Chamber, HANMI unite vs fresh takeover bid

Saying it is nothing but a political maneuvering, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and the Hotel Association of Northern Mariana Islands yesterday assailed fresh attempts by the Clinton administration to federalize local immigration, minimum wage and custom standards.

Chamber president Lynn Knight lamented Washington’s failure to recognize the reforms undertaken by the CNMI for a long time. “It has absolutely no sensitivity to our economic situation which has been experiencing a downturn for the past two years,” she said.

With businesses suffering as a result of Asia’s financial crisis, many companies cannot afford any increase in the minimum wage, according to Ron Sablan, president of HANMI.

“There is nothing that we can do that would satisfy their goal of stripping the Commonwealth of its right to chart its own path. A federal takeover is their goal regardless of what we do,” he said.

Washington has initiated fresh bids for a federal takeover claiming that the island government has failed to carry out the much-needed reforms.

Edward B. Cohen, President Clinton’s special representative to the 902 talks, said he had recommended the move in view of the Tenorio administration’s inability to stick with a package of reforms it has promised to undertake.

Mr. Cohen noted that while the labor moratorium law and the wage review board were in place while he was here, the local government has granted waivers from the ban and that the CNMI’s minimum wage is still $3.05 per hour.

While the business sector is disappointed with the new federal takeover plan, Mr. Sablan said the CNMI has no choice but to accept the fact that it has become a “punching bag” in the fight of the Republicans against the Democrats.”

“We just have to stand united against this. We have to continue arguing with the facts than allow us to be dragged into these political issues,” he added.

The fact that Washington has ignored the effects of the federalization of labor and immigration on the economy of the CNMI only proves that this is purely a political issue, said Ms. Knight. “I am not sure that arguing back and forth with Mr. Cohen will make any difference. We should just continue to do our best in our lobbying efforts,” she added.

Currently many businesses are unable to replace their employees due to the moratorium in the hiring of nonresident workers. As a result, Mr. Sablan pointed out, the quality of service has suffered and many hotels are forced to cope with the situation.

Both the Chamber and HANMI have asked the federal government to allow the CNMI to chart its own path to economic maturity as they sought assistance in solving local labor and immigration problems. The Chamber has maintained that a genuine spirit of cooperation between the Federal government and the Commonwealth must be encouraged in addressing the immigration and labor problems that must be resolved.

Hotel executives and tour operators have expressed concern on the effect of losing all guest workers, who comprise the bulk of the labor pool in the hotel industry.

Instead of pushing for a federal takeover, Ms. Knight has asked the U.S. Congress to work together with the CNMI on law enforcement to curb labor abuse.

She noted that efforts to educate businesses on the island on all applicable federal and local laws are working. Similarly, she said reforms that have been put in place by the local government are gaining a headway.