Ninety-nine percent of all JVA’s listed in the Department of Labor’s Web site are up for renewal, which in our view is a complete deception and a mockery to include a waste of time for all U.S. local citizens in our homeland seeking jobs in the private sector.
We believe that all job vacancy announcements should be put on hold immediately until such time that the business community and the Department of Labor understand the true meaning of local preference and why it is a priority!
We continue to state publicly that the Department of Labor under local control is corrupted and grossly mismanaged. Labor is truly deceiving U.S. local citizens of job opportunities simply due to deceptive formalities.
Unless Governor Fitial was just making an excuse in front of the Honorable Chairwoman Madeleine Bordallo during the May 19 oversight hearing on the federalization law, we believe that Public Law 3-66, or the Nonresident Workers Act, remains in effect and is enforceable since it was enacted on Aug. 8, 1983.
This law’s Section 4 states: “Resident workers shall be given preference in employment in the commonwealth. Nonresident workers shall be employed only as necessary to supplement the available labor force. No employer shall hire, employ, or otherwise engage for compensation any nonresident worker to perform services or labor in the commonwealth except in strict accordance with the provisions of this Act and any rule or regulations issued under this Act.”
We must remind all of you that this is part of the reasons why the federal government is insisting on taking control of our Labor. As Governor Fitial has stated, he who controls labor controls the economy, which in itself is blatantly a self-interest statement supporting the preference of foreign guest workers and not prioritizing our people.
Our U.S. local citizens have been insulted and disrespected by foreign advocates stating that they built the economy and that our people are unskilled to join the workforce. Evidently it was our very own Department of Labor that created such disrespect for all local U.S. citizens in CNMI in the name of self-interest and greed, including creating a reputation of a third world country.
Shame on all of you for not enforcing our laws.
GREGORIO CRUZ JR.
Taotao Tano President
