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The death of an industry
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Posted on Jan 12 2009
Almost twenty-six years after the first one opened in October 1983, the last garment factory on the U.S. territory of Saipan will close its doors Jan. 31, 2009*, ending a controversy-plagued era on this island in the Western Pacific.
Saipan was home to a once-thriving garment industry that, at its height, hosted 36 factories which employed over 15,000 contract workers (mostly women from China, and many from Thailand, the Philippines and other Pacific Islands), generated taxes of $40 million a year for the CNMI government, and $994 million in annual exports to the world.
“It’s a fascinating story, but much remains hidden about what things were really like here,” says Walt Goodridge, columnist for the Saipan Tribune and editor of Chicken Feathers and Garlic Skin: Diary of a Chinese Factory Girl (www.saipanfactorygirl.com), the only known first-hand account of the eight-year experience of a Chinese garment factory worker on Saipan. “Opinions vary, but most workers feel it was a benefit to earn the money they did. When the Uno Moda closes in a few days, it will mark a significant turning point for the island’s now primarily tourist-based economy.”
Saipan’s unique relationship with the United States allowed manufacturers to have “Made in the USA” labels on garments sewn there, while benefiting from lower costs and a non-U.S. regulated working wage paid to a mostly female, nonresident workforce. As the trade tariffs lifted, conditions became less profitable, and factories began leaving Saipan for other profit-friendly regions.
Many hope President Bush’s recent designation of the world’s third largest “no-take” marine monument which includes the nearby Mariana Trench will launch a new image and a new era of industries for the island as this one passes.
Visit www.SaipanFactoryFacts.org for a 25-year industry timeline, income statistics, important milestones, dates of closures and a complimentary excerpt from Chicken Feathers and Garlic Skin.
[I]*Other media reports of dates of closure differ from what is actually happening here at “ground zero” on Saipan. Uno Moda is the only factory still in operation, with workers reporting to work each day. Workers at Uno Moda have told us that the last day they will actually be sewing and packing is Jan. 15. Contact info@SaipanFactoryFacts.org for up-to-date information and/or to request a video of last day. [B](PR)[/I] [/B]
