National Labor Relations Board and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Collaborative Efforts

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador have signed a memorandum of understanding designed to strengthen their collaborative efforts to provide Ecuadorian workers, their employers, and Ecuadorian business owners in the United States with information, guidance, and access to education regarding their rights and responsibilities under the National Labor Relations Act.

The NLRB is the independent government agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations between employers and employees in the private sector. The Act guarantees workers the right to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions, or to refrain from such activities. Employers and employees alike are protected from unfair labor practices.

Under the framework announced today, the NLRB and the Ecuadorian Embassy in Washington, D.C., as well as NLRB Regional Offices and Ecuadorian Consulates nationwide, will cooperate to provide outreach, education, and training, and to develop best practices. The framework has been used by other federal labor agencies, including the Department of Labor, which have similar agreements with the Ecuadorian Embassy and its consulates.

The agreement is aimed to promote a broader awareness within the Ecuadorian community of the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers, along with the services that the NLRB provides.

With coordination from the consulates, the NLRB expects to meet with Ecuadorian workers around the country to help forge innovative solutions to issues specific to their needs. The memorandum of understanding will also increase the NLRB’s ability to provide employers, including Ecuadorian business owners in the United States, with resources directly available to them, including access to education and training resources regarding rights and responsibilities under the Act.

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