The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), New York and Boston Regions and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Northeast Region, the Catholic Migration Office (CMO) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, and the Consulate General of Mexico in New York, hereinafter referred to collectively as “the Participants,”

RECOGNIZING the joint commitment to workplace safety and health protections acknowledged in the 2004 Letter of Agreement between the Department of Labor of the United States of America and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States; and,

RECOGNIZING that OSHA’s Alliance Program provides for the establishment of cooperative relationships for purposes such as training and education, outreach and communication, and promoting a national dialogue on workplace safety and health;

Declare their intent as follows

Overall Objective

The Participants intend to establish a collaborative relationship to provide information and guidance in support of the LABORAL call center. LABORAL is intended to: promote the rights and well being of Mexican and other Hispanic workers in the region; empower Mexican and other Hispanic communities, especially recent immigrants, by providing education, guidance, and assistance on labor issues, such as minimum wages, proper overtime compensation, and the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act; and promote awareness of labor rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.

Outreach and Communication

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following outreach and communication goal:

• To develop and share information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, workers’ rights, youth employment rules, wage compensation rights, migrant and other seasonal work protections and to develop ways of communicating to employers and workers in a respective industry such information in English and Spanish (e.g., print and electronic media, including electronic tools and links to OSHA’s and WHD’s web sites from the Consulate’s and CMO’s web sites).

Promotion of a National Dialogue

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following goals related to promoting the national dialogue on workplace issues:

• To raise awareness of and demonstrate commitment to workplace safety and health and workers’ rights whenever leaders from the Participants address groups.
  
  
• To convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on issues affecting Mexican and Hispanic workers in the region to help forge innovative solutions to issues concerning workplace safety and health, workers’ rights, and other employment issues under the purview of OSHA and WHD.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each Participant intends to meet to develop a plan of action, determine working procedures, and identify the roles and responsibilities of the Participants. In addition, the Participants intend to meet at least three times per year to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance.

This Arrangement is intended to cease two years from the date of signing. A participant should endeavor to provide 30 days advanced written notice of its intent to discontinue its participation in this Arrangement. This Arrangement may be modified in writing at any time by mutual consent of all signatories.



Signed at _______________, in quintuplicate, this _____day of

______________, 2009, in the English and Spanish languages.