Secretariat Staff

The NAALC provides that the Secretariat shall be headed by an Executive Director, chosen for a three-year term, which may be renewed once. The Executive Director appoints and supervises the Secretariat staff, taking into account lists of candidates prepared by the Parties.
By the year's end, the permanent staff consisted of:

John S. McKennirey (Canada) Executive Director	Andy Ramirez (USA) Financial Officer
Sandra Polaski (USA) Director, Labor Law and Economics Research	Marcelle Saint-Arnaud (Canada) Research Documentation Coordinator
Leoncio Lara (Mexico) Director, Cooperation and Evaluations	Héctor Toledano (Mexico) Publications Coordinator
Eric Griego (USA) International Labor Advisor	María Elena Vicario (Mexico) Senior Economist
Melisa Gutiérrez (USA) Administrative Assistant	Irene Villalta (USA) Administrative Assistant
Alfredo Hernández (Mexico) International Cooperative Activities Coordinator	John W. Vincent (USA) Manager of Operations
Dalil Maschino (Canada) Senior Economist	Vacant (Canada) Senior Legal Adviser
Dolores Ozuna (USA) Executive Assistant

Secretariat Functions

The Commission’s Secretariat has two principal functions, the first of which is devoted to information.  It undertakes research and analysis and prepares public reports on:

• labor law and administrative procedures,
• trends related to the application of labor law,
• labor market conditions, such as employment rates, average wages and labor productivity,
• human resource development issues, such as training and adjustment programs, and
• other matters as the Council may direct.

Second, the Secretariat serves as the general administrative arm of the Commission. It provides support to the Council and to Evaluation Committees of Experts (ECEs) and Arbitral Panels established by the Council. ECEs conduct tri-national reviews, with findings and recommendations, on labor law enforcement in specified subject areas. Arbitral Panels resolve disputes among the governments, if any should arise, in connection with the specific obligations in the NAALC. The Secretariat must also publish a list of matters resolved through consultations and evaluations carried out under the Agreement.

D. The National Administrative Offices

The NAALC also requires each government to establish and maintain a National Administrative Office (NAO) within its labor ministry. The NAOs serve as points of contact and sources of information among themselves, and with other government agencies, the Secretariat and the public. Another NAO function is to receive and respond to public communications regarding labor law matters arising in another NAALC country. Each NAO establishes its own domestic procedures for reviewing public communications and deciding what actions to take in response to requests made of it. The NAOs initiate the cooperative activities of the Commission, with the support of the Secretariat. These include: seminars, conferences, joint research projects and technical assistance in relation to the eleven NAALC Labor Principles, as well as labor statistics, productivity and related matters. The NAOs can also engage in direct bilateral and trilateral cooperative activities. NAALC Article 15(2) specifies that each NAO is headed by an official whose title is Secretary. The three NAO secretaries and their offices are:  

E. NAALC Objectives The seven objectives of this Agreement are to:

1. Improve working conditions and living standards in each Party’s territory;
2. Promote, to the maximum extent possible, the Labor Principles set out in Annex 1;
3. Encourage cooperation to promote innovation and rising levels of productivity and quality;
4. Encourage publication and exchange of information, data development and coordination, and joint studies to enhance mutually beneficial understanding of the laws and institutions governing labor in each Party’s territory;
5. Pursue cooperative labor-related activities on the basis of mutual benefit;
6. Promote compliance with, and effective enforcement by each Party of its labor law; and
7. Foster transparency in the administration of labor law.

F. NAALC Obligations

The six obligations undertaken by the Parties under the NAALC are:

Levels of Protection: each Party shall ensure that its laws and regulations provide for high labor standards, and shall strive to improve those standards;
Government Enforcement Action: each Party shall promote compliance with and effectively enforce its labor law through appropriate government actions;
Private Action: each Party shall ensure that persons with a legally recognized interest under its law in a particular matter have appropriate access to administrative, quasi-judicial, judicial or labor tribunals for the enforcement of the Party's labor law;
Procedural Guarantees: each Party shall ensure that its proceedings for the enforcement of its labor law are fair, equitable and transparent;
Publication: each Party shall ensure that its laws, regulations, procedures and administrative rulings of general application are made available; and
Public Information and Awareness: each Party shall promote public awareness of its labor law.
G. NAALC Labor Princtiples: The core of the Agreement is its eleven Labor Principles, which define the scope of labor law coverage under the NAALC. These principles, which the Parties agree "to promote to the maximum extent possible," are the following:

1. Freedom of association and protection of the right to organize.
2. The right to bargain collectively.
3. The right to strike.
4. Prohibition of forced labor.
5. Labor protections for children and young persons.
6. Minimum employment standards.
7. Elimination of employment discrimination.
8. Equal pay for women and men.
9. Prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses.
10. Compensation in cases of occupational injuries and illnesses.
11. Protection of migrant workers.