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There’s little hope that next wage hike can be stopped
Monday,
April 28, 2008
Congressman Faleomavaega said last week that the chairman of the US Senate and House committees that have jurisdiction over labor laws Rep George Miller and Senator Edward Kennedy have determined that they cannot hold off further minimum wage increases at this time, as a result of our canneries failure to be more forthcoming with information on t heir operations, and given other considerations and concerns in the CNMI.
Faleomavaega said, “In my heart, I continue to believe our workers deserve decent wages For more than 40 years, our tuna canneries have exported tens of billons of dollars of canned tuna from American Samoa while at the same time keeping our local wages way below national minimum wage standards. He added, while their corporate executives were making millions, our people got one increase of 3 cents per hour in the past ten years. The congressman said the first increase of fifty cents per hour is little more than if our canneries had given employees a nickel an hour for the past 10 years. He said the second 50 cents increase would be the same as an extra ten cents per hour for the past 10 years.
He said had the canneries made incremental increase, they would not be in the position they are in today having to pay up what they should have paid out long ago. Having said that, the congressman stated he is convinced the canneries now need help. The fact that Star Kist is up for sale, he adds, also presents new complications since it is difficult to help when we don’t know the new owners or management or whether or not they have a long term commitment to American Samoa. Faleomavaega said, if our canneries have no commitment to us, Congress has little incentive to help. The congressman and CNMI Governor Fitial are seeking $30 million for investment in critical areas that have the potential to bring multiplying economic benefits.
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