NMI, A. Samoa want industry committees to set wage hikes

[B]WASHINGTON, D.C[/B].—CNMI Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, American Samoa Gov. Togiola Tulafono, and American Samoa Delegate Eni Faleomavaega have joined together to urge Congress and the Obama Administration to re-establish the Special Industry Committees that will set the minimum wages for both U.S. territories until the General Accountability Office issues its report on the impact of the wage hikes in 2010.

In a letter addressed to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the three leaders said the Special Industry Committees are necessary to ensure that any further increases in the minimum wages of American Samoa and the CNMI will not further harm their respective economies.

Faleomavaega said he called for an emergency meeting in his Washington office on Feb. 23, 2009, to draft and send a unified message to Congress and the Administration on this issue. CNMI Delegate Gregorio Sablan was also invited to the meeting.

“I want to thank Governor Togiola and Governor Fitial for making time in their schedules to meet with me on Monday prior to our scheduled Interagency Group on Insular Affairs discussions with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009,” Faleomavaega said. “Given the urgency and seriousness of the situation, the governors and I agreed at our emergency meeting that it was important to present Secretary Salazar with a unified message when it comes to resolving minimum wage in American Samoa and CNMI.”

“This is why we spent time drafting, reviewing, and putting a plan in place to present to Secretary Salazar in hopes that he will seriously consider what we have to say,” said Faleomavaega. “At the IGIA meeting, Secretary Salazar assured us he will carefully review this matter.”

Similar letters were also sent to chairman Daniel K. Inouye of the Senate Appropriations Committee, chairman George Miller of the House Education and Labor Committee, chairman Edward Kennedy of the Senate HELP Committee, and chairman Jeff Bingaman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Each of the letters was signed by Faleomavaega, Togiola, and Fitial.

P.L. 110-28 mandates an automatic increase of 50 cents per hour every year until 2014 for American Samoa, and 2015 for the CNMI when the minimum wages of both territories would be at par with the federal level. P.L. 110-28 also mandated the U.S. Department of Labor to undertake a study to determine what impact these increases might have on both economies.

In their letter, the three asked for re-establishing Special Industry Committees to determine federal minimum wage increases in American Samoa and the CNMI until such time as the Government Accountability Office can assess the impact of past and future increases and report back to Congress no later than April 15, 2010.

In the final form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the due date of the GAO report was changed from 2009 to 2010.

“Given the serious implications this change in date may hold for American Samoa and CNMI, we are writing to Chairman Miller and Senators Inouye and Bingaman to request their further help and assistance in offering an amendment to the FY09 Omnibus appropriations bill that will reestablish Special Industry Committees until Congress can be provided with the information it needs to make a responsible decision about both economies. To date, it is our understanding that Congress will not defer minimum wage until it has more reliable data,” they said. [B][I](Saipan Tribune)
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