
Numbers are not available but it is apparent that many 30 and 40 somethings are leaving American Samoa for greener pastures or to get out of a system they perceive as rewarding only those with connections.
Samuel Savali who is now a manager for Silver Bay Seafoods of Alaska which has been actively recruiting employees from American Samoa for the past several years, shared his story with KHJ news.
The 41 year old used to be a customs agent for ASG then joined the private sector.
But last year he took a job with Silver Seafood based in Alaska, looking to make some extra cash because he said “whether in government or private sector, most people live paycheck to pay check.”
He says it was hard work when he first arrived in Alaska, two shifts in the freezer, and then he applied and got a supervisor position.
He said his employer was pleased with his work performance and gave him a Christmas bonus. He was also asked at the end of his first contract to return earlier to start the season.
About a month after his second season he was promoted to Manager and given a pay raise to go with it.
Savali commented, “I didn’t need to be related to some one, or talk to my uncle the high chief they just did it.
“Unlike Samoa, when they tell you you get promoted they give you the pay to go with it. “
The work is tough but the rewards come at payday.
“Yes I work a lot harder, but unlike ASG the last 6 years, mu current employer pays over time and they reward people’s hard work,” Savali told KHJ News.
He says since April of this year he has made nearly as much money in Alaska then he did the last two years he worked for ASG.
About his employment with ASG, Savali is not happy with the governor’s program for degree holders.
“While Governor Lolo had the idea of giving people with degrees a pay raise, it was a slap in the face to the people who worked for years and were not getting that kind of money,” Savali complained.
He added, “almost every company and government will take work experience over a degree.”
Commenting on young people leaving the territory, Savali says not only are there limited job opportunities for young people, the other reason professionals leave “is because once you speak out you’re marked and cant get ahead.”
He knows from experience.
He said while at customs, he wrote a simple letter questioning overtime and inadequate pay for the work he was doing.
“What happened next would never happen in a real work place. I was forced to take a position I didn’t want or else I would have been terminated, didn’t receive the proper compensation for that position and when I did ask for it I was told there was no money.”
Meanwhile a certain Treasury executive assistant got her contract renewed “for way more than she deserved, and all these financial advisors were getting top dollar to get us junk bonds to buy scanners that don’t catch anything, and a boat that cant always go to Manu’a.”
Savali recapped that he worked for customs for nearly 10 years and his salary was a mere $13,300 a year.
According to Savali young people are leaving American Samoa “because if you are not a matai or in with governor you are out; and if the company you work for is on the outside you are on the outside.”
He said .