‘Federal gov’t did not enforce laws in the garment factories’

Since the inception of the CNMI garment manufacturing industry, all U.S. labor laws have been followed save for the minimum wage law, which was up to federal agencies to enforce, according to one government official.

In his declaration supporting the federalization lawsuit, Richard A. Pierce, the governor’s special assistant for economic affairs and trade relations, said the U.S. Labor Department, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and the U.S. Justice Department were responsible for enforcing the minimum wage provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“However, because the Commonwealth is a small place, the federal government did not devote the necessary resources to law enforcement,” he added.

Law enforcement was also made more difficult due to the “tightened and extended” contracts between garment workers and their employers.

“Because many guest workers, particularly those from China and Korea, did not speak English and had no connections in the Commonwealth when they arrived, employers often provided food and housing as a part of the employment contract so that workers would be located close to the factory and time on the factory floor could be made more efficient,” he said.

But, he added, the federal government did not bring in translators or other experts in fair labor practices to Saipan, although authorities had long had experiences with labor problems in garment factories in the U.S. mainland.

Pierce, later in the declaration, did note the 1999 multimillion dollar class action lawsuits brought by unions, consumer groups and factory workers against factories.

“The complaints included many allegations including unpaid overtime [based on factory practices], unsafe work conditions, and violations of U.S. labor laws. The lawsuits gained wide publicity although the more sensational claims were not, and could not be, proved. As the cases progressed, the courts ultimately dismissed all claims except the claim for unpaid overtime,” he wrote.

The lead lawyers in the cases, he added, were later indicted by federal officials and pleaded guilty to violating laws in other cases.

Some $6 million of the $19 million won in the cases was used to set up the Garment Oversight Board to monitor working conditions in the industry, he said. Since 2000, factory operations have greatly improved, including wage payment, health and safety, and employer/employee relationships, Pierce added.

“Since 2005, U.S. Labor Department reports indicate most enforcement activity centered on wage issues that arose when factories became unprofitable or bankrupt and paid workers late or not at all,” he said. “Most of these cases were handled by the Commonwealth’s Labor Department. Local and federal enforcement activity has been relatively minor.”

In 2005 the U.S. Department of Labor stepped in after La Mode, Inc. shut down without paying its workers back wages. The department helped distribute $329,000 in back wages to workers for overtime worked between Dec. 6, 2004 and Jan. 16, 2005.