Chamber of Commerce officials meet with GAO Monday January 25, 2010
By Fili Sagapolutele fili@samoanews.com

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Two senior officials with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) were on island for a week to conduct a follow-up on the minimum wage study, in order to see first hand the impact on the local economy of the closure of COS Samoa Packing and the September disaster.

A GAO team first came on island the middle of 2009 and met with several local officials. Their trip included a public meeting and a visit to the Chamber of Commerce to gather input on the impact of the minimum wage increases on American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

And then more than a week ago, David Gootnick, director of the International Affairs and Trade Division of the GAO and Emil Fryberg, assistant director of the same agency, were on island for their follow up work. They returned to the U.S. on Thursday.

Gootnick and Fryberg during their visit met with other local officials and Chamber of Commerce Chairman Joey Cummings and another Chamber board member.

Cummings said the GAO senior officials were doing a follow up from the GAO visit last year. The first study was conducted before the Sept. 29 earthquake and tsunami and the Samoa Packing closure the following day.

“Given the change to our local economic climate following these two events late last year, the GAO officials wanted to see firsthand the current situation we face,” said Cummings on Friday.

“My mission is to make sure that the GAO understands that the minimum wage issue is still very important to American Samoa and GAO needs to take a very careful look at it when the final report is compiled and submitted to Congress,” he said. “The escalating clause of the minimum wage, if it goes unchecked ... it is likely within 12 to 18 months American Samoa will be a completely different place.”

Meaning, he continued, that the economic conditions will get worse instead of better, because additional hikes to the minimum wage will affect the many sectors of the territory.

The next 50 cent increase has been postponed from May to Sept. 30 this year.

While one cannery has closed, StarKist Samoa has requested and received only a three month tax exemption and “that is a clear message that the company is very interested in knowing the outcome of the GAO report and hearings in Congress on this report,” said Cummings.

StarKist has stated in the past that the labor costs are one of the contributing factors making American Samoa less competitive in the industry and they are also carefully watching the outcome of the ASPIRE bill now pending in Congress.

Cummings said the closure of StarKist means another large group of employees will be without jobs and this will have the same negative impact on American Samoa as Samoa Packing’s closure on Sept. 30, last year.

Another problem is that stores will no longer be selling goods, which will affect distributors and the end result is that another group of workers will be out of jobs, he said.

“The negative affects will trickle down the line just as when Samoa Packing closed down,” he said.

Cummings said he was informed that the GAO preliminary drafts will be issued— but not made public— before the final report is submitted to Congress around April.

CHAMBER CHANGES

Meanwhile, the Chamber met two weeks ago wherein the new board was officially introduced to the membership. It was also during this meeting that changes to the by-laws were approved.

One major change in the by-laws calls for the president and vice president to now be Chairman and Vice-chairman. Additionally, the executive board membership is reduced from 11 persons to seven, and the position of manager has been eliminated; in its place there will be an executive assistant to the board.


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Comments to this story (2)
The OMbudsman VSM/ Phr.  wrote:
30 Jan 2010 07:06 AM
I think what really happened here is, too many proposal plans, and lack of action in executing all the plans. What they should do, is to focus on one plan, or project at a time first. But seem complicated trying to handle them all at the same time. I guess concentration is what they have to considered, in order to achieved fore-plans and all. I don't know about the (ASPIRE) bill pending in Congress will do any good for the terriotry. The Congress will look at this as a consternation issue, according to lack of leadership and limited experience of crativity, as well as spacewise for work productivity is concern isn't adequate. As well as people has no previous experience, training to carry on the productivity to such plant. And there goes (ASPIRE) without ambition. ASPIRE is one of the reason why (COS) gone out of businees in samoa. No progress impovement but losing money.
Tama Samoa Moni  wrote:
25 Jan 2010 01:33 PM
Move on it Chairman Cummings. We need leaders who possess open-mindedness and are willing to listen to the "pulse of the people." We have too many that knows how to talk great ventures and simply no follow-up or concrete action. Hopefully, your administration will save this island from catastrophic results if the next minimum wage is implemented, the remaining cannery decides to leave, and then we are caught holding the bad with nothing in it. Of course we will trillions of excuses from politicians and local leaders who have jobs with ASG, but the rest of the population will go hungry. Folks, we do not have a back up plan, and both canneries Samoa Packing and StarKist provide huge funds for our growth. I can see ASPA going broke, banks reducing days to three days a week, steveadorings obsolete 'cause we will have only one freighter a month, and the list goes on. Get the pictrue folks, it will be UGLY.