For 10 years the government of the CNMI let the measly minimum wage sit at the grossly unlivable level of $3.05 an hour.
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Finally, after federal intervention, the working men and women of this community are slowly seeing an improvement in their wages.. an improvement that should have happened years ago.
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Now.. your government seeks to stop the wage hikes, which still reside at a paltry $4.05 an hour.. and possibly even roll them back!? No.. I am not f#cking kidding.
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Part of the argument they're using is based on a comparative percentage increase between our wage gain and the U.S. mainland's through 2014 ("Also, the DOL reported that “by comparison, if U.S. minimum wages were increased to the level of the 75th percentile of hourly-paid U.S. workers, that the adjusted wage rate would be $16.50 per hour”). The big huge astronomical problem with that argument is.. THE MAINLAND DIDN'T HAVE SUCH AN UNREASONABLY LOW MINIMUM WAGE TO BEGIN WITH! On the face of it.. that argument is weak and plain silly.
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I'm not going to go through the litany of all of my arguments for the wage.. they're all over this blog. I say to those who think that the current minimum wage of $4.05 is just fine, or god-forbid a rollback to $3.55 or $3.05 is prudent.. you should spend one or two years receiving and living off only that wage and then come back here with your silly arguments. I'm more than positive you won't be extolling the virtues of the current wage or worse.. a rollback.
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Not forgetting the history of what's gotten us to this point is important.. while residents in a calculated fashion were engineered out of the private sector and non-resident cheap labor was taken absolute advantage of.. a few folks, the cogs in the machine that meticulously constructed the system.. profited hugely from it. While non-resident contract workers lived in containers or tin shacks and were ferried around two-dozen to a flatbed truck to worksites, many screwed out of wages, and residents were made dependent on government jobs and foodstamps.. a lot of others reaped great rewards. Many of these same folks still believe they can revive that dying system and continue to reap more ill-gotten gains off of the backs of continued cheap labor.
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Here's a short history on the CNMI minimum wage.. on a number of occasions in the early 90s, under pressure from the feds.. the CNMI government promised to put in place processes to raise the minimum wage.. these were ruses to stave off the feds. In 1995 a minimum wage law was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor to increase the minimum wage in increments from $2.75 to $4.25 by the year 2000. This was yet another one of their tactics to stave off the feds.. as the legislature overturned the law shortly before the first increase was to go into effect in 1996. After continued heat from the feds, the next year (1997).. the legislature increased the wage to $3.05 for some and $2.90 for garment and construction workers. $3.05 was eventually made an across the board wage.. and stayed in place until the feds finally imposed themselves on the wage system ten years later.. and .50 annual wage hikes were put in place.
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You will probably come across a letter in tomorrow's papers addressed to the U.S. Government from the Governor's of the CNMI and American Samoa.. you'll read the same ole sad stories they've used to justify cheap labor that the governments have been using for the last two decades. They also use one of their favorite lines to try and fool the feds into believing they have any inclination to pay fair wages.. "Notwithstanding these problems, CNMI is committed to building a sustainable economy based on tourism and other economic initiatives, and has indicated its support for future increases in the minimum wage as warranted by existing economic conditions." "The CNMI.. has indicated its support for future increases in the minimum wage.." BULLSH#T!
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Elected leaders and crooked business here have proved time and time and time again that "support for future increases in the minimum wage".. is the furthest thing from their mind. Their proven record is.. under their control, they have absolutely NO intention of raising minimum wages, and in-fact would probably prefer that they be rolled back. BULLSH#T!
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It is a new time.. it is time to design a new economy.. one that is built on the backs of a workforce, Chamorro, Carolinian, Mainlander, Filipino, Micronesian, etc., THAT ARE FULLY EMPOWERED MEMBERS OF THIS COMMUNITY. Workers that can help "determine" their wages through collective bargaining, and are not kept under the thumb by employers who threaten to not renew contracts, and who feel invested in this community and have a say in the decisions of this community.
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OUT WITH THE CROOKS! OUT WITH THE CRIMINALS! OUT WITH ANYONE WHO CALLS FOR A ROLLBACK OF WAGES!
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I know numerous federal offices regularly read this blog.. your server names and departments are constantly listed in my Analytics reports. I say this to you.. the CNMI will never see a redesign of its economic model without these minimum wage increases. While it might be a painful process.. the entire landscape of business here must be changed.. it must be weened off cheap labor. It must be forced to invest in a resident population. For the betterment of the entire community.. it must be forced to compete for employees, and pay fair and competitive wages. Until all residents feel empowered to speak out about their governance.. and participate in their governance.. the CNMI will see NO real change. This will only come when the private-sector working population of the CNMI is made up primarily of residents, and no segment of the workforce are in a position to be treated as second-class citizens.. and this can only occur when the minimum wage is a reasonable one. When you consider that every single expense here is substantially greater than that of the mainland U.S. - whether it is fuel, or power, or food, or household goods.. the current minimum wage is FAR from reasonable.
Does it look like Hocog (off to the right) is concerned and getting ready to rush to Camacho's aide? Tit for tat? :} I love how his tie drapes over his belly.
