New leaders of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce were sworn in at Fiesta Resort and Spa last Saturday.<\/p>\n
IT&E\u2019s Velma Palacios is replacing Alex Sablan who served the last three years as president. Sablan will serve the Chamber\u2019s board this year as its secretary.<\/p>\n
Vice president of the board is Chris Concepcion of Delta Airlines and Deloitte & Touche\u2019s Mike Johnson will serve as treasurer.<\/p>\n
Other members of the board are Natalie Mable Ayuyu of Re\/Max Realty, Wayne Gillespie of Kaynomi Enterprises, Triple J\u2019s Perry Inos Jr., and CE Bud White who was off-island.<\/p>\n
They were sworn in by Superior Court Associate Judge David Wiseman.<\/p>\n
In his outgoing speech, Sablan paid tribute to the late governor Eloy S. Inos. Aside from calling on members of the Chamber to take a more active role in their committees, Sablan also took the opportunity to reiterate the need to address the needs of the Commonwealth particularly when it comes to labor and workforce<\/p>\n
Sablan said that over 18,500 employees will be required just for hotel and casino development alone\u2014not including Tinian\u2019s requirement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a quota of 11,999 CW visas and roughly 1,600 remaining up for grabs, it\u2019ll be tough to realistically believe we can fill the remaining 15,000 estimated workforce with Micronesians, Guamanians, and mainlanders,\u201d Sablan said.<\/p>\n
Sablan said these are the reasons why the Chamber has asked for the CNMI\u2019s lobbying effort in Washington, D.C. to begin sooner to ensure U.S. Congress understands what\u2019s at stake in the CNMI. <\/p>\n
While Sablan said that the CW visa will be needed beyond the 2019 expiration of the program, it is also needed to follow the law and transition skilled workers who are CW visa holders to H-visa. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis measure has many wins. First it follows the spirit of the CNRA law that CW visas are for non-skilled vocations not classified in the H-visa system, second it provides prevailing wage so that U.S. Citizens that vie for these positions have a decent wage,\u201d Sablan said, \u201cAnd third, when no U.S. citizen can be found for the position it provides the foreign national worker a decent wage that commensurate with their credentials.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her incoming president\u2019s speech, Palacios also stated the issues in the community that they have to address including the workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we\u2019ve made some progress, we\u2019re going to push hard this year to build in the success of 2015, to aggressively move things forward and work in partnership with the administration, the Legislature, and our U.S. representative in Congress. We will work on collecting data required to make our case about our workforce requirements,\u201d Palacios said.<\/p>\n
Palacios also said that she will continue on growing the number of the Chamber\u2019s membership which has been steadily increasing in 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am incredibly excited for the year and look forward to working closely with you,\u201d Palacios said.<\/p>\n
The Chamber also recognized outgoing board member Ron Smith who was given a plaque of appreciation.<\/p>\n
\u201cRon has been a very valuable member of the board,\u201d Sablan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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