{"id":50713,"date":"2017-03-24T13:14:01","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T13:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=50713"},"modified":"2017-03-24T13:14:01","modified_gmt":"2017-03-24T13:14:01","slug":"limetree-bay-contractors-are-hiring-locals-mapp-says-disputing-claim-by-sen-rivera-oreilly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=50713","title":{"rendered":"Limetree Bay Contractors Are Hiring Locals, Mapp Says, Disputing Claim By Sen. Rivera-O’Reilly"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. CROIX — Governor Kenneth Mapp on Thursday disputed a claim by Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly that Limetree Bay contractors were importing people from Puerto Rico instead of hiring from the local pool of workers.<\/p>\n

“There’s nothing that could be further from the truth,” Mr. Mapp said during the Chamber of Commerce’s Breakfast with the Governor meeting held at the Palms At Pelican Cove.<\/p>\n

The governor said Mrs. Rivera-O’Reilly called him less than a year ago with the concern, and he immediately moved into action by speaking with Department of Labor Commissioner Catherine Hendry, and Darius Sweet, Limetree Bay CEO, and was able to establish with Mrs. Rivera-O’Reilly that more than 86 percent of the employees at Limetree Bay had lived in the territory for a year more, which Mr. Mapp said is pursuant the contract terms.<\/p>\n

The governor said St. Croix residents know well of turnaround days at the former HOVENSA refinery, as well as other major island projects, when persons from Puerto Rico would be imported to help with the season of overabundant work, as they would be seen all around the island — roaming the towns, eating at restaurants and drinking at bars.<\/p>\n

“And I dare say it, I’m not a hermit, I’m out in the community and I don’t see the import of that traffic that could support any claims that the jobs at Limetree Bay are going to off-islanders and not to the people of the Virgin Islands and particularly those on St. Croix,” Mr. Mapp said.<\/p>\n

During a hearing held by the Committee of Workforce Development, Consumer Affairs and Culture at the Earl B. Ottley Legislative Hall on Tuesday, Mrs. Rivera-O\u2019Reilly said that<\/a> Limetree Bay contractors, instead of hiring locals, were shipping in employees from neighboring Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral weeks ago I met with individuals of Limetree Bay, and one of the reasons I asked for the meeting was because I wanted them to learn about the programs under the Department of Labor, in particularly the Workforce, Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, because all of us get calls all of the time from people who say they\u2019re not being considered for jobs at the storage terminal, but we\u2019re all keenly aware that people are being brought from Puerto Rico to fill these jobs,\u201d said Mrs. Rivera-O\u2019Reilly. She said the contractors said they were not aware of the programs included in the Act \u2014 including several training, \u201cand the ability that exists were they to become partners and providers, to train the disengaged, out-of-school youth and to ultimately get them a job,\u201d the senator added.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Rivera-O\u2019Reilly said she left the meeting with an understanding that Limetree Bay would gather all of its contractors into a meeting, along with a D.O.L. representative who would explain the programs that exist. She added that between four to five contractors were asked to fund the training of five young men with the intent of ultimately hiring them, which she said would result in 20 to 25 additional jobs for locals.<\/p>\n

The territory has yet to fully recover from the closure of HOVENSA in 2012, which left about 2,000 people unemployed, caused a ripple effect through the economy and forced thousands to migrate to the U.S. mainland in search for opportunities. Today, the territory\u2019s unemployment rate stands at 10.5 percent, D.O.L. Commissioner Catherine Hendry revealed. The national average is currently 4.9 percent.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Rivera-O\u2019Reilly then levied a pointed criticism to Ms. Hendry, bluntly telling the commissioner that her department, relative to the needs of the unemployed, has been out of touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you read your testimony, it is clear \u2014 and please forgive me if I offend you \u2014 it is clear that your department does not really get the level of hopelessness that exists within those individuals that are unemployed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The senator added that while testimonies given by D.O.L. officials may sound good on paper \u2014 and to people with four-year degrees \u2014 \u201cthose people who have given up\u2026 they don\u2019t understand any of this,\u201d Mrs. Rivera-O\u2019Reilly contended, holding up what appeared to be testimonial documents. \u201cAll they know is that they are unemployed and they want a job; that they go to these businesses and they asked for an application, and they are told there are no job openings \u2014 yet they see people being hired.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll they know is that they show up at the Department of Labor, they ask for help and paper is pushed, and they are told to come back tomorrow, or they are given a number of documents to complete, and they give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how we are going to address that,\u201d Mrs. Rivera-O\u2019Reilly continued, stating that the unemployed referred to in her statement are people she meet and talk to, and people who call senators\u2019 offices.<\/p>\n

Pointing her aim back to Limetree Bay and D.O.L.\u2019s failure to inform contractors of programs available to aid in the employment of locals, Mrs. Rivera-O\u2019Reilly said, \u201cHow is is that the place that is supposed to be creating the most jobs within the next 24 months isn\u2019t aware of all of the great programs that exist? Why is it that Pinnacle<\/a><\/span> is still not a provider? Why is it that the young men even that are in some of your programs have lacked the very basic skills to perform in those programs, and to be placed ultimately in a job?\u201d<\/p>\n

The senator said she would followup with the meeting with the hope of getting positive results now that the contractors\u2019 actions have been brought to the fore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ST. CROIX — Governor Kenneth Mapp on Thursday disputed a claim by Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly that Limetree Bay contractors were importing people from Puerto Rico instead of hiring from the local pool of workers. “There’s nothing that could be further from the truth,” Mr. Mapp said during the Chamber of Commerce’s Breakfast with the Governor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,191,2474,147],"tags":[4122],"yoast_head":"\nLimetree Bay Contractors Are Hiring Locals, Mapp Says, Disputing Claim By Sen. Rivera-O'Reilly - V.I. 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