On the proposed minimum wage hike

Since the change in U.S. House leadership and their stance on federalizing CNMI labor and immigration and the proposed illegal amnesty program, talks of resident status for guest workers have been the talk of the town, to include the renewed quest of the Dekada organization.

First, over 75 percent of Americans do not favor an amnesty program but rather favor deportation and stiff fines for employers caught employing illegal immigrants. The incoming Democrats have similar views against President Bush’s amnesty program. President Bush’s continued decline in approval rating was affected due to the vast majority of Americans nationwide who disapproved of the amnesty program and the war in Iraq.

Secondly, the Democrats did not campaign in support of an amnesty program and, with the overwhelming objection by the American people in granting an amnesty program, it would be foolish for Democrats to support one if they want to retain their seats.

But then again, as former senator David Cing said, Rep. George Miller knows best and understands the needs of the NMI. Had senator Cing said “Miller Beer” was the best, then maybe some people can agree with that. I disagree with Mr. Cing about Miller, though. There has always been an agenda regarding federalizing minimum wage and taking over labor and immigration and negating the provisions of the Covenant. The California Chamber of Commerce is even protesting against the move to increase the minimum wage since it will negatively impact the livelihood and jobs of young workers.

A research study conducted found that over 75 percent of all top economists in the United States agree that raising the minimum wage will undoubtedly have a detrimental effect on the economy and raise the unemployment rate of the young and unskilled and reduce benefits being offered by companies.

The survey conducted by NMC and a few businesses favoring a minimum wage increase dumbfounded me, especially at a time when tourism continues to drop, the price of power is exorbitantly high, businesses continue to close, and government collections continue to decline.

I suppose the news of Concorde Garment Factory closing down was something that the team at NMC did not take into account. Undoubtedly, the minimum wage has to gradually increase, but an increase during an unstable economy would drive us to oblivion.

A retired PSS finance director who has a degree in economics made negative comments about the current minimum wage. His comments prompted me to find out what the minimum wage was for other garment and manufacturing companies and here is what I found out:

In California, the U.S. Department of Labor found that only 1/3 of all garment factories are in compliance. Sixty seven percent violate the minimum wage and overtime compensation law. Seventy five percent violate health and safety. Illegal farm workers such as those in Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s wine vineyard earn less than $7,500 a year and live in appalling conditions. Garment workers are paid an average of $7,200 per year. There are over 90,000 garment workers in California and garment sales account for over 10 percent of their revenue in the economy. Europe imports over $1.3 billion in garment and textile goods from the United States.

In the United States more than 290,000 children between 10-14 years of age were employed illegally (NCL Advocacy). It is also estimated that there are more than 800,000 migrant farm and seasonal workers in the United States.

In El Salvador, where manufactures clothes for the National Basketball Association, workers work 11-hour shifts, six days a week and gets paid for .24 cents for each NBA jersey that sells for $140.00.

Mexico manufactures Gap Jeans at a cost of .28 cents per hour for a sewer.

Lesotho (a country in South Africa) has garment workers working seven days a week in appalling conditions. Females are predominantly employed and are strip-searched in plain view of males and other people for a salary of $35 a month. In addition to the low salary they enjoy duty-free status and quota-free garment access to the United States.

Vietnam’s minimum wage varies from $40 to $45 a month. An average worker would have to work 12 hours to buy 1 kg of chicken; 2 hours and 30 minutes for 6 eggs; 1 hour for 1 kg of rice; 2 hours for white sugar.

Haiti, which produces clothes for Walt Disney, Wal-Mart, and Wrangler-Jeans, pays its workers anywhere from $1 to $1.67 per day. The U.S. government invested more than $596 million in that country since September 1994. In 1996, Michael Eisner, CEO of Walt Disney, earned over $189.7 million or $101,000 an hour.

Interestingly, the Human Rights Center not only listed cities and states across the U.S. that promote forced labor but also included the NMI and Guam.

Unfortunately, many of our elected officials do not have the tenacity as former Gov. Froilan Tenorio, who stood before Congress and told them that the NMI does not need their money. The Covenant was a lemon agreement. I felt that the NMI has made positive reforms to correct labor issues and have taken great strides in enforcing and penalizing labor abuses.

I believe that Miller’s continued allegation over labor abuses in the NMI is a farce compared to the atrocities against illegal garment and farm workers in California, other U.S. sweatshops, countries such as Honduras, Haiti, Vietnam, and others that were listed.

The irony is that everyday our children are taught about the democratic process, Fair Labor Standards Act, due process, civil rights, and etc. Our teachers are required to have higher standards by taking Praxis, but where is the logic in teaching all of this when you have an adamant congressman trying to take away our right to self govern and the very governing body that overlooks the NMI is not held to the same standards and are in the same organization and political machines who commit these heinous and atrocious acts against human beings by accepting political contributions.

Californians make a big issue about garments from the NMI having the “Made in the USA” label but have no qualms about the very same labels being sewn on in Haiti for $1 a day— that’s $1 A DAY! What a crock of horse s__t! If we are criminals, then so are the members of the House who are in the districts where these sweatshops exist.

I strongly believe that we should hire a reputable economist from Harvard University or MIT to conduct an independent research on our overall economy and recommendations to make us a viable and independent “U.S. colony.”

In closing, I offer these words to the masters of our colony, “Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder or lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle! Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did, and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words, or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those who they oppress.”—Frederick Douglass