Public commenter urges creation of men’s commission and labor-rights commission

During public comment on March 30, resident Aaron Griffith urged the Human Rights Commission to consider recommending that the mayor and city council establish two new Title 5 commissions: one focused on men’s issues and a second on labor rights and relations.

Griffith told the commission he believes men, particularly working-age men, are experiencing a mental-health crisis and elevated suicide risk relative to homicide, and that a city commission focused on men would create a dedicated forum for outreach, prevention and services. "I think the men's commission would help a lot to address those problems," he said, urging the commission to consider how city resources and services reach men in crisis.

He also proposed a municipal labor-rights and relations commission to provide labor a formal voice in city policymaking and to examine workplace safety, discrimination, living wages and protections for workers who do not fall into federally protected classes. "I think it's inherently important," he said, linking the idea to Tulsa’s history of labor conflict and to ongoing concerns about poverty and worker protections.

Commission leadership thanked Griffith for his comments, noted the Human Rights Commission does not itself create new commissions, and said the body could consider forwarding a recommendation or otherwise raise the ideas with the mayor’s office and city council for consideration.

The commenter requested the ideas be placed on a future agenda so he could follow up when the mayor attends next month’s meeting.