MINIMUM WAGE HIKE U.S. Senate spares NMI

Local officials expressed relief yesterday when the U.S. Senate voted down legislation seeking to extend to the CNMI a raise in the federal minimum wage, a move that would have hiked present rate of $3.05 to $6.15 an hour.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio welcomed the news, but said the Commonwealth will continue to hammer out its own plan to allow a gradual increase in the local minimum wage level to avoid economic disruption.

Senators in Washington on Tuesday (Wednesday local time) pushed a GOP measure that will give minimum-wage workers a dollar raise over three years, but tied the increase to $18.4 billion tax cuts.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass) earlier had offered another bill to increase the minimum wage by $1 to $6.15 over 13 months in all states and some territories, including the CNMI.

The Democratic alternative was rejected by the Senate. (See related story on Page 11)

“I am pleased to hear about the result of the Senate action. Of course we appreciate that, but we still have to work on (our minimum wage),” Tenorio told reporters in an interview.

Citing CNMI’s efforts to drum up support in Congress against federal takeover legislation, the governor said the island government has always appealed to U.S. lawmakers to reconsider such a move due to its economic impact here.

Had the Kennedy’s bill passed, Tenorio said they would have launched a campaign to lobby against its approval in the House of Representatives where they have wide support from Republican members.

“If it went through, then of course we would like to see that our position (be known) to the members of the House to please help us because of the impact that will take place here,” he said.

“We are isolated from the U.S. and if we start losing (businesses), it will create more unemployment unless we have other means of economic development here,” added the chief executive.

Tenorio met with some members of the Legislature, administration officials and business representatives the other day to discuss CNMI’s strategy in case that drastic measure passed.

It is one of seven pending legislation in Congress calling for federal takeover of immigration, minimum wage and custom standards in the CNMI. Last month, a bill extending federal immigrations laws to the island won support from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

House Speaker Diego T. Benavente, who was in the meeting, pointed out that since Kennedy’s bill was rejected, the Commonwealth will continue to have control over setting the minimum wage level.

“It was scary to think that the Senate was going to act on a minimum wage bill that would increase our own minimum wage by about $3 or more,” he said in a separate interview.

He also ruled out possibility that it would be revived by Democrat members in the House, saying that “for anybody to offer an amendment to increase our minimum wage by $3 doesn’t make sense.”

Benavente, however, underscored the need to consider recommendations to be made by a local wage review board to deal with calls for pay increase.

Created last year as part of labor and immigration reforms of the Tenorio administration, the Minimum Wage Review Committee headed by Susan Briola will release its report within the next few months.

CNMI last imposed a .15 cent raise to reach $3.05 in 1997.

Although they were spared from immediate rate hike, Tenorio maintained that they need to decide on the minimum wage — one of the issues attracting criticisms from Washington.

“We can not just say that because of the fact that it was not passed, that we will just sit and do nothing,” he explained. “If the study approves the minimum wage (increase) on a gradual basis, I think we should take that seriously and implement those.”