Hello and Happy Summer!
I hope this brief column finds you and yours well and enjoying these beautiful days of summer. It is a wonderful time of year to catch up with our kids and/or grandkids, enjoy the great outdoors, do a little gardening, and immerse ourselves in terrific books and lake water. I hope you’re doing all that and more!
In my last column, I wrote about the 69th legislative session and celebrated our successful efforts to defeat 6 voucher bills that would have for the first time allowed public dollars to pay for private school tuition. We also supported legislation to make it possible for teachers to earn a lifetime teaching license in 25 years instead of 30 years. We fought for 3% salary increases for non-education public employees for each year of the next biennium; we successfully lobbied the Governor to veto a bill that would have moved the PERS health plan from grandfathered status to an ACA compatible plan that would have shifted healthcare costs from the state to the state employees. There were more wins, but there were also some setbacks, especially our inability to move the legislature to increase the per pupil payment by more than 2.5% for the next two years. That one stings because it makes it harder for school districts to make adequate progress in addressing the teacher shortage in ND, as well as offer salary increases that our teacher workforce desperately needs. Rest assured that we will be laser-focused throughout the interim and next session to correct that oversight.
Since the session, we have been doing the less glamorous union work of planning for membership growth, helping locals through their tough negotiations with their school boards, planning the 2025 NDU Summer Leadership and Advocacy Summit to be held July31 and August 1st, and preparing for the NEA Convention and AFT Teach, among other things.
One of the best things we have done so far this summer is to award over $75,000 in scholarships to members and NDU members’ children pursuing their educational goals. The ND United Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) organization and contributions to our Foundation are tax deductible. If you would like to donate or establish a scholarship in your name or the name of a loved one, contact Gary Rath at [email protected].
Finally, friends, I want to thank you for your membership in ND United. Your advocacy during the session was pivotal to our success. Furthermore, the work you do, regardless of your job, is the fiber that binds our state together. You are the professionals that provide the vital services that our state needs to be successful. Your work ensures and enriches our future. and I could not be more proud of you. Please tell your colleagues about ND United and ask them to join you as a member.
Cheers and here’s to a restful and restorative summer!
