What about our jobs?

Time and again, we’ve been accused of the baseless argument that “Little David” of the Pacific (NMI’s apparel industry) takes away some 40,000 “American” jobs on the other side of the ocean. It’s political rhetoric without foundation, riddled with racial overtones all around.

How sad that some of the ill-informed messengers are members of the US Congress, people we expect to be level headed, and would champion ascertaining that the Clinton policy of wealth and jobs creation is turned into an inclusionary policy so it benefits every state and territory in the Union. It’s obvious the NMI is excluded under this policy.

How sad too that our detractors have blindly used ill-prepared and sensationalistic information from Global Exchange without verification simply subscribing to the emotions of the moment far removed from doing justice to real labor conditions in the islands. It’s stunning that OSHA has declared the non-existence of sweatshops here, yet detractors–through Global Exchange–continue to use all the wrong information for pecuniary purposes.

If detractors had done their home work they would have found out that some of the largest and most modern apparel factories here are owned by Chinese and Korean Americans. These people are US Citizens! Collectively, they provide more than 3,000 non-garment jobs for the indigenous people who are also, read carefully now, US
Citizens! The constant use of racist political rhetoric or the phrase “American Jobs” is mind boggling for we know that we are also part of the greater American Economic Community. The discordancy that we find in these messages is the alienating effect it trumpets against this group of US Citizens who quiz whatever happened to the Principles of American Democracy.

Now, the recent decision by Levi Strauss to leave California headed overseas (Mexico, Latin America or Asia) abolishing some 21,000 “American Jobs” was based on a single factor: cheap labor. Thus, the decision to deploy elsewhere outside North America so it could rake-in its share of profits. If you could get this into your cranium: It was American Corporations who decided to go overseas closing thousands of jobs in North America in favor of cheap labor where they still can manufacture the same basic quality products at $6 a day rather than $18 an hour at home. Certainly, this decision had nothing to do with the NMI in any form or fashion. It’s basic economics, no more, no less.

And the next time any of our detractors wishes to use the NMI as his or her mouth wash, please make sure you’ve brushed your teeth first so it’s free of racist odor! Si Yuus Maase`!