Nearly 90 Northern Marianas College (NMC) students, in Prof. Samuel McPhetres’ Political Science and Current Issues NMC classes, listened to Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association’s (SGMA’s) executive director, Richard A. Pierce who discussed Saipan’s garment industry.

On April 14 and 15, Pierce presented a slightly different Saipan apparel industry story than the usual economic facts and figures, and what they mean to the people of the CNMI.

Entitled “Laws, Lawyers, the Media and Politicians”, Pierce presented a chronological history of the Saipan garment industry, with news clippings from as early as 1983 all the way to reports presented a month ago to the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Natural Resources.

Tax, wage and labor laws that helped build a now two decade old Saipan garment industry, were shown to now threaten its existence in the Commonwealth through laws that have changed tax structure and rates, increased costs and made employees more difficult to hire and keep in the factories.

The industry’s now settled class action lawsuit, the media’s integral part in reporting and misreporting the true picture of Saipan’s apparel factories and employees, and politicians here and in Washington D.C. were held in esteem, or leveled for their self-interests and personal gain.

Pierce reported why his association existed and what it does today to prepare for an uncertain future during the ending days of trade agreements made to change the way products move from country to country and who will have the production capacity for what Saipan has made for American consumers for nearly 22 years.

Students and instructors asked questions about employee repatriation when factory operations downsize, effects the reduction of the industry would have on their lives, what SGMA does about women who leave employment and turn to illegal activities in the CNMI, what would have happened to the CNMI economy if the CNMI Government would not have allowed for additional factories in Saipan years ago, is there sufficient government safeguards for failing businesses and what can the government do to keep the industry providing revenue to the CNMI people.

Pierce reported that of the apparel industry’s maximum allowable 15,727 non-resident employees, where employers pay $225 annually for each contract filed with the CNMI Labor Department, the Northern Marianas College (NMC), under law, is to receive about $1.77 million for college education funding from the garment industry’s employment contracts.