LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Pedro(Pete) Agulto Tenorio
P.O. Box 42CK
Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 96950

Honorable George Miller
United States House of Representatives
Congress of the United States
Washington, D.C. 20515

May 12, 1999

Subject: Your “Dear Colleague” Letter dated February 2, 1999, Entitled ‘END LABOR AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES ON U.S. SOIL; SAVE OUR TEXTILE JOBS.”

Dear Congressman Miller

Background

Many of our citizens in the CNMI have gotten used to your typical letter addressed to your colleagues urging them to punish the people of the CNMI by threatening to impose United States laws and policies which are inherently inconsistent with the spirit and understanding of our political negotiations embodied in the Covenant to
Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, also known as U.S. Public Law 94-241. You should be very familiar with this law because you supported its passage in the House of Representatives during the 94th Congress. Your determination to impose impractical and harmful legislations to our islands by soliciting the support of those members of Congress who have absolutely no idea where the CNMI is, nor familiar with the background of our quest for political self-determination and culminating in the signing of the Covenant, clearly demonstrates that you chose to deliberately ignore common sense and decency in your dealing with the welfare and well-being of the people of the Northern Marianas.

While others in our CNMI community chose to remain muted and unaffected because of your redundant pronouncements of anti-CNMI rhetorics and threats, I, as one Covenant negotiator who was deeply involved in the change of our political status from trust territory to U.S. Commonwealth chose, not to be quiet nor intimidated, but to challenge your allegations and statement of “facts” in the interest of partially providing some balance with respect to actual facts which I am absolutely sure receipients of your “dear colleague” letter will not be provided by your one-sided and exceedingly propagandized statements.

I figured that the best way for me to provide truth and balance to your letter is to edit and modify your “dear colleague” letter, just a bit, as it applies to the actual scenario in the CNMI.

Your “dear eolleague” letter with modification, in the interest of truth and balance, should read as follows:

“Dear Colleague:

In January 1998, I visited the island of Saipan on an official trip to attend the new Governor’s inauguration, but more importantly to investigate numerous rumors and gossips about the state of the garment industry and the conditions of the workers as reported by our very objective American media and frustrated informants living in the CNMI. As my primary mission in my visit was to confirm those rumors, I naturally went around with my loyal informants and sneaked around garment facilities and barracks allegedly with the most violations of human rights and reported sweatshop operations. I was also shown facilities which appeared to be utilized as underground abortion clinics, but was not sure who were performing the removal of chinese fetuses from chinese women who were either raped by their employers or by the locals. My informants were not sure either.

Although, officially, my trip was to attend the various functions of the Tenorio-Sablan gubernatorial inauguration and festivities, I was desperate for time and could only show up for a couple of hours listening to speeches regarding governmental reforms which was designed to appease me, but which I frankly deplored because I have no intention of changing my mind. My constituents back home in California had reminded me to be careful with the CNMI hospitality as it was contageous, and there was strong possibility that I could be persuaded, but will power and strong commitment to my campaign contributors and the unions prevailed. I was tempted, and with my weak mind, it could have been a disaster to my political career, but I returned to Washington unscathed and especially unaffected by the charms and hospitality of the CNMI. While I was not able to fully confirm all the rumors of sweatshop conditions, transshipment of apparel, abortion, rape and prostitution, religious prosecution, etc…as reported to me by our American media and particularly by the Department of Interior boys, I did find out that those folks out there in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marujuana Islands do make beautiful and fancy bodywears which definitely is a threat to my textile cilents and friends. Let me repeat, we must save our textile jobs. My god, I was even tempted to purchase a container-load of golf shirts, the price was so cheap, and quality-wise, would rival most of our apparel products manufactured by our unionized domestic textile companies. To make a long story short, I was frustrated to find conditions in the CNMI was not as bad as reported, there are abuses, just like abuses happening right now in my backyard in my district, but since I am not representing the CNMI, nor do I get votes or contribution, I don’t really give a damm. I am worried that if I cannot deliver my commitment to my real buddies in the union, I may be an endangered species. Hence, this letter is probably my last ditch approach to fulfill my commitment to those who are important to me, the real business constituents whom I owed my seat in Congress. Please believe me in what I am about to say in the preceeding paragraphs. It is extremely important that we contained the CNMI, or else your state might be the next potential victim of a price war and eventual closure of garment factories. Those folks out there in the CNMI have all the cakes they can eat. I cannot even hire a maid from our illegal immigrants across our border, and yet those folks would have two or more per household. Heck, even mainland Americans are in the native loop as well. No wonder they like the CNMI, our own kinds living in the CNMI also hire maids from third countries too, paying them wages which was locally, but legally enacted as we authorized them under the Covenant. The Covenant is too good, we got conned, period! We should amend it, period.

