I. Alliance Background

December 10, 2003

Overview:

This is an alliance between the General Consulate of Mexico in Denver, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Englewood and Denver Area Offices), the Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division (Denver District Office) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Denver District Office). The purpose of this alliance was to provide hard to reach workers, specifically Mexican nationals, with information about safety and health and other workplace rights, through the Consulate. The goal was to foster safer workplaces, as well as ensure employee rights for these hard to reach workers in Colorado.

Implementation Team Members

Vanessa Calva-Ruiz – Consul of Protection, General Consulate of Mexico in Denver, Colorado
Megan Meagher – CAS, OSHA Denver Area Office
Eduardo Rojo – CSHO, OSHA Denver Area Office
Elizabeth Yellstrom – CSHO, OSHA Denver Area Office
Sheila Stanley – CSHO, OSHA Englewood Area Office
Richard Habura – Director, ESA Wage and Hour Denver District Office
Elizabeth Frank – Enforcement Manager, EEOC Denver District Office

Contributors

JoAnne Ibarra – Communications Manager, Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation

Evaluation Period

The evaluation report covers the period from December 10, 2003 to December 2005.

II. Implementation Team Meetings

Implementation team meetings were held frequently for this alliance. All meetings were held in person and rotated locations including the Denver Area Office, the Consulate and EEOC. A list of meeting dates follows:

1/27/04, 3/3/04, 4/14/04, 5/6/04, 6/10/04, 8/10/04, 9/7/04, 11/29/04, 1/24/05, 3/21/05, 6/24/05, 8/9/05, 9/14/05

III. Events and Products

Training and Education

• Events
  
  "Mobile Consulate" appearances were the main events that were coordinated through this alliance. "Mobile Consulate" events were one day consulate operations held in remote locations of the state. Agencies involved in the alliance would set up booths and disseminate information at these events. Mobile Consulate events were held on the following dates:
  
  5/22/04, 9/18/04, 11/13/04, 2/26/05, 3/12/05, 6/18/05, 7/23/05, 8/20/05, 10/15/05
  
  In the second year of the alliance, each agency rotated a monthly appearance at the consulate in Denver to answer questions and disseminate information. OSHA made a total of 3 appearances at the local consulate building on the following dates: 1/18/05, 5/16/05, 9/19/05.
  
  The Mexican Consulate also assisted OSHA in promoting "Safety Fest of the West", an annual training program offered in both English and Spanish where participants can receive OSHA 10-hour construction training. Promotional radio appearances were made on the consulate’s weekly radio program.
  
  
• Products
  
  Each agency complied an informational summary which was provided to the consulate staff for translation, consolidation and dissemination to consulate clientele.

Outreach and Communication

• Events
  
  In addition to the above events which also address the outreach and communication component of the alliance, bilingual OSHA staff made periodic radio appearances on a regular consulate radio program broadcast on local Spanish language radio. Some appearance dates are:
  
  1/24/05, 4/25/05, 5/9/05
  
  The radio appearances were also generally rotated among all the alliance participants.
  
  
• Products
  
  OSHA provided an "All About OSHA" video translated into Spanish to the consulate which was shown on a continuous loop system in their reception area.
  
  Also see products above

Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health

• Events
  
  In March 2006, Region VIII’s Regional Administrator and the Area Director of the Denver Area Office addressed a group of local leaders of organizations that work with or provide services to Mexican nationals regarding OSHA’s mission in accordance with a Department of Labor initiative (Agreement for the Protection of Labor Rights of Mexican Workers in the United States). The forum was titled "Training the Trainer Regional Seminar"
  
  
• Products
  
  None

IV. Results

The staff of the Division of Protection for the Mexican Consulate in Denver was trained on the function and responsibility of each participating agency in order to properly direct their constituents in need of assistance to the correct agency.

The process of the Consulate contacting each agency on behalf of a constituent was streamlined to provide quicker and better assistance.

The appearances made locally at the Consulate are estimated to have reached between 50 and 100 workers per visit.

The mobile consulate appearances are estimated to have reached between 50 and 500 employees per event.
The appearances on Spanish language radio are estimated to have reached several thousand listeners per appearance.

V. Upcoming Milestones

This alliance agreement expired in December 2005 and it is our intention to renew this alliance using the new template for international agreements. Due to promotions and retirements, many of the original implementation team members are no longer affiliated with their respective organizations.