MORE SETTLEMENTS ANNOUNCED IN SAIPAN IMMIGRANT SWEATSHOP LAWSUIT

Pending the approval of a federal judge, five clothing retailers have agreed to settle the class action lawsuit filed against them on behalf of immigrant workers in Saipan clothing factories.  The companies were Ralph Lauren, Philips-Van Huesen, Bryland L.P., Donna Karan International and The Dress Barn, Inc.  As with an earlier settlement during June in this same suit, the terms require the defendants to contribute to a fund that will provide independent monitoring of clothing factories, as well as pay back wages.  The goal is to have them comply with US labor laws and international treaties protecting human rights.

While Saipan, one of the Northern Marianas Islands, is a US commonwealth territory, it is not bound by US labor or immigration laws.  Clothes made in Saipan may carry the label “Made in the USA” even though they are not produced in compliance with US law.  The fact that Saipan is part of the US makes it easy for recruiters to obtain workers, mostly young women, from countries such as China, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Thailand.  They are promised good wages and then often left to pay off the fee for being brought to Saipan, often as high as $10,000, by working for low wages in sweatshop conditions.

The lawsuit is still pending against the defendants that have not settled, including The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and Wal-Mart. 

The suit has drawn increased attention to conditions on the island.  In September both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Committee on Resources held hearings focusing on whether US labor and immigration laws should be applied to Saipan.  The Clinton administration advocates the application, pointing to the recent news coverage of the islands as a hotbed for sweatshop labor and migrant smuggling. 

While most federal laws do apply in the islands, Congress decided to exempt them from wage and immigration laws while they tried to establish a viable economy.  There is a bill under consideration (S. 1052) that if passed would direct the Attorney General to determine whether the islands have the infrastructure to enforce US immigration laws, and whether the government of the island would be committed to such enforcement. 

The change was opposed by the Governor of the territory, Pedro Tenorio, who said such a law would cripple the islands’ economy, which was hard hit during the Asian financial crisis earlier this year.  Other officials from the island are also hesitant to embrace such a plan.  While acknowledging that they have benefited from their association with the US, they do not believe the answer to the islands’ problems lies in increased federal oversight.  For support they point to the $700,000 they are still owed by the Justice Department for housing 500 Chinese immigrants who were captured on their way to Guam.

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