Let me repeat, we must save our textile jobs too. We must attack the CNMI competitive advantage over our products, never mind our obligations to those CNMI people, our Covenant commitment and promises, our solemn promise to the United Nations that we will promote economic, educational and social development and extend maximum internal self-government to our once colonial possession. They are not important anymore. Russia is weak, and we do not need the island of Tinian for national defense anymore. China is a threat, but with the presence of Chinese refugees in Tinian and our willingness to extend the U.S. most favored nations treatment, topped with our support to China for membership in the World Trade Organization, we should not worry about China’s cheap labor and massive apparel import into the United States. China is friendly to the United States, so national defense-wise, the U.S. does not really need Tinian. It pays to be a hypocrite sometimes. But wait a moment, before I forget, we should exercise NOW our option to lease Tinian for the next seventy five years for a total leasehold period of 100 years before those folks in the CNMI declare independence. We don’t have to pay a penny more for an additional 50 years extension of our Tinian lease. We had a good deal with the Tinian lease, paid them 19 million dollars for 18 thousand acres…talk about ripoff, their 200 million dollars tax equivalent import of apparel goods into the U.S. which otherwise would be taxable, except for its exemption under Headnote 3A, is peanuts, compared to the large tract of prime Tinian land which we paid those folks less than 3 cents per square foot for one hundred years, sacrificed by the people of the Mariana Islands at our urging in the interest of national defense, and for the privilege of being the potential proud owner of a U.S. passport. I urge all my colleagues in the House and members of the Senate not to talk about ripoff anymore. Those who have commented that the CNMI has ripped us off are completely off-based and should be hushed up. Don’t rock the boat on the issue of who gets ripped off, we will surely lose.

The following is my version and my closest interpretation of what Congressman Miller should really say, but won’t for obvious reasons:

“I, George Miller, a congressman from the state of California, am hereby asking you, my colleagues, no matter how ignorant you are with regards to our political and moral obligation to the peoples of the CNMI, to co-sponsor legislation which I have failed to gain support for its enactment several times in the past, in order to force our fellow American citizens, of different colors and religious beliefs, who do not vote for us anyway, to accept and respect our unilateral amendment of U.S. Public Law 92-241, the CNMI Covenant, which was entered into between the peoples of the Northern Marianas and the govrnment of the United States, in cooperation with our 94th

Congress through its enactment of H.R. Res. 549. This unilateral and unprecedented amendment to the CNMI Covenant, a sacred document ot political and economic promises and humanitarian commitment, forged as an agreement between two sovereign entities, with blessings and support from the international organization of nations, known as the United Nations, of which the U.S. is a member, is necessary and must be enacted immediately, at all cost, in view of the numerous rumors and innuendos reported by our friendly American media who reported them as welldocumented cases of labor and human rights abuses in that hell-hole, known as the U.S. Commonwealth of the Narthern Marujuana Islands. We must save our textile jobs. This amendment, while distasteful, is necessary to teach them folks in the CNMI a lesson in democracy.

The CNMI, in its desperate attempt to free itself from the generous federal handouts of economic and governmental operations assistance as provided in the Covenant, and after its dismal failure, despite spending millions of dollars, trying to entice American businesses to establish and do business in America’s newest territorial acquisition, developed an economy, with great hesitation, by inviting many non-American businessmen and investors from Asia to help develop the CNMI inorder to achieve a progressively higher standard of living comparable to that of a typical American community as promised by the United States under the Covenant. Hotel and resort developers, principally from Japan, including construction and real estate companies invaded the CNMI to devour the opportunities for guaranteed business success and return of financial investment, only after U.S. companies refused to invest in the CNMI because of concerns and high risks involved due to large distances and the lack of modern and high tech facilities and transportation. Tourism became the primary investment activity, and most revenue for the government is derived frohn this activity. Naturally, the Covenant provided for other economic development incentives, commonly applicable to other U.S. territories like Guam and the Virgin Islands, the so-called Headnote 3A, which really is the crux of my letter to you. You see, Headnote 3A, while applicable in Guam and other U.S. territories, was a successful economic and investment incentive tool, unfortunately, only in the CNMI because of our agreement under the Covenant to waive application of a U.S. minimum wage in the CNMI. Instead, we let those folks enact their own local minimum wage legislation, again, an agreement in the Covenant, because we had treated them so badly during our disgraceful Trust Territory/colonial period, and we thought that this was a fair payback for almost 3Q years of salary discrimination and regressive economic and social programs. We made a big mistake sending our bureaucrats to administer those islands during our trusteeship days by sending some good and smart folks of our own to teach them CNMI folks about democracy. In short, we made a horrible mistake negotiating the Covenant to make them a part of the United States. Now, we have to lick our wounds, but we still have the power, so let us not further delay a complete takeover. If I was in Chairman Young’s shoes, this awful thing will not get to first base.

So the CNMI folks started looking for other opportunities to raise revenue to operate their govemment because we have been quietly talking behind their backs about their habitual and frequent trips to Washington, D.C.. every year, to beg us for money to run
their government, replace their outdoor latrines and shithouses in the villages and farm, and in short to assist them to modernize and comply with our mainland standards of health and sanitation, environmental protection, and all sorts of regulations that all U.S. communities must comply with in order to be contributing citizens to our country.

