The 2013 Session of the North Dakota Legislature is off and running at a furious pace, here in Bismarck. And, in the midst of all of it, Stuart Savelkoul, the Executive Director of North Dakota Public Employees Association, checks in with an update of what our organization is doing to represent the thoughts and concerns of our members in the halls of the Capitol.
On November 6th, America witnessed an historic occurence. The re-election of President Barack Obama both shocked and elated not only America's voters, but people around the world. Prominent members of the Republican Party had announced that their first priority was to prevent the president from being re-elected.
In fact, it now has been revealed that certain governors and election officials consciously and deliberately conspired to suppress the Democratic turnout to prevent the president's victory. Right wing pundits confidently predicted the president's fall.
from AFT-Maryland's Insider newsletter:
As the Baltimore County government was closing during Hurricane Sandy, the public health nurses were ensuring that safe shelter was available for the couty residents by manning a Weather Shelter at the county's Eastern Technical School. The shelter remained open until safe weather conditions prevailed.
AFT-Maryland President Marietta English convened members of the AFT-Maryland leadership and staff for a special training retreat in October, at the Mount Washington Conference Center in Baltimore. The retreat was devoted to a review and analysis of the federation's operations, and the identification of specific strategies and practices capable of increasing the federation's efficiency and effectiveness.
The retreat placed special emphasis on four key areas: legislative and political power; organizing and mobilization, communications, and community engagement.
Update: The hearing for a new trial has been rescheduled and will be held on Monday, March 4, in Baton Rouge's 19th Judicial District Court.
(Baton Rouge – January 24, 2013) A Baton Rouge district judge has agreed to rehear arguments that one of Governor Bobby Jindal’s signature education acts violates a constitutional prohibition on bundling multiple objectives in one piece of legislation.
Act 1 tied virtually every aspect of a teacher’s professional life, from salaries to tenure to termination, to a new evaluation system. But it also changed several sections of law dealing with the powers of school boards and superintendents.
Hello all and Happy New Year to anyone I have not already spoken to.
Yesterday, the Union Negotiating Team again met with the college for a negotiating session. Various items were discussed; however, there is still not a final proposal to bring back to the membership for ratification. We have scheduled another session for January 30th and we are awaiting confirmation from the College’s attorney regarding that date.
Hopefully, we will have some good news to report after that.
The Constitution and Bylaws Comittee are currently working on ammendments to the HCU constitution. In order to give everyone equal access to the information, we are posting the details online.
Draft Constituion with Amendment language applied
We have posted this information in order to get membership feedback. If you wish to comment send a letter to the HCU office. Here is the address:
Attn: Constituion Committee
245 Se 4th Ave Suite A
Hillsboro, OR 97123-4033
North Dakota State University is classified, under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Learning as RU/VH, placing it in the top tier of research universities in the United States. Students come from around the world to receive an education of the top order at NDSU, because of its reputation as a leader in scholarly aptitude and dedication to excellence in tackling the big questions in math, science, humanities, business, agriculture, engineering, and social sciences.
The amount of research required both by the students learning at NDSU and the instructors passing on this knowledge is immense, and the materials by which this research is stored -- in books, journals and online subscription materials -- is always growing, changing and evolving.
A research university at the highest level, like NDSU, needs to make a clear commitment to keeping up with the ever-increasing speed of new discoveries and advances in research. Unfortunately, NDSU has had difficulty for many years in finding funds to keep its libraries stocked with research materials. The problem has boiled over enough that faculty, staff and members of NDPEA have organized themselves to take action and draw attention to what’s been happening.
North Dakota Public Employees Association Executive Director Stuart Savelkoul says that the merger of NDPEA and NDEA should be considered one of the largest questions in the recent history of the labor movement in North Dakota. This is a big deal, indeed.
Read more in his Message from the Executive Director.
North Dakota Public Employees Association Presdent Gary Feist says that the potential merger of NDPEA and the North Dakota Education Association has the potential of empowering all of our state's public workers, and will make history.
Click here to read more in the President's Corner.
