North Dakota
AFL-CIO: ‘It’s better in a union’
Landis Larson , President, ND AFL–CIO, West Fargo
This Labor Day weekend, the North Dakota AFL-CIO, the federation of labor unions in North Dakota, wants working people to know: “It’s Better in a Union.”
Life is better in a union. When we join together with our co-workers, our unions make a big difference in our day-to-day lives, on and off the job. Because we are in a union, we can bargain with our employer for higher wages, better healthcare benefits, safer working conditions, job security, and a retirement with dignity. Being in a union means building a better future for ourselves and our families, generations down the line.
Across the country, unions are more popular than they have been in decades. Working people are seeing unions as the best tool in their toolbox to keep up with rising costs of living and confronting the inequality and injustice they experience in their daily lives. Here in North Dakota, workers are organizing and winning at some of our most recognizable companies. Across the country workers are coming together in their unions and winning a better life for themselves and their families. That sound good? You can too!
To learn more about labor unions in North Dakota, visit www.ndaflcio.org.
Brent Sanford. (Provided by North Dakota University System via the North Dakota Monitor)
() – Former North Dakota Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford will serve as interim chancellor of the North Dakota University System.
The State Board of Higher Education appointed Sanford during a special board meeting. He will succeed Mark Hagerott, who announced he was accelerating his retirement to April 29.
Sanford, who served as lieutenant governor under Gov. Doug Burgum for six years, has been serving as interim Bismarck State College president since January. Sanford will begin his role as chancellor on April 30.
“I appreciate the opportunity to serve in a leadership role that includes all of the state’s higher education campuses,” Sanford said in a statement. “I am ready for this challenge. I look forward to leading collaboration of campuses on systemwide efforts and responding at speed and scale to workforce challenges.”
(File image)
(KNOX) – Governor Kelly Armstrong has proclaimed April 22 as Earth Day in North Dakota. Earth Day provides an opportunity for all North Dakotans to raise awareness of the state’s natural resources and take personal action to help preserve and conserve them for future generations.
“Protecting and preserving our state’s natural resources is important to the citizens of North Dakota,” says Diana Trussell, manager of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality’s Solid Waste Program. “Earth Day gives North Dakotans a chance to embrace conservation habits that will contribute to a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for present and future generations.”
Simple ways citizens can celebrate Earth Day every day include recycling, using public transportation or carpooling, turning off lights when leaving a room, planting trees, and utilizing renewable resources when possible.
The Bis-Man Earth Day Festival will take place from 4 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, at the Bismarck Event Center. The event is free and open to the public. For details, visit www.facebook.com/BismarckEarthDayFestival. Residents are encouraged to visit their local community’s website or social media pages for information on cleanup days or other celebrations –or consider organizing one themselves.
North Dakota
North Dakota Senate passes bill to standardize election laws, remove power from localities
BISMARCK — The North Dakota Senate passed a bill on Monday to standardize state election laws, removing some power from home rule counties and cities in the state.
House Bill 1307
would cement the supersession of state election law over local election laws, including local election laws in home rule counties and cities. Home rule counties or cities have adopted a home rule charter that gives them additional liberties in how they structure their local government, and enact and enforce laws — at times even superseding state laws inside their jurisdiction.
Under the bill, any election law adopted by a county or city that is in conflict with state election laws would be void.
The exception to this would be the number of signatures required for a candidate to make it on the ballot, according to the bill’s carrier Sen. Jose Castaneda, R-Minot. Home rule cities would still be able to independently set the number of signatures required for a candidate to make it on the ballot for local elections.
Castaneda said the goal of the bill was to standardize election laws in the state so localities cannot adopt rules that might get rid of mail-in ballots or early voting.
The Senate added an amendment to ensure park district elections were covered by the bill.
The bill has received pushback from North Dakota home rule cities and counties.
Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney submitted written testimony opposing the bill. He said creating election conformity across the state is a “laudable” goal, but an impractical one because of the various election procedures that North Dakota voters have already approved to “reflect the wishes” of home rule cities and counties.
The North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office has supported the bill. Officials submitted written testimony on the bill that said allowing cities and counties to adopt practices that may be in conflict with statewide election administration can create election integrity questions. This bill would prevent that.
The bill previously passed the House with a 79-13 vote, received a unanimous recommendation to pass from the Senate State and Local Government Committee and passed the Senate in a 45-2 vote. It now goes back to the House of Representatives for a vote of concurrence before it can be passed on to the governor.
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