Governor Eddie Baza Calvo’s task force, led by the Guam Department of Labor, is calling on local companies to participate in a survey. The task force is doing a study on the impact of H-2B visa denials on Guam’s economy.
Preliminary reports show that public and private projects, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, are affected by the labor shortage. Additionally, the shortage is driving up the cost of construction and there is a real concern that this could cause a Guam economic downturn.
Governor Calvo has met with federal officials to seek an immediate relief from the bureaucratic decision that led to the 100% rejection rate of H-2B visa requests. “I want to provide the federal government with real numbers, statistics that illustrate how the denials are slowing our economy,” Calvo said.
The Department of Labor is working with the Guam Economic Development Authority and other local agencies, to put the report together. They also are reaching out to various businesses and business organizations, including the Guam Chamber of Commerce, Guam Contractors Association, Society for Human Resource Management and others, to provide input.
“We’re asking all of the private companies to participate in the survey and help us provide as comprehensive a report as possible as we work to lift policies holding us back,” Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio said.
A survey, formatted to gauge the impact to businesses has been posted on the Guam DOL website at: http://dol.guam.gov/latest-news/