IN an official communication to the CNMI Senate, U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan reported that the number of U.S. citizens, nationals, and Freely Associated States citizens working in the Commonwealth declined through 2020.
In 2016, the CNMI reported having 13,662 U.S. workers, while in 2020, that number went down to 12,106.
This was according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office biannual report on workforce trends that was recently published, as mandated by the U.S. Workforce Act, or U.S. Public Law 115-218.
The GAO is mandated to track if this law’s goals of encouraging the hiring of U.S. workers and increasing the percentage of U.S. workers in the CNMI economy were being met.
Congressman Sablan said the numbers are “disappointing” given that Marianas employers — as required by federal law — have paid over $15 million for the CNMI government to train U.S. workers.
Starting in March 2020, the global Covid-19 pandemic all but shut down the tourism-based local economy, resulting in layoffs and furloughs. Many businesses have also closed shop or downsized their operations.
Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero, who served as Labor secretary of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, said during a Senate session Thursday that it is important that lawmakers look at the concerns raised by Kilili.
She said the current CNMI plan appears to lack any detail on a long-term strategy for replacing foreign workers with U.S. workers, which is the overall goal of the Workforce Act.
“Our local businesses are relying on [the] wise use of the CW funds to protect them from the annual reduction of the CW-1 visas so U.S. workers in the Marianas can be trained to fill the jobs [of] foreign workers,” she read from Kilili’s letter to the Senate.
“It is important that we review the process and what kind of trainings are out there for our citizens CNMI-wide, and also to take a look at the unemployment rate of the Marianas, and all of these fundings that are coming in from the United States government including the development of military facilities on Tinian and now on Rota where we have a missile launcher to be placed at the Rota airport.”
