In Labor, On Labor

I've written an analysis about Jacinta Kaipat's latest ploy to have our CNMI Legislature enact hiring "benchmarks" to "prioritize" hiring U.S. citizens. It's posted at the MLSC blog, DAY IN COURT.

EDIT: Link now working. The link to the original Marianas Variety article in that post doesn't work just yet, but I'm trying to get that fixed. (You'd think it would be easy, but alas--computer issues today.)

The federalization of immigration brings with it a host of changes, including the need to change our thinking to equal opportunity, non-discriminatory employment practices. Obviously, some people are having a much harder time letting go of the past than others.

Eventually, though, I think we will have a community that is more self-sufficient than at present. I think we will have more opportunities for better jobs for everyone here. I hope that what foreign workers we have in the future will have rights and jobs that pay for the value of their services. This will all take some committment to free and fair enterprise.

If we build our community on values that embrace equality, freedom, environmental protection, and human dignity, we should be able to surface, breathe, and rescue ourselves from the current precarious, drowning situation we are now in. At least, that's what I hope and believe.