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Chamber spearheads petition to stop wage hikes
Friday,
June 26, 2009
A campaign will be launched to collect as many signatures as possible for a petition to be sent to President Barack Obama to help save American Samoa’s economy by ordering a stop to the annual increases in the local minimum wage.
Chamber of Commerce President David Robinson says the petition which will be spearheaded by the chamber is being organized at the request of Governor Togiola and will involve the Department of Commerce, the Longline fishing Association, Office of Samoan Affairs and other agencies.
The main objective is to do away with the federal law which mandated annual increases to the minimum wage, said Robinson. He said the president will also be asked to roll back wage hikes which have already been implemented. "We want to get as many signatures as possible," said Robinson. "We want to involve the whole community in this effort. We are fed up with the wage increases and need to act to save our territory."
Robinson said efforts will also be made to get publicity about the petition on international media such as CNN and US networks as well as regional media.
Governor Togiola is to present the petition to the president when he travels to Washington D.C. in August.
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