Ring the bells in the old church steeple, S.2739 has passed the US Senate 91-4 and the federalization of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands is near a reality. After a decade of human exploitation and abuse from greedy garment owners, a new age in the far Pacific commonwealth needs only a signature from President Bush to be US law.
I would personally like to thank Dengre for his support for justice and decency here in Jack Abramoff and Tom Delays petri dish of capitalism.
Chamberonomics 49...free at last
The US Senate voted 91-4 to federalize the CNMI labor and immigration. This is the official press release of Rep. George Miller.
"For more than a decade, a lobbyist by the name of Jack Abramoff joined then-Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) and others in Congress to block our reform efforts. We sought these changes so that we could put a stop to the well-documented and widespread abuse of poor men and women in the garment and tourism industry in the CNMI and to better secure America's borders.
"Jack Abramoff is now in prison and Tom Delay has resigned in disgrace. Very few people would defend the status quo in the CNMI, which has done such damage to workers and their families over the years.
"Coupled with the increase in the minimum wage that we enacted last year, this bill will help put an end to the old practices and, I hope, will help the CNMI open a new chapter of economic prosperity in compliance with American law."
Now is the time to offer CGW security an interim bill that protects everyone from deportation. Workers must be protected in our labor hearings. No continuous improvement process can ever be effective unless workers are adequately protected.
Now is the time for CGW and residents demand PL-15-108 (Island Slave Law) be repealed
Now is the time for CGW and locals in the hotel and tourism industry to meet with owners and negotiate improvements in pay, security, and working conditions.
Now is the time for our community to unite. Now is the time for those supporting unity to move. Now is the time to judge the sincerity and integrity of big business, HANMI, the chamber, the current administration, and our local Congresses intentions for improving the lives of contract guest workers and our community.
Congratulations to every contract guest workers in the CNMI.
Chamberonomics 50...poetic justice Congratulations are in order for former NMI resident and Rota teacher, Wendy Doromal, who was recognized for work in service learning, social justice and human rights advocacy by accepting the Spirit of Service Award from the Corporation for National and Community Service Learn and Serve America. She received the award at a formal ceremony the evening that S 2739 passed. David Eisner noted the passage of the bill when he presented the award to her. 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, one of the most respected individuals in history, honored Wendy on stage the day after she received the award before a packed auditorium of 2,000 guests in Minneapolis, MN.
For Wendy to receive such a honor on the day S.2739 passed the US Senate can only be called poetic justice. Wendy Doromal’s work to highlight, document, and eliminate human exploitation and abuse on behalf of thousands of guest workers in the CNMI is legendary.
Again, congratulations Wendy, and if the current administration wants to do something dynamic for the NMI, I would ask them to fly you back here to give professional development to our teachers in service learning. That would be money well spent and wonderful investment for our children and our diverse community.
Ron Hodges
Puerto Rico, Saipan