Public Service Perspectives
Quality Services Provide Safety By Gary Feist, NDU Vice President of Public Employees
These are challenging and unusual times. During the past few months, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of our life. Thinking back to March when high school sporting events started to be canceled and there was talk of schools and worksites shutting down many of us thought this can’t be happening and expected things to get back to normal soon. After three months of teleworking, we are now planning for the new normal. Public employees of North Dakota have provided quality services during these difficult times while also making sure we and our families were safe.
NDU and NDPE want to hear your thoughts and ideas so we can have a voice in the development of the state’s policies and procedures for safely returning to our places of work or continuing to provide our services as we work remotely. As a union, we need to make sure all public employees are provided the necessary protective equipment, agencies have 24
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ND United Voices
adequate staffing, and the state has the financial resources necessary to provide quality public services and quality public education. Our national affiliates the National Education Association (NEA) and the AFT have been a great resource for ideas of what’s necessary for employees to safely return to work. I have been meeting with and discussing policies and procedures with fellow public employee union leaders of the AFT but it’s not a one size fits all. We need you to join the conversation to ensure our collective voice is heard. The AFT and NEA are also pushing for the passage of the HEROES ACT, so our schools will have the resources necessary to open in the fall. Please contact Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and ask them to support the HEROS Act. During these challenging and difficult times, we need to amplify our voice for the services we provide, the people we serve, and for the safety of all public employees. There is no better time to ask a fellow co-worker to join our union.
