He said he is committed to the federal law that will gradually increase the local minimum wage until it reaches the U.S. level, which is $7.25 an hour.
“Last year, I had to fight off an attempt to stop the increase from $4.05 to $4.55 and I succeeded,” he said.
This year, he said he also had to stay firm and oppose any attempt to prevent the rate to increase to $5.05 at the end of September.
But in 2011, Sablan said the commonwealth may have to take a “one year breather just to make sure that further increases will not force businesses to close and throw people out of work.”
Sablan told students of the Northern Marianas Trades Institutes that he has not forgotten them and their need to earn a decent wage when they graduate with new skills.
In the U.S., he said, carpenters, welders and electricians earn good money.
“But here our immigration policy has flooded the market with people who don’t expect U.S. wages. They just expect a little better than where they came from,” he said.
He commended the NMTI students, saying they have the courage to go out and improve their skills.
“People like you deserve to make an honorable wage,” he added.
