CW figures readied ahead of DC talks

The administration of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, ahead of a series of meetings with federal counterparts in Washington, D.C. this month, is at work on a white paper of sorts to project a concrete number of contract workers needed in the CNMI, as the federal government continues its yearly cut down of the number of this foreign labor allowed in the CNMI ahead of the program’s end in 2019.

Torres, in an interview at his Capitol Hill office yesterday, acknowledged that a request for a CW cap reflective of the true work pool needs of the CNMI—a worker pool that business leaders continue to stress and lobby as needed amidst current and ongoing economic development—would have to be formalized through legislation in U.S. Congress.

“This is the reason why—before we ask for any additional number—or any specific number, it is prudent that the government and the private sector work collaboratively to” find this out, Torres said. “Because the more we work together to address hiring our U.S. and local workers, the better we are to request the specific number.

“I don’t want to request a specific number until we have date to support that specific number,” Torres said, when asked.

In essence, this CW number must also reflect “what kind of U.S. and local labor are we able to provide in a yearly basis?” Torres said.

Torres said this does not mean every single eligible body on the ground but the eligible that “have the ability or potential to get a job.”

“I want [federal agencies] to know that government and private sector is doing our best to meet the requirements that has been imposed on us,” Torres said.

“I want them to know that we are doing our end to meet federal regulations and this is the reason why we are working with Congressman [Gregorio Kilili Sablan] as well as [Department of Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs] Esther Kia’aina.”

“Hire local, hire our community,” Torres also stressed yesterday. “This will give us a better data as we get closer to 2019” and “alleviates our concerns and uncertainty” and “prepares not just the government but the private sector on the outcome of 2019 or the potential thereafter.”

Torres officials this week, after meetings with the Department of Commerce, noted some hiccups in data collection they could face in working to get the number of local and U.S. labor available. For example, the Northern Marianas College could project some 2,000 graduates leaving their classrooms by 2019, officials said, but how many would be U.S. citizens, or what areas would they find gainful and consistent employment have been questions asked.

Also, through Freedom of Information Act data requests obtained by local Labor officials, federal agencies have disclosed “unknown” pools of workers in occupation breakdowns of the current CW workforce. In 2013, these numbers of “unknowns” were at 9,590 workers; in 2014, at 8,221, and in 2015, at 1,118, workers, Saipan Tribune learned—important numbers as the local government tries to filter out eligible contract workers eligible into higher-wage visa programs like the H-visa system.