Little did we realize, before it was too late, that them folks meant business. In less than fifteen short years into our political relationship, they were able to tell the federal government that they are now in a position to raise their own local revenues due to the advantages embodied in the Covenant, and to our great disbelief and bewilderment, them folks told us that they do not need our handouts anymore, although they still need CIP funds to finally phase out the remaining benjos constructed in farmlands and homestead lots located behind the old housing areas of the CIA and navy personnel in Capitol and Navy Hill, the once luxurious homes of our admirals and spooks during the period when we were training Chinese nationalists to invade China in the early 50’s.

Democracy in the CNMI was taken very seriously, and was carried to the extent that them folks have dedicated themselves to help the U.S. quest for a global democratization of the Asian countries who were under communist control. So what happened? The CNMI, through their right under the Covenant, which grants them exclusive control of immigration, wage setting and labor, got very smart and start adding, multiplying, squaring and cubing numbers. They ended up reinventing the wheel, so to speak. They started bringing into the CNMI unemployed foreign workers from countries that have established diplomatic relations with the United States, thinking that in the process of providing jobs to those foreigners, whose government are friendly to the United States, the CNMI would also be doing its American duty of educating the communist third country nationals, exposing them to capitalism, democracy, freedom, religion, and the entire spectrum of what it means to be an American, including marrying them with locals and essentially assimilating them with the local folks, thus making the racial composition of the CNMI population more rainbowed and multiracial than U.S. mainland ethnic composition. We should be proud of that accomplishment in the CNMI as we have always preach our version of democracy and racial integration, but let me tell you, we have a lot to learn from them folks in the CNMI. They got a much more diversified race and nationalities than all our states put together. Believe or not they got decendants of Taga’s, Chamorros, Carolinians, Hawaiians, Samoans, Tongans, Fijians, Chinese, Japanese, Thais, Koreans, Filipinos, Russians from Sakkalin Islands, Korean-Russians, Bangladeshis, Nepalese, Indonesians, Timores, Singaporeans, East and West Carolinians, Indians, you name it, they got it. Majority of the garment factory workers, which is actually my main concern, and the principal subject of this letter for your support, are from mainland China, although there are also large numbers of Thais, Filipinos, and Koreans working in those factories. While I purposely, but mistakingly emphasized that most garment factories are owned by investors from the Peoples-Republic of China, at the risk of putting my foot in my mouth, I should also mentioned that the largest producers of garments are from factories owned by legitimate American citizens, and I hesitate to make this point clear, because they are not like us folks, they
are naturalized and of different ethnic background, and it should be more important to you to know kinds, rather than citizenship when you are addressing civil and constitutional rights in the CNMI. The factories hire these desperate and unemployed citizens from the Asian countries because there are so much demand for garment products from the CNMI that our American consumers, who are more interested in price, where their pocket books are affected, rather than job protection for our union members, just gobbled up all apparel than can be manufactured in the CNMI and imported into the U.S. mainland to be marked to price conscious consumers in the U.S. mainland. Let me tell you, those garment workers don’t fool around. They worked long hours which pays them overtime and provided them with the opportunity to make large amount of money in a short time so that they could return to their countries to share their earnings with their families. And this really bothers me because of their industriousness and diligence to their jobs, they are making our unionized workers look sick and lazy, who would rather bargain collectively than earn their salaries the old fashioned-old American ways, earn it through real sweat and hard work. The worst part about it all is that our garment retailers in the mainland would rather buy the CNMI manufactured products, rather than buy domestically. Of course, I cannot blame them, but how am I going to explain that to my union constituencies. We must save our textile jobs.

I have spent practically four years of my privileged congressional tenure trying to find ways to finally bring down the CNMI, and I am running out of time. I am accountable to my special constituents, just like some of you are, and I guess we are all going to be in hot water if nothing is done to contain the CNMI before the next congressional election. I have expended every effort to discredit the CNMI. All those extensive reports and condemnations about human rights abuse, corruption in CNMI government, labor abuse, communist presence and critical threat to national security, informants after informants feeding me supposedly damaging reports and misinformation, disinformation, etc..prime time investigative reports by our subjective and friendly American television and newspaper media, including the readers digests’, the Times, Posts, etc…are falling on deaf ears, nothing seem to help, our action must not be delayed any longer. In short, you, my colleagues, will be my last victims and audience of my propaganda against the CNMI. Nothing seems to work, so lets hope that this last horror and nightmarest letter does the job.

Lastly, I ask for your help to punish the CNMI, destroy a successful experiment in American Democracy and in the process ameliorate what America and our Constitution stand for, equal protection, freedom, justice for all,(CNMI is in the middle of nowhere, anyway), help me to take back from the CNMI the only meaningful thing that America has ever given the peoples of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Covenant, ALL in the interest of protecting the few unionized jobs of our constituencies in the U.S. mainland whose votes count during elections. Your “SAVE OUR TEXTILE JOBS” Congressman, George Miller.

This is my version, you be the judge. Pete A. Tenorio, Former Covenant Negotiator