After Shawn Nehiley injured his back on the job in 2002 while working as a journeyman for Iron Workers Local 7, he was prescribed opioids for pain. “When they gave me the oxycontin, I felt like Superman, but that turned real quick,” he recalls.
Speaking during an April 28 stand-down in Boston’s Seaport that concluded the third annual Building Trades Recovery Week, the president of the Ironworkers District Council of New England was one of several speakers who shared their story of addiction and recovery with approximately 500 workers. The Building Trades Employers’ Association Northeast organized the event along with Turner Construction Co., Suffolk Construction and WS Development.