Centers for Disease Control and
8 Prevention (CDC); and
9 WHEREAS, More than 75%, or 84,181, of overdose deaths in 2022
10 involved an opioid according to the CDC; and
11 WHEREAS, A recent National Center for Health Statistics
12 report confirmed the construction industry has been hit hard by
13 the opioid crisis; and
14 WHEREAS, According to the report entitled, "Drug Overdose
15 Mortality by Usual Occupation and Industry," released August 22,
16 2023, the construction industry had the highest rate of overdose
17 deaths in 2020, with a rate of 130.9 deaths per 100,000 workers;
1 and
2 WHEREAS, The construction industry, which involves physically
3 demanding labor and employs an aging workforce, has been
4 particularly vulnerable to the opioid epidemic; and
5 WHEREAS, Drug abuse issues in the construction industry
6 endanger not only the individual worker, but the companies they
7 work for, other workers on the jobsite and the general public
8 near jobsites; and
9 WHEREAS, The summer months are the busiest for the
10 construction industry and are an ideal time for promoting
11 awareness of the dangers of opioid abuse; and
12 WHEREAS, Many construction organizations have been utilizing
13 services and resources from the National Safety Council to
14 create an educational toolbox for members of the construction
15 industry, including materials to facilitate discussions with
16 workers about the dangers of opioids and prescription drug
17 abuse, and "Warn Me" stickers to place on workers' insurance
18 cards in the hopes of encouraging health care providers to
19 discuss opioid issues with those workers; and
20 WHEREAS, The following groups plan to promote the awareness
21 and dangers of opioids and prescription drug abuse within the
22 construction industry during the last full week in the month of
23 July:
24 (1) Keystone Contractors Association;
25 (2) National Safety Council;
26 (3) Pennsylvania Utility Contractors Association;
27 (4) Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades
28 Council;
29 (5) Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of
30 Carpenters;
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1 (6) Laborers International Union of North America -
2 Pennsylvania Council;
3 (7) Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors
4 National Association - Pennsylvania Chapter;
5 (8) Master Builders' Association of Western
6 Pennsylvania;
7 (9) National Electrical Contractors Association of
8 Western Pennsylvania;
9 (10) Mechanical Contractors Association of America -
10 Pennsylvania Chapters;
11 (11) Pennsylvania Builders Exchange;
12 (12) Architectural Glass and Metal Association;
13 (13) Ironworker Employers Association of Western
14 Pennsylvania;
15 (14) American Subcontractors Association of Central
16 Pennsylvania; and
17 (15) General Building Contractors Association;
18 therefore be it
19 RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the week of July 22
20 through 26, 2024, as "Construction Opioid Awareness Week" in
21 Pennsylvania; and be it further
22 RESOLVED, That the construction industry in Pennsylvania be
23 encouraged to promote awareness of the dangers of opioids and
24 prescription drug abuse with workers in the industry and
25 facilitate discussions and events such as "Drug Take Back"
26 events to combat the opioid and prescription drug abuse epidemic
27 in Pennsylvania's construction industry.
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