About NAGLO

National Association of Government Labor Officials

NAGLO HISTORY

MISSION STATEMENT

Drafted and approved by the NAGLO Executive Committee: November, 1998
Approved by the Membership, March 27, 1999

The National Association of Government Labor Officials has been active since the early 1900’s. There have been dramatic changes related to workers and the workplace in that time. It is incumbent upon NAGLO to periodically review its mission and goals, in light of the perpetually changing atmosphere in which the members of NAGLO work. After substantial discussion, we have arrived at the following as our mission statement:

NAGLO is a professional association consisting of the chief official in each state and territory of the United States responsible for overseeing the laws that protect and serve working men and women throughout the nation. We strive to assist each member of the Association in the following ways:

By assisting members to develop a clear understanding of the issues they face on a daily basis, both in terms of sharing new approaches to common problems and by keeping members abreast of developments in Washington and the states;

By providing knowledge which will allow members to be better managers & leaders within their agencies;

By helping members establish a nationwide network of contacts with their peers to facilitate in the exchange of information; and,

By representing the views of state officials on important workforce issues, when the opportunity arises, in Washington;

STRENGTHENING NAGLO’S REGIONAL STRUCTURE

In order to maintain the longevity of our Association it is necessary to be ever vigilant in our effort to bring new members into the fold. Therefore, we must make every effort to reach out soon after a new commissioner is appointed or elected. The group agreed that this is the role that needs to be filled by the Regional Representatives.

A revision of the role of Regional Representatives led to the following concepts:

Regional Representatives should serve as the "eyes and ears" of NAGLO in their region. This means that the Representative should keep an eye on changes in membership and should attempt to contact new members in their region to introduce NAGLO soon after appointment .

Regional Representatives need to reach out to states in their region at least a couple of times a year by either calling them, inviting them to national or regional meetings, or in other ways.

Regional Representatives will be encouraged to host, or co-host with other regions, at least one regional meeting every two years. These meetings will become a key aspect of NAGLO as they will:

Help the organization to find new program models that can be shared at the national level,

Help new members make contacts, and insure that the region is exposed to NAGLO activities, and,

Strengthen the overall information sharing aspect of the organization.

Approval by unanimous vote of the membership, 3/99.

NAGLO HISTORY

With an over eighty year history, NAGLO has become a leader in offering services and information to member states to improve the protection of working men and women. NAGLO is a bi-partisan association of the Commissioners, Directors, and Secretaries of Labor for each state and territory of the United States. It is open to all states, US Territories, the federal government, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Originally developed as an outgrowth of the Industrial Revolution, the Association of the early 20th century was focused primarily on insuring the safety of factories and on the compilation of labor statistics. As time has moved on, however, NAGLO reflected a change in society and began to focus on domestic issues ranging from workplace safety, to employment security, to wage & hour issues.

These days, not all states have entities that are solely responsible for oversight of traditional Labor issues. Some state have expanded their Departments of Labor to focus on other issues ranging from workforce development and training to safety inspections of elevators and carnival rides.

Just as Labor Departments have evolved, so have the responsibilities of the Departments that fall under the jurisdiction of NAGLO members. In general, most members of NAGLO are the gubernatorial appointee in their respective state with regulatory and enforcement authority over:

The Unemployment Insurance system, and/or,
The Workers Compensation system, and/or,
The Workforce Development/ Job Training programs in their respective states, and/or;
Wage & Hour issues such as setting the state's minimum wage, insuring that employees receive the compensation guaranteed to them under state and federal statutes, and insuring that employers comply with federal statutes such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, and/or,
The state's Welfare-to-Work plan.

A number of the members also have regulatory and enforcement authority over state OSH programs, state inspection programs (elevators, carnival rides, etc.), and child labor programs.

NAGLO has developed into an organization that seeks to provide information to its membership on a wide variety of issues. Not all members are responsible for all of the issues covered at conferences, meetings, and newsletters, which makes the information dissemination process a challenge. Regardless, NAGLO strives to keep its membership up-to-date through timely reporting of events on capitol hill and by sharing information on applicable programs in each state from which other members may learn new ideas or approaches to common problems.

NAGLO is a Federal Stakeholder and regularly participates in US DOL conferences in order to provide the state's viewpoint on federal programs. NAGLO is also a co-founder of the National Apprenticeship Program (NAP) Board with the National Association of State & Territorial Apprenticeship Directors (NASTAD).