April 28, 1999 -PRESS RELEASE-

SGMA MEMBERS DONATE CLOTHING TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ON TINIAN

On April 28, 1999, the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association (SGMA) loaded onto the CNMI Government's Challenger vessel enough shirts, shoes, pants and underwear to clothe the approximately 300 Chinese illegal immigrants on the island of Tinian.

SGMA Executive Director Richard A. Pierce responded to a government request from Secretary of Labor and Immigration Mark Zachares, and initiated the Association's attempt at providing basic necessities to assist the CNMI Government and the federal INS officials in housing, feeding and clothing the economically impoverished Chinese at the "tent city".

Nearly 1,000 shirts were immediately contributed by James C. Lin, President of United International Corporation. 300 pairs of shoes were acquired from wholesalers in Saipan, as were approximately 200 pairs of pants and 400 pairs of underwear. SGMA purchased the goods from local businesses for immediate delivery to the under-clothed Chinese nationals.

Mary Lin offered clothing from Pena House to be delivered on a second shipment to Tinian, while SGMA took responsibility for collecting any additional clothing that businesses could afford to donate, to assist both the CNMI and federal governments in supplying needed clothing.

Along similar lines, SGMA came to the local government's rescue in 1994 when workers from Hankook Corporation were stranded by their bankrupt employer in Saipan, the SGMA spearheaded a drive and collected contributions from local businesses to repatriate those workers that could not, or would not, find work with another CNMI employer.