[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 146 (Wednesday, December 3, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1719-E1720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   HISTORICAL RECORD OF FALEOMAVAEGA'S RESPONSE TO CLOSURE OF SAMOA 
                       PACKING IN AMERICAN SAMOA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 3, 2014

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to include, for 
historical purposes, information on the closure of Samoa Packing in 
American Samoa.

                      [Press Release, May 7, 2009]

 Faleomavaega Informs Governor That Minimum Wage Is Not the Reason for 
                  Samoa Packing Relocating to Georgia

       Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that, in a letter 
     dated May 7, 2009 and in response to Governor Togiola's 
     letter of May 1, he has informed the Governor that minimum 
     wage is not the reason for Samoa Packing relocating to 
     Georgia. The full text of the Congressman's letter, which was 
     copied to the President and Senators, and the Speaker and 
     Representatives, is included below.
       ``Dear Governor Togiola:
       I am writing in response to the recent announcement by 
     Chicken of the Sea/Samoa Packing that it will close 
     operations in American Samoa effective September of this 
     year. I am also writing in response to your letter of May 1, 
     2009. Enclosed for your information is a copy of my letter of 
     May 7 to Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Chairman of the Senate 
     Appropriations Committee, which explains my position 
     regarding the plant's closure, and my request for his 
     assistance.
       While you have suggested that the cannery is leaving due to 
     minimum wage increases, the company has made it clear that 
     minimum wage is only one of many reasons that influenced its 
     decision and, frankly speaking, I believe minimum wage was 
     the least of its reasons, especially considering that the 
     company is relocating to Lyons, Georgia where effective July 
     24, 2009, minimum wage rates are $7.25 per hour, compared to 
     American Samoa's current rate of $4.26 and American Samoa's 
     projected rate of $4.76 per hour effective July 2009.
       That Chicken of the Sea would relocate and immediately pay 
     workers in Georgia double the moneys is not fair to our 
     Samoan workers who spent the last 50 years making Chicken of 
     the Sea one of the most profitable brands of canned tuna in 
     America. It is also not fair that our cannery workers have 
     been paid way below the national average when the vast 
     majority of ASG workers have salaries comparable to national 
     minimum wage standards.
       If it is possible to increase salaries of departments by as 
     much as $10,000, why would ASG leaders not support an 
     increase of 50-cents per hour for private sector tuna cannery 
     workers? Regardless of what your position is about the 
     poorest among us, now is not the time to be pointing fingers. 
     We need to work together to find a solution, and my office 
     has already had discussions with the U.S. Department of Labor 
     (DOL).
       Enclosed for your information is a point of contact to 
     assist you with ASG's application for national emergency 
     funds to provide job training for our workers. According to 
     the DOL, the request for this assistance must be made by you, 
     and must originate from the Governor's office. Your staff may 
     contact Adri Jayaratne at [email protected] for further 
     information on how to apply for a national emergency grant. 
     This information may also be accessed at http://
www.doleta.gov/neg/eligibility.cfm. I will send a letter of 
     support to the U.S. Secretary of Labor prior to the 
     submission of ASG's application.
       However, before any action can be taken by Congress or the 
     DOL, I have been informed that ASG will need to provide the 
     DOL and Congress with documentation showing the legal status 
     of our cannery workers. Samoa Packing's current workforce 
     consists of 2,172 active employees of which 274, or 13%, are 
     American Samoans, 87%, or 1,821 workers are Western Samoans, 
     and 3.5%, or 77 employees, are other foreign nationals. The 
     total payroll for all workers for the cannery including 
     benefits annually is approximately $22-$23 million.
       I have been informed that ASG will have to certify the 
     legal status of our workers at Chicken of the Sea/Samoa 
     Packing before we can expect federal assistance. Even though 
     most of our tuna cannery workers are from Western Samoa, many 
     of them are married to U.S. nationals and U.S. citizens and, 
     for purposes of helping these families, I am hopeful that you 
     will send me the necessary immigration documentation showing 
     that these workers do have legal status so that we may move 
     forward with assisting them.
       I am also hopeful that ASG will inform my office of what 
     kind of trust fund is in place for our local workers in the 
     case of unemployment. As you know, after all these years, ASG 
