Editor's Notes

NDU in the News

Welcome to a new year, a new edition of United Voices and a new feature of our magazine: Editor’s Notes. In this space, we hope to include short news items, analysis and commentary, all about our union, our members and the issues that matter most to YOU! If you have any “Notes” you’d like to share with us, including story ideas and news tips, send them to comments@ndunited.org.

Protect Our Retirement

Public employees like educational support staff, snowplow drivers, and addiction recovery specialists work hard to support our children, keep our roads safe, and provide treatment to our family members.

But the hard-earned benefits of North Dakota’s dedicated public employees are now at risk. Why? Because some North Dakota legislators want to eliminate pensions and guaranteed retirement payments administered by the North Dakota Public Employee Retirement System (NDPERS) for new state employees.

If NDPERS pensions fall, pensions for teachers and other public employees may be next in line. We have a chance to protect North Dakota public employee pensions and stand up for every North Dakotan’s hard-earned retirement security.

For more information on how you can get involved, visit www.ndunited.co/pension.

Substitute Shortage

Area educators joined North Dakota United President Nick Archuleta and Education Minnesota President Denise Specht at a press conference on Dec. 8, 2021, in Moorhead, Minn., to share stories of educating during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as it relates to the shortage of substitute educators.

COVID-19 didn’t create these issues and others facing educators, but it did shine a brighter light on them. The educator shortages across the country pose a challenge not only for finding new teachers and education support professionals but for finding substitute coverage.

“Districts can fix all of this by investing in its educators, which in turn is an investment in students,” said Archuleta. “Thanks to the federal ARP funding, they have all the money they need to increase pay for substitutes and hire more permanent subs to be consistent and reliable adults in our buildings.”

Student Debt Relief

After years of legal battles to ensure the effective administration of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public servants will be getting substantial relief from crippling student debt.

On Oct. 12, 2021, the American Federation of Teachers announced that they had reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Education in the case of Weingarten v. DeVos, filed in July 2019 to hold the federal government accountable for its failure to manage the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. In North Dakota, many of the educators and public employees affected by this settlement are members of North Dakota United, which is affiliated nationally with both AFT and the National Education Association.

Learn more online at www.aft.org/PSLF.