ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT FOR
Consulate General of Houston - #155

Alliance Background

Date Signed
April 14, 2010

1. Overview
   The Participants intend to establish a collaborative relationship to provide Mexican Nationals in Eastern Texas and others with information, guidance, and access to education and training resources to promote workers’ rights in protecting their occupational health and safety, particularly with regards to reducing injuries and fatalities related to fall, electrical, struck-by, and caught in/between hazards, and to help them understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).


2. Implementation Team Members
   Consulate General of Houston:
   Cónsul General: Dr. Luis Malpica y de Lamadrid  
   Cónsul de Protección: Luis Benjamin Lara Escobedo
   Protection Department: Francisco Ruiz

    

   USDOL - OSHA: Mark R. Briggs, AD
   USDOL - OSHA: Mark A. Hernández, CAS

3. Evaluation Period
   
   4-14-2010 - 5-14-2011


4. Implementation Team Meetings
    
   1. The Houston South Area Office’s (HSAO) Compliance Assistance Specialists (CAS) attended the Sub-Committee of the Justice and Equality monthly meetings and additional alliance meetings as needed.   
5. Events and Products
    
   1. Highlight: The Alliance was having the signing ceremony as part of the Latino Summit: Five attended signing and CAS from the HSAO gave three TV interviews fro Telemundo, Univision, and Inmigrante TV regarding the Alliance with the Mexican Consulate. Total approximate reached through interviews: 30, 000.
   2. Safety Fair: The Mexican Consulate participated in the Safety Fair post the Latino Summit with a booth.
   3. Success Story - Semana Laboral: August 30-September 3, 2010 Consular General Office of Mexico in Houston joined with representatives from Justice and Equality in the Workplace to participate in Semana Laboral (Labor Rights Week) to promote safety, health, and workplace rights information to Mexican workers in the Greater Houston area.  Semana Laboral is a national event held August 30 - September 3, 2010.  In a parallel activity, the Mobile Consulate Unit reached out to the rural parts of the community. The outreach activities conducted during the week were many and varied and included several avenues for communication and educating Hispanic workers on their workplace rights. The phone bank at Univision received 460 calls; the Mexican Consulate received 911 visitors and worked with 82 Consulate cases; the Mobile Consulate unit received 352 workers.  The Justice & Equality members gave 58 speeches; OSHA representatives gave 10 speeches on subjects such as employee rights, complaint filing procedures, focus four hazards.  In addition OSHA gave nine personal protective equipment (PPE) demonstrations and four media interviews. Media outreach included interviews with Univision, Telemundo and two local newspaper articles. OSHA distributed 250 bags containing publications on employee rights, focus four hazards, sun/heat stress, fall prevention, and PPE. More than 2,000 people were reached directly at the Mexican Consulate and thousands more indirectly through the media efforts during the Semana Laboral. 
   4. 10-4-2010: Bi-national Health week: Supported the event at the Consulate with a speech and a booth to hand out OSHA publications: 205 affected
6. Training and Education
    
   1. Semana Laboral: Personal Protection training demonstrations: 9
   2. 1212-9-10: Community cross-training given to other Hispanic community groups and consulates: 25 attended
7. Outreach and Communication
    
   1. Consul Garcia and CAS Hernandez gave a TV interview with Leiberman inviting the public to the Safety Fair and covered employee rights and what services the Protection Department can assist the Hispanic community. 5,000.
   2. Workshop at the Latino Summit on Outreach with the Mexican Consulate: 60
   3. The CAS gave five speeches at the consulate covering employees rights, how to file a complaint process, handed out OSHA publications, Focus four hazards and gave Q/A sessions to approximately 725.
   4. During the Semana Laboral activities, two complaints were taken one resulted in an onsite inspection.  
   5. Created Justice & Equality website: http://www.wecanhelphouston.org/
8. Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health
   1. Meeting with nine other consulates to build relationships and extend our Hispanic outreach.
9. Results
    

   Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.)	Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
   Events
   Semana Laboral	2,000
   Workshop at Latino Summit	60
   Bi-national Health week	250
   Training
   Semana Laboral PPE demonstrations	9
   Community cross-training	25
   Outreach  / Communication
   Monthly meetings	10 attendees x 10 months = 100
   TV interviews at Latino Summit	30, 000
   TV interview with Consul Garcia inviting to Safety Fair	5,000
   Speeches at Consulate	725
   Complaints received	2 (1) resulted in an onsite
   TOTAL	38,171

   
   The Houston South OSHA Area Office recommends renewing the Alliance with the Consulate General Office in Houston, Texas.
   
   Future Projects:
   1. Working on an employee handbook that will be given to all Mexican Nationals who go to the consulate covering employee rights, complaint process, and Justice & Equality contact information.
   2. Training for day laborers called the “Maestro” Program: covers employee rights, complaint process, and the focus four hazards. All will receive a certificate of completion.
   3. Cross-training other consulates in the complaint and referral process to further extend Hispanic outreach.