     has chosen not to participate in the federal Unemployment 
     Insurance (UI) program. Under terms of the UI program, when 
     eligible workers lose their jobs, the UI program may provide 
     them with income support for 6 months based on certain 
     calculations. These unemployment benefits are paid out of a 
     federal trust fund. However, the money for the trust fund 
     comes from taxes States impose on employers.
       The State of Hawaii, for example, has protected its workers 
     by taxing employers like Hawaiian Air. The State of Hawaii 
     then sends a portion of those taxes to the federal government 
     to hold in trust for workers who may become unemployed should 
     Hawaiian Air lay off some of its workers. Once a worker is 
     laid off, that worker can apply for unemployment benefits and 
     the federal government will send that worker a check from the 
     trust fund.
       When workers in American Samoa get laid off, they are not 
     eligible for UI benefits because ASG has not sent any money 
     to the federal government to hold in trust for our local 
     workers. Since ASG chose not to have the federal government 
     hold money in trust, I am hopeful that ASG has held those 
     funds in trust at the local level from the taxes it has 
     collected from StarKist and Chicken of the Sea so that our 
     workers can seek immediate relief and unemployment checks 
     come September. In the case of layoffs or closures, 
     unemployment compensation should have been at the heart of 
     ASG's lease agreements with the canneries.
       If ASG has no local trust fund in place, I would hope that 
     ASG would support my efforts to bring ASG under the federal 
     umbrella. My office has contacted the House Ways and Means 
     Committee and I have every intention of working closely with 
     Chairman Charles Rangel to devise a program that will require 
     ASG to set aside a portion of the taxes it collects either in 
     a local or federal trust fund so that future workers will be 
     protected in the case of layoffs or plant closures. Like 
     every American, our workers deserve protection, and they are 
     entitled to peace of mind in knowing that their local 
     government reserved a portion of taxes for them, in case of 
     their unemployment. Every State plus Puerto Rico, DC, and the 
     Virgin Islands provide their workers with this kind of safety 
     net, and Guam established a modified program It is time for 
     ASG to follow suit, if it has not done so already.
       While I am seeking a $20 million emergency set aside in the 
     supplemental appropriations bill, and while I will also ask 
     to increase operations and CIP funding for ASG, I am not sure 
     how successful federal efforts might be, especially given our 
     tuna canneries were recently provided with a $33 million 
     federal income tax break at a time when the United States is 
     faced with an unprecedented financial crisis. Prior to this 
     extension, each cannery received over $5 million per year in 
     federal tax breaks for almost 20 years, which equates to well 
     over $200 million, not to mention the tax breaks they got for 
     the 20 or so years preceding this.
       Also, in 1999, at cost of $600,000 from the U.S. Congress, 
     a U.S. Department of the Interior Secretarial Commission was 
     established to examine American Samoa's economic condition 
     and make recommendations to ASG and the Department of the 
     Interior on how to diversify and expand American Samoa's 
     economy. This was the first time in American Samoa's 100-
     year relationship with the United States that a 
     Secretarial Commission was established.
       This Secretarial Commission was supported by Presidents 
     Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, chaired by the former 
     Governor of Hawaii John Waihee, and administered by the U.S. 
     Department of the Interior. You served as a commission 
     member. I served as an ex officio member.
       In conjunction with the people of American Samoa, the 
     Commission, over about a two-year time period, developed an 
     economic plan which offered specific recommendations on how 
     to diversify the Territory's local economy based on the will 
     of the people. In fact, over 8,000 people were surveyed at 
     the request of the Commission by the American Samoa Community 
     College. In April 2002, the Secretarial Commission issued its 
     final report. To date, the U.S. Department of the Interior 
     has failed to move forward on this plan and I must say our 
     local government officials also have not acted.
       I will continue to update you regarding my efforts at the 
     federal level, and I look forward to working with you and the 
     Fono to discuss possible options and new steps forward.
       The Congressman concluded his letter by stating, ``Next 
     week, I will be meeting with Bumble Bee's top executive, Mr. 
     Chris Lischewski, and I will keep you apprised of his 
     insights and interests in American Samoa. Until then, I 
     continue to wish you the very best.''
                                  ____


