Wage Abuse in Marianas Alleged

Taking aim at a little-known legal loophole, domestic unions are pressing Congress to force the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands to adopt the federal minimum wage and comply with other U.S. labor laws.

Joined by Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), labor leaders on Thursday called for passage of legislation designed to improve working conditions on the Marianas, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific that is the site of several garment manufacturing operations.

Although clothing made in the Marianas can be labeled as “Made in the USA,” workers there are paid less than the U.S. minimum wage and lack basic legal protections available to American workers, labor leaders said.

Miller said that without the protection of U.S. laws, “the American dream has become a nightmare” for island workers.

A report issued Thursday by Democrats on the House Resources Committee concludes that “a systematic pattern of violations of labor rights and human rights is continuing in the [Marianas] in disregard to concerns voiced by human rights activists, labor unions, religious organizations, federal enforcement and oversight agencies and the U.S. Congress.”

Miller accused the government of the Marianas of ignoring the mistreatment and abuse of foreign workers, primarily Filipinos, Chinese, Koreans and other Asians who migrate to the islands seeking employment. Some workers, he said, are forced into “prostitution and other types of involuntary sexual activity.”

Under a 1986 agreement with the United States, the commonwealth is allowed to establish its own immigration and minimum wage laws. Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio is opposed to relinquishing any authority to set wage rates and immigration policies, saying both are vital to the continued economic growth of the commonwealth, which has a population of about 59,000. The commonwealth’s capital and largest island is Saipan.

The effort to close the Marianas loophole comes just two weeks after President Clinton announced a pact with leading apparel companies to voluntarily crack down on foreign and domestic sweatshops.

Clothing manufacturers Eddie Bauer, the Gap and Levi Strauss all do business in the Marianas, according to Miller’s office.