2024 Primary Election
The 2024 primary elections provided us with an opportunity to support several Republican incumbents who voted against vouchers and were being challenged by anti-public education hardliners. We were able to send supportive mail pieces to our members highlighting the vote to oppose vouchers, and our member-led United Political Action Committee (UPAC) made $18,500 in contributions to support those who stood by us.
Overall, we were successful in 11 out of the 15 races we entered (73%). We were able to protect key rural opponents of vouchers. We also played a part in helping to defeat Rep. Brandon Prichard in District 8, who led the charge to challenge many of the rural Republicans who have stood against vouchers and other attacks on public education.
As we look to the future, primary elections will continue to be a way for us to ensure we have elected officials in both parties who are willing to stand up for our members, for students and our local communities.
Summer Leadership & Advocacy Summit
As we continue to face mounting challenges in our local unions, in contract negotiations, and in the political world, we knew we needed to train and prepare our leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for their students, communities and themselves.
In late July, 30 member leaders from locals across the state came together for our first-ever Summer Leadership & Advocacy Summit in Bismarck. Over two days, we covered:
- The fights we see ahead from Measure 4 to vouchers to pension attacks
- The nuts and bolts of effective negotiations from start to contract
- Union leadership
- Expectations/Roles & Responsibilities
- Distributive Leadership
- Running an Effective Meeting
- Legislative Advocacy Tools and Tips
- Organizing co-workers for action
- United Political Action Committee (UPAC): Why it Matters and What We Can Do to Strengthen It
- AutoPay to protect our membership from anti-public education politicians
- Media training for local leaders
It was a packed two days and member leaders walked away energized and confident they could meet the challenges ahead of us in our work. We will host another Summer Leadership & Advocacy Summit in 2025. Stay tuned for details!
Leading the Way to Defeat Measure 4
It is hard to overstate how critical the leaders, members and staff of North Dakota United were to defeating the ill-conceived Measure 4, an initiated measure that would have cost our state $3.15 billion every biennium and would have put public education and public services in peril.
North Dakota United was the catalyst for pulling together the Keep It Local ND coalition of more than 100 organizations. Executive Director Chad Oban was the chair of the coalition and Political Director Ali Hoffman was the campaign manager of a campaign that soundly defeated Measure 4, winning every county in the state, with a margin of more than 63%-37%.
Our members were also a crucial part of this winning campaign by posting yard signs in every community across the state, educating friends and family, and making phone calls to our members to ensure they knew about the issue and got out to vote.
Like most tough challenges in life, our union has come out on the other side of this fight stronger and more connected for the work we have ahead of us.
2024 General Election
The results in the North Dakota statewide and legislative races were, by and large, a return to the status quo.
Governor
We are hopeful that newly elected Gov. Kelly Armstrong will be a leader who will listen to the needs of public educators and public employees. We have had good initial interactions with the Governor, and he has always been an elected official who engages with North Dakota United members and leaders.
Legislature
Ultimately, both the Senate and the House will look very similar in partisan makeup to the 2023 session. The Republicans will hold a 42-5 margin in the Senate and an 83-11 margin in the House. Our key work in the coming weeks will be to build relationships and connect new legislators to ND United members in their districts.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
ND United member Kirsten Baesler won re-election as the Superintendent of Public Instruction. We look forward to continuing the strong relationship with the Superintendent and ensuring that we are working together to improve our schools and make sure our students and educators have what they need for success.
GROW Team
Our Government Relations Organizing and Winning (GROW) Team members continue to lead by example. Throughout our Measure 4 campaign, GROW Team members were on the frontlines, submitting letters to the editor, educating co-workers about the measure, appearing in television commercials, and essentially doing everything that was asked and more.
As we head into the 2025 legislative session, the GROW Team’s work will be increasingly important as we advocate for the resources we all need to succeed. More importantly, if you are fired up and ready to see the changes we need in our schools, workplaces and communities, we need YOU to join the GROW Team today!
What’s Ahead in 2025
As we enter 2025, we will be paying very close attention to the bills filed that will affect our members. While there are always a few wild cards every session, we expect these issues to dominate our time and attention in the 2025 legislative session.
Vouchers
As we have seen for several sessions in a row, we will be fighting back against spending public dollars on private education. We will have far more to say as we learn more about the latest voucher scheme.
Pensions
We will be vigilant in monitoring any attempts by the legislature to reduce the retirement security of North Dakota United members. We will also continue to insist that the legislature live up to its promises after closing the defined benefit for NDPERS.
Funding
We, as always, will be advocating for the resources our classrooms and workplaces need. We are hopeful that we can take a good step forward on this front in the coming session.
Property Tax Reform
It is clear that North Dakotans are frustrated by increasing property taxes. We will be closely monitoring the property tax reform discussions to ensure that we continue to fund our public schools and services appropriately.
Universal School Meals
A recent North Dakota News Cooperative poll showed that 82% of North Dakotans support free school meals. The time has come for North Dakota to make this investment in our kids, and we will be a part of a coalition to help move forward on this issue.
Most importantly, if we are to be successful on these issues and more, we need every member to be engaged in the legislative process. We will be constantly sharing updates from the Capitol via email and socials and will make it easy for members to contact legislators and testify on legislation. At the end of the day, while our lobbying staff and leaders are second to none, our strength comes from the collective action in communities across the state.
If you have been active before during the legislative session, thank you and welcome to the next round! If you have not, please take action this session to stand up for your students, your co-workers and your communities!
Don’t Miss ND United Lobby Day 2025!
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming biennial Lobby Day in Bismarck on February 16-17, 2025. This event is a unique opportunity to make our voices heard by state legislators on the issues that matter to us most: public education and the rights of public employees. Together, we’ll share our stories, speak with legislators, and observe committee hearings to better understand the policymaking process.
