‘A welcome relief’

Two construction workers check one of the machines they use at the Imperial Pacific Resort job site in Garapan yesterday. (Jon Perez)

Rene Batallones and Lito Mendoza are just two of the small business owners who felt relief after the NMI Workforce Act of 2018 was signed into law yesterday by President Donald Trump.

The bill’s enactment was also welcome news to thousands of the Commonwealth’s foreign workers who have been eagerly awaiting the news as it would impact their employment status in the CNMI.

Batallones owns an automobile repair shop and a small construction firm under Automotion Inc., while Mendoza operates Tropex Garden and Traders Insurance. Both said that H.R. 5956 is an important legislation that would help the CNMI’s economy.

Batallones told Saipan Tribune the law would allow him to keep his employees who have been with him since he opened his auto shop in 1994. “At the same time, I can bring in more qualified workers. It’s hard to find auto mechanics nowadays. Most of them seek better opportunities or go to other auto shops that offer higher salaries.”

He has 10 CW1 workers in his auto shop and four in his two-year-old construction firm. “I’m trying to hire more workers and I have to screen these applicants. Our construction firm has been busy with various small projects and renovations.”

Mendoza said the only thing that employers like him will have to wait now is how the law would be applied by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and information on what the changes are.

“It’s welcome news that gives us another 10 years to transition our workers to other U.S.-applicable work visas. Hopefully the implementation of the law would be smooth and without any problems,” Mendoza said in a telephone interview.

This was echoed by Michelle Daniel, owner of Grand Laundry in Gualo Rai. “This is good news for foreign workers but we all know that there’s many changes in this law and we shall see and wait how these changes will enforced,” she said.

Mendoza had expected to temporarily close Tropex Garden, which opened in 1990, after none of their workers’ CW1 applications got included in USCIS’ lottery system for fiscal year 2019.

“Not one of our petitions was picked in the lottery. I was expecting that I would be closing my business since all our renewals were denied. It’s a good thing that this happened and now we can re-submit our applications,” said Mendoza.

He said that they employ 10 foreign workers at Tropex Garden while four are at Traders Insurance, which has been operating for 21 years now.

Guest worker Mauro Barcoma believes the law is important for both employee and employer. “I will no longer be required to apply for a new visa in order for me to continue working here in the CNMI. This also means that I won’t stop working and can continue to provide for my family.”

He also pointed out that “a lot of guest workers here have been on the island for most of their lives; they have already adjusted to life here.

“[H.R. 5956] is also important to the employers since some of their workers are under the CW-1 program,” added Barcoma, who works as a card dealer at the Imperial Pacific Resort.

If H.R. 5956 hadn’t become law, Barcoma would have been sent back off island, along with almost 70 percent of his fellow guest workers at the island’s lone casino.
 
Uninterrupted healthcare

Senate Health and Welfare Committee chair Sen. Teresita A. Santos (R-Rota) said the new law would give the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. the chance to reapply the hospital’s 111 nurses that were not included in the USCIS lottery.

“That is great news for our CNMI. Thus, I would like to extend a profound and sincere gratitude to President [Trump], U.S. Congress, Gov. [Ralph] Torres, [CNMI] Delegate [Gregorio] Kilili [Sablan], and all the affected stakeholders which through their concerted and untiring effort made the NMI Workforce Act a reality,” said Santos.

“With [NMI Workforce Act] becoming a law, CHCC can now proceed with the processing of our CW-1 nurses’ applications, hoping that these applications are approved soonest.”

She added that the new law would secure continuous healthcare at the CNMI’s lone hospital. “Nurses play a crucial role in healthcare…so to ensure continuity in the delivery of quality healthcare…our CHCC, including our health centers on Rota and Tinian, must be equipped with the necessary nursing manpower.”

CHCC public information officer Sami Birmingham-Babauta echoed Santos’ statements. “The signing of the CW bill into law by President Trump is tremendous news for CHCC. We are able to retain our dutiful employees and provide uninterrupted healthcare services to the community.”

She added that they would still continue to transition all of their healthcare CW workers. “CHCC continues to transition healthcare professionals to other employment-based visas (EB-2 and EB-3).”
 
Support in business

The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the news.

HANMI chair Gloria Cavanagh and Chamber president Velma Palacios said the NMI Workforce Act is a collaboration by various sectors in the Commonwealth and shows what can be achieved when working together with one goal.

They both thanked U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) and U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chair Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for being the CNMI’s voice in Washington, D.C., the administration of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and his team, Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan, the Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corp. and their consultant, and Duty Free Shop for the use of their own consultants.

Cavanagh said that, although hotels employ less than 1,000 CW1 workers, it is the support services in the CNMI’s tourism industry that would greatly feel the effects of the numerical limit imposed by USCIS.

“[It’s a] relief. Although our hoteliers have less than 1,000 CW1 workers, the companies providing auxiliary services to support our tourism market are threatened closure due to labor shortage,” she said.

“With this passage, we will be able to maintain critical services and tourism services. Without it, we would have suffered a decline in our economy. We are very happy and thankful for all those that helped us.”

Palacios said the law is another opportunity for CNMI businesses improve its labor pool. “This is great news for the entire CNMI and the business community. We are given another opportunity to build our workforce capacity by training our local residents and employing those persons able and willing to work.”

“The Chamber continues to encourage its members and all businesses to take this opportunity. We now wait for how this law will be implemented. We hope regulations are issued quickly to ensure business operations are not disrupted.” (with Fahim Uddin)