                     [Press Release, June 19, 2009]

          Faleomavaega Calls for Cooperation Not Confrontation

       Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that he is calling 
     for cooperation not confrontation in response to Samoa 
     Packing's closing.
       ``At a time when our Territory is faced with the challenges 
     caused by the collapse of the global economy which has also 
     impacted our local businesses, including Samoa Packing, I 
     believe it is very important for our leaders to pull together 
     and do what is right for our people, rather than waste time 
     engaged in personal attacks. For this reason, I will not 
     respond to the negative comments being made on radio and in 
     the press, but I will continue to provide information which 
     is important for the public to know.''
       ``First and foremost, since the day Chicken of the Sea 
     announced it would be closing its operations, my office has 
     been aggressively working to find solutions at the federal 
     level that would complement local efforts. In fact, it was my 
     office, not ASG, that first contacted the U.S. Department of 
     Labor on behalf of our cannery workers to make sure

[[Page E1720]]

     they could be provided with a stipend and an opportunity to 
     be re-trained or to attend ASCC.''
       ``In a letter dated May 7, 2009, I informed the Governor of 
     this opportunity and stated that national emergency grant 
     (NEG) funds would be made available if he would submit the 
     necessary application. I also provided the Governor with 
     names and email addresses of contacts at the U.S. Department 
     of Labor who could assist him in this effort.''
       ``On May 7, I wrote to Secretary of the Interior Ken 
     Salazar to make him aware of our situation and request his 
     support. On May 8, I wrote to Senator Daniel Inouye, Chairman 
     of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Chairman David 
     Obey of the House Committee on Appropriations, requesting $20 
     million in emergency aid which they were unable to provide in 
     the supplemental, although I am hopeful that they will be 
     able to set aside some funds at a later date.''
       ``On May 14, I held a meeting in my office with officials 
     from the Employment Training Agency at the U.S. Department of 
     Labor, and followed up with a letter on the same day 
     personally thanking Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis for 
     working closely with my office since May 7, 2009 to find real 
     solutions for American Samoa's cannery workers. In a letter 
     dated June 10, 2009 and received in my office on June 17, the 
     DOL thanked me for my letter and stated the following: `The 
     DOL's San Francisco Regional Office has been providing 
     technical assistance to American Samoa on how to submit a NEG 
     application; however, American Samoa has not submitted a NEG 
     application as of yet.' ''
       The DOL also stated: `I can assure you than once the 
     application is submitted, it will be afforded every 
     consideration, and your office and the Governor will be 
     notified as soon as a decision has been made.'
       ``Regarding the minimum wage issue, it was my office that 
     contacted Chairman Miller and asked for a delay in minimum 
     wage increases, and it was my office that informed Senator 
     Inouye that Chairman Miller and Chairman Kennedy had agreed 
     to my request for the delay of the fourth increase until 
     their Committees have a chance to review the GAO report due 
     in April 2010.''
       ``Unfortunately, the Governor issued a press release last 
     week stating that Congress was not supportive of the delay, 
     and both Chairman Miller and Senator Kennedy's staff went on 
     record to state that this was not true. Both Chairman Miller 
     and Chairman Kennedy are supportive of a delay and Senator 
     Inouye's office informed my office that he will be working to 
     include our language in the FY2010 Appropriations bill.''
       ``Also, as a matter of fact, I opposed automatic increases 
     in minimum wage and from the outset have been united with ASG 
     officials in calling for an end to automatic increases.''
       ``Finally, while I do not know what ASG is doing to keep 
     StarKist in American Samoa or to buy back the cannery from 
     Samoa Packing at a nominal fee in order to attract other 
     investors to set up tuna canning operations, my office has 
     been in discussions with StarKist, Bumble Bee, Taiwan, China, 
     and the Philippines, and I have every intention of continuing 
     discussions until we find a solution to provide employment 
     for our workers.''
       ``While it would have been best if ASG had prepared for 
     this day and diversified its economy and acted on the 
     recommendations of the American Samoa Economic Advisory 
     Commission some seven years ago, what matters most is how ASG 
     now responds to Samoa Packing's departure.''
       ``This is why my door will continue to remain open to the 
     Governor and our Fono leaders, no matter what, and this is 
     why I will also clarify the record every step of the way. In 
     response to the Governor's most recent statements to the 
     press, he stated that I said I was not aware that he was in 
     Washington. To be clear, what I said was that I was unaware 
     of who the Governor was meeting with while he was in 
     Washington.''
       ``As a matter of record, it was Senator Inouye, not the 
     Governor, who informed me that the two had met. The only 
     information I received from the Governor was through his 
     consultant who left a voicemail with my staff stating that if 
     I wanted to meet with the Governor, to call and let her know. 
     My office returned the call and set up a time to meet with 
     the Governor at which time I invited Chairman Miller's senior 
     staff and Nik Pula of the OIA to meet with us, and I thought 
     we had an excellent meeting in my office.''
       ``Hopefully, we will continue to move forward in a positive 
     manner and, with the support and prayers of our people, I 
     remain optimistic that American Samoa will come through this 
     stronger and better than before.''
       ``As a final point, I also want to correct the record 
     regarding Bumble Bee. Up until November of last year, Bumble 
     Bee was Canadian owned until the U.S. management team 
     partnered with U.S. Centre Partners to buy the company and 
     take it private,'' Faleomavaega concluded.

                          ____________________