By Zaldy Dandan – Variety Editor
A workforce program that fits
THE Northern Mariana Islands Labor Stabilization Act is another nonpartisan bill that should be supported by the entire CNMI leadership. This is not about the continued hiring of nonresident workers, but about the very survival of what remains of the local economy and its prospects for recovery.
This legislation should be easy to advance in Washington, D.C. The CNMI, for one, can cite previous GAO reports detailing the islands’ workforce needs.
Moreover, it should not be difficult to explain to U.S. officials the remoteness of the Marianas, its small indigenous population (about 17,000), and its historic and persistent shortage of workers in certain job categories — a dilemma that mirrors challenges faced by employers in the States and in other nations with large populations and high-wage economies. Like the U.S. and many other countries, the CNMI does not have enough local workers for construction, farm work, healthcare, caregiving, trades, or service-oriented jobs. CNMI employers also cannot possibly compete with their counterparts in the States or Guam for the same workers. Many U.S. employers, incidentally, are themselves seeking federal permission to hire more nonresident workers.
The CNMI’s labor situation is not unique, but its severity — given the islands’ remote location and small, shrinking population — could soon transform the Marianas into what they were before the establishment of the Commonwealth: helpless wards of Uncle Sam.
What the CNMI needs, as leaders past and present have patiently explained to federal officials, is a workforce program administered by U.S. authorities but tailored to local realities.
Some may note that the CW program has already been extended twice. That is true. But during the same period, has the United States succeeded in fully weaning itself from reliance on foreign workers? We are talking about a nation of 340 million people, the world’s largest economy, with numerous federal and state training programs and dynamic businesses capable of paying high wages.
Why, then, is the CNMI expected to adhere to an arbitrarily imposed “deadline” when the U.S. itself has not resolved — and continues to struggle with — its own labor shortages?
The CNMI, in any case, seeks not a handout but the removal of federal constraints that are driving its economy to the brink.
The CNMI must reach out to sensible U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who, as in the past, can acknowledge the merits of the islands’ request and craft a better law — one that gives the Marianas a fighting chance to revive its economy and stem the ongoing exodus of residents.
Walk it like you talk it
REGARDING a hotel’s outstanding monetary obligations to the CNMI government, a lawmaker said that even though the local economy is struggling, investors who “make promises” must be held accountable. Fair enough.
But what does that say about elected officials and their own obligations to the public? Like the lawmaker, can we say: yes, the economy is bad and revenue collection is down — but does that mean the government should not provide the constitutionally required 25% allocation for PSS? What about the medical referral program? Have elected officials appropriated the amount it needs? Is the government fully paying its utility bills — or is it planning to stiff CUC again? What about government vendors? Are they being paid on time?
To paraphrase the lawmaker: if government officials commit to something, the public has a right to see it done.
Gander, say hello to the goose.
Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the NMI Society of Professional Journalists’ Best in Editorial Writing Award and the NMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com/.
