The three-year limit

The local business community is understandably upset about the potential disruptions of the recently approved three-year alien worker restriction. The Saipan Tribune has weighed in against it. The Saipan Chamber of Commerce is deeply concerned. The Northern Marianas Hotel Association must also be alarmed. The private business sector, as a whole, must be extremely discouraged.

After all, the three-year worker restriction seems bad for business–at a time when business is already very bad. It seems arbitrary and unreasonable–another government obstacle thrown at the private business sector. The new policy only increases labor costs and disrupts business operations.

Why, then, was this policy ever enacted?

There are two major reasons for this new law. The first, fairly straightforward, is racism. Many xenophobic indigenous residents fear the social, political, cultural and economic takeover of aliens. They don’t want their islands “overwhelmed” by foreign workers (whose rapid birthrates already exceed that of the local population).
The second reason, of course, is federal appeasement. It is a stop-gap measure designed to head off the threat of federalization. It demonstrates local resolve to get a hold of the so-called alien labor and immigration problem.

Both of these reasons, of course, are patently invalid. Protectionism, xenophobia, political fear-mongering and racism are certainly not legitimate justifications for the three-year limitation. Federal appeasement–cowardly caving in to federal demands–doesn’t seem particularly inspiring either. (We must always look after our own political and economic interests–and fight every irrational federal attempt to destroy our economy and restrict our local self-government.)

Does this, then, mean that the three-year limit is bad public policy, completely devoid of any legitimate justification?

Not necessarily. There is yet another reason to consider: the dastardly threat of those nasty labor unions.

As some of you might recall, Hawaii Local 5 union organizer Elwood Mott, before thankfully departing our islands for good, was completely opposed to any legally-mandated time restriction on alien workers, because such a move would automatically undermine his labor union organizing efforts. What would be the point of organizing a permanent labor union monopoly when the law inherently precludes it?

So, in one fell swoop, our leaders may have eradicated the labor union organizing threat against the Marianas. Which is an absolutely fantastic cause for celebration.

Remember that Hawaii is about to lose “Baywatch,” the hit TV series, to Australia, because Hawaii’s labor unions proved far too expensive. As a result, Hawaii may have lost millions of dollars in unparalleled television exposure–all because of their intractable labor unions.

So here’s to our insightful local leaders, who may have done something right for a change–albeit for all the wrong reasons.