SGMA tries to get side to 20/20

The Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association submitted a written statement to Rhonda Schwartz, ABC 20/20’s producer, after the news group was recently in Saipan, from March 3-6, filming and conducting interviews for an upcoming national news program, expected to be aired around April 19, 1999.

SGMA Executive Director Richard A. Pierce said he “wouldn’t expect to see anything much different from their suspiciously awarded portrayal of last year’s ‘A Day in the Life of Saipan,’ aired last April in the US.

We doubt there will be any shots of factories except their staged productions photographed through fences again or portray our destitute workers.” He added, “we asked to submit a written statement, but I seriously doubt they’ll air any of it. We’d give them $10,000 to read all five paragraphs, but it wouldn’t fit the ‘broiler plate’ script they came in with.”

The statement reads as follows:

“American labor unions are organizing a campaign of slander and character assassination in a blatant attempt to destroy enterprises in Saipan that keep this American property self-sufficient.

Should the unions succeed, American garment manufacturing interests will disappear forever to foreign countries and the people of Saipan will become dependent totally on the American taxpayer.

Many of the workers in Saipan come from China where customs are different from those in the United States. Chinese workers are known for their obedience, respect for authority and an obligation not to talk with those they consider ‘outsiders.’

Therefore, their decision not to talk with American media is based on centuries of tradition, as well as the union-backed billion dollar lawsuit against the Saipan factories and their retailers, where the litigation does not allow entry in most cases. According to a February 20 article in the New York Times, the garment factories of Saipan compare favorably with any in the world, including those in Manhattan.

The federal government granted Saipan special exemptions from US wage and immigration laws to help promote an American manufacturing base on the island.

To withdraw that exemption now would only be another broken American promise, but would result in the destruction of self-sufficiency here. One needs to look at the loss of the garment industry in Guam to realize the disastrous effects of these misguided actions proposed by American labor unions.”

The statement was read during the recent “Planning for the CNMI’s Economic Future” conference.