The Division of Trade Agreement Administration and Technical Cooperation coordinates international technical cooperation in support of the labor provisions in free trade agreements and to provide services, information, expertise, and technical cooperation programs that effectively support the international responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. foreign labor policy objectives.
FUNCTIONS
- Administers the U.S. Government responsibilities under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) and labor chapters of the United States regional and bilateral free trade agreements.
- Coordinates the development and implementation of cooperative activities stipulated in the NAALC and subsequent Labor Agreements.
- Provides for the receipt and consideration of public submissions on matters related to the NAALC and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) labor chapters.
- Administers the handling of public submissions on matters related to the NAALC and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) labor chapters.
- Administers responsibilities and performs duties in support of OTLA as the U.S. government contact point for purposes of administering the labor chapters of free trade agreements to which the United States is a party or may become a party.
- Administers responsibilities and performs duties in support of OTLA as the U.S. government contact point and information resource for the National Administrative Offices of Canada and Mexico, and for the Secretariat of the Commission for Labor Cooperation and counterparts in other countries.
- Provides technical assistance for post-conflict reconstruction and reintegration activities in countries key to U.S. security.
- Provides technical assistance globally to help countries observe international labor standards.
- Provides technical assistance to countries to reduce the economic impact of HIV/AIDS by focusing on workplace HIV prevention education and policy development to mitigate discrimination in the workplace.
- Partners with other U.S. agencies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and ministries of labor to carry out its mission.
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New & Noteworthy
August 10-11, 2006: II Regional Train the Trainer Seminar - Northwest Region, Seattle
The Second Regional Train the Trainer Seminar, held in Seattle August 10-11, 2006, is part of a series of regional seminars resulting from the Joint Declaration on Migrant Workers signed by Secretary Elaine Chao and Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez of Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Relations (SRE) in 2004. The objective of the Seminar was to educate the participants on the rights of Mexican migrant workers under U.S. laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Seminar provided an opportunity for U.S. and Mexican officials to review progress made as part of the U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration and Letters of Agreement on migrant workers in the United States.
Representatives from the Mexican Consulates in San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles, and Seattle attended. The Consul General from Peru also attended. The U.S. Department of Labor was represented by the Office of Trade Agreement Implementation (OTAI), Regional Administrators of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries attended as well. The Seminar was organized by the DOL/SRE and Mexico’s Consulate in Seattle.
July 7, 2006: U.S. NAO Submission No. 2005-02 (Mexican Pilots), concerning allegations of sustained and recurring actions of non-enforcement of labor law by the Mexican government, was rejected for review.
U.S. NAO Submission No. 2005-02 (Pilots), concerning allegations of sustained and recurring actions of non-enforcement of labor law by the Mexican government, was rejected for review by the Department of Labor's Office of Trade Agreement Implementation (OTAI) on July 7, 2006. In OTAI's view the allegations that the government of Mexico prevented the Mexican Airline Pilots Association (ASPA) from establishing a craft Union at Aviacsa Airlines and allowing for the improper dismissal of member pilots based on their union organizing activities were not adequately substantiated by the submitters. Accordingly, it was determined that a review of the submission would not further the objectives of the NAALC.
November 7, 2005: U.S. NAO Submission No. 2005-03, concerning allegations of worker rights violations in Hidalgo, was filed.
On October 14, 2005, U.S. NAO Submission #2005-03 was filed by The Progressive Union of Workers of the Textile Industry, the Manufacturing, Cutting and Confection of Fabric and Garments in General and Related and Similar Industries in the Mexican Republic, a member of the "Vanguardia Obrera" Workers Federation of the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (FTVO-CROC), with the support of the U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project, and the Washington Office on Latin America under the NAALC concerning the enforcement of labor laws by the Government of Mexico. The submission focuses on events at a textile plant operated by Rubie's de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., in the municipality of Tepeji del Rio, State of Hidalgo, Mexico.
The submitters allege that the Government of Mexico has failed to fulfill its obligations under the NAALC to effectively enforce its labor law under Article 3 in connection with freedom of association and protection of the right to organize, the right to bargain collectively, the right to strike, prohibition of forced labor, labor protections for children and young persons, minimum employment standards, elimination of employment discrimination, prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses, and compensation in cases of occupational injuries and illnesses, and under Article 5 with respect to fair, equitable and transparent labor tribunal proceedings.
The submission focuses on the submitter's attempts to organize a union at a plant operated by Rubie's de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., in the municipality of Tepeji del Rio, State of Hidalgo, alleging that Mexico's Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board No. 6 and Local Conciliation and Arbitration Board No. 51 failed to provide workers with fair, equitable and transparent proceedings to enforce their right to form a union to represent the workers in collective bargaining. Allegations also include failure on the part of state and federal authorities to provide effective onsite inspections and remedies for labor law violations concerning forced labor, minimum wage, overtime pay, prevention of discrimination, occupational safety and health, and child labor. Finally, the submitters assert that the actions and/or inaction by the Government of Mexico represent a pattern of non-enforcement of its labor laws. The submission was accepted for review on January 6, 2006.
Federal Register Notice [Text]
[PDF]
February 17, 2005: U.S. NAO Submission (Labor Law Reform)
After consideration of this submission, the U.S. OTAI determined that a review would not further the objectives of the NAALC and, on February 21, 2006, declined to accept it for review.
