DECEMBER 2010
Common Ground
Page 9
Employee assistance programs have saved workers and their companies By Steve Miranda It wasn’t too many years ago that the addiction or alcohol abuse recovery process consisted of some white knuckles, lots of aspirin, countless cigarettes and maybe an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting or two. While addiction has increased at an alarming rate since the white-knuckle days of the past, it is fortunate that the science of addiction has progressed, allowing substantial improvement in the areas of treatment and recovery. For instance, until the 1970s, most substance abuse programs in the U.S. were informal, community-based, voluntary selfhelp groups such as AA. The development of a treatment continuum of care increased the number of effective options available for help. Unfortunately, many programs have become lost in large complicated health care bureaucracies. That is the true irony of the situation: As the quantity and quality of available programs increased, the recovery sector became a gold rush of sorts. As investors scrambled to make money in the recovery game, the insurance companies tightened the reigns on patient accessibility and catered to those who were prepared to spend the most. It is the insurance companies that made it extra difficult for the average citizen to get the treatment needed for addiction. When you consider the staggering addiction statistics, faceless insurance companies have obviously kept countless struggling addicts sick; more irony. Considering the fact that people who are employed spend nearly half of their lives working to earn a living while generating revenue for their employer, it was only a matter of time before addiction took a toll on employers who were not only losing employees, but were also losing revenue. After the research was in, we learned that it was cheaper for an employer to treat an addicted employee than to terminate them. That was the magic moment in the labor movement, the point at which union leaders recognized that they needed to help rehabilitate their members as well as protect them. Unions had always taken care of their own, and addiction wasn’t going to change that. It took some time to convince employers of the importance of programs to help employees overcome addictions, but when companies implemented such programs, businesses flourished. There were quite a few programs popping up to assist with employees’ needs, but it wasn’t until 1991 that Labor Assistance Professionals (LAP) emerged to promote the development of peer-based member assistance programs within the labor movement. If it weren’t for LAP founders Mike Blackburn, senior vice president of Treatment Solutions Network, and state Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr., publisher of “Common Ground,”
labor unions may never have found solutions to addiction-related problems that were destroying businesses and employees. LAP was organized to help reform an overly bureaucratized treatment system that made services increasingly remote from and unresponsive to the real needs of drug and alcohol-abusing workers. With roots dating back to the union beneficial societies of the 1840s, which focused on helping the alcoholic worker, LAP believes that today’s preoccupation with building large professional bureaucracies must be balanced by a return to focusing on the needs of workers and their families. It is this old-school mentality that became the glue LAP used when attracting unions in need of help. As insurance companies have sought to restrict access to treatment, LAP has begun to advocate for a revival of the traditions of worker self-help and mutual aid. “Get-tough-on-drugs” politics limits help for substance abusers and discourages them from seeking assistance because the workers are afraid of losing their jobs. Assistance programs define drug use at work as unacceptable because it creates safety risks and otherwise impairs job performance. The programs emphasize the role of peer counselors, who are trained union members volunteering their time to prevent drug abuse, motivate their co-workers with drug abuse problems to accept help and support them when they return to work. Union members help each other to stay clean and sober. The LAP mission statement explains exactly why this group is here to change lives for the better. It states: “We are committed to ensuring the availability of quality and effective chemical dependency and mental health treatment services for workers and their families by promoting the value and efficacy of such services to those within the workplace. We are dedicated to enhancing the competency and availability of Labor Assistance Professionals and programs through networking opportunities, continuing education and professional certification. We are dedicated to increasing the recognition of the key role Labor Assistance Programs have in advancing workplace wellness and safety by serving as the voice of employee assistance programs, with a specialized sensitivity to organized labor within the Behavioral Health Care industry. “LAP is dedicated first to obtaining comprehensive alcohol and drug treatment and other mental health services for its members at a reasonable and fair price. Second, they are advocating for member assistance program development within labor and for recognition of the key role labor plays from the field’s professional organization and by its treatment providers. The LAP is a thorough machine
that for over 20 years has not only guided employees and employers to a better way, but it also carved the path.” Addiction has been around forever, and proper treatment of addiction is relatively new, but teaching an entire work force how to look after and protect its members from becoming an addiction casualty is an overwhelming task that LAP has been teaching for quite some time. LAP stands for solidarity and safety. With the services it has been providing since 1991, there are a lot more thriving businesses and a lot less white knuckles. Steve Miranda is a consultant for Treatment Solutions Network’s Northeast region. If you have any questions or know someone who may need his services, contact him at stevem@ tsnemail.com or (508) 525-5974. Visit www. treatmentsolutionsnetwork.com for more information.
Ex-battalion chief keeps extinguishing addiction fires In 2003, Mike Blackburn retired from the Providence Fire Department after a 30-year career, with the rank of battalion chief. He was the director and a founding member of the employee assistance program for the Providence Fire Department Local 799. Blackburn also served for six weeks at Ground Zero as part of the International Association of Fire Fighters’ lead team, doing critical incident work. He is still a member of the Rhode Island State Critical Incident Stress Team and says he is proud to be a dues-paying member of the retirees of Providence Fire and Police union. He also continues to provide several fire departments throughout Rhode Island help with employee assistance programs. Blackburn is a founding member and past president of the Rhode Island Chapter of Labor Assistance Professionals. He is the past national labor director for the Employee Assistance Professionals Association. Michael also serves as vice president of the board of directors of the Rhode Island Council on Alcoholism. Michael is also senior vice president of Treatment Solutions Network. He can be reached at mikeb@tsnemail.com or (401) 255-4622.
David P. Fleming President James P. Riley Secretary-Treasurer
Southern New Englands Neighborhood Union United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 328 278 Silver Spring Street • Providence, RI 02904-2593 • 401.861.0300 • 800.624.7776 • www.ufcw328.org