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North Dakota Public Employees AssociationChapter 41 |
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NDPEA – CHAPTER 41, SPRING MEETING APRIL 5, 2004
Members signed in as attending: Gerry Nies, Nancy Rice, Bev Hopman, Donna Ellertson, Cheryl Brooks, Doug Munski, Patsy Nies, Karen Harrie, Lonny Winrich, Kathy Sukalski President Gerry Nies called the meeting to order at 12:06 p.m. in the Memorial Room of the Memorial Union. Special guests Chris Runge, NDPEA Executive Director, and Jerry Kram, Area Project Coordinator, were introduced. Minutes from the September 17, 2003, meeting were distributed. Patsy Nies moved the minutes be approved. Cheryl Brooks seconded. Motion carried. Bev Hopman gave the treasurer’s report. The current balance is $728.33. A copy of the treasurer’s report is attached. Gerry Nies reminded everyone that the chapter will pay registration for members to attend the Delegate Assembly. Last fall, Chapter 41 could have sent 8-9 delegates and only 3 attended. Chris Runge reminded the membership that having delegate support at the meeting will help get our resolutions passed. Next year’s Delegate Assembly is scheduled for Oct. 7-9 in Fargo. Old Business: Resolutions: Chris Runge suggested that review of resolutions could be a recurring “old business” item. When asked what areas the state was focusing on this year, Ms. Runge cited two resolutions adopted at the October Delegate Assembly as the primary focus areas. They are R12.03 which deals with prohibiting state contracts from going overseas and R14.03 which addresses the purchase of prescription drugs. More information on all resolutions is located at the NDPEA website www.ndpea.org New Business: A petition is being circulated to place an initiated measure on the ballot which would require all tax increases to be submitted to voters and be permitted only if approved by 60% of those voting. The petition can be viewed at http://www.state.nd.us/sec/forms/pdf/tax-petition.pdf NDPEA is strongly recommending that you do NOT sign the petition to put the measure on the ballot. If this were to pass, it would affect all levels of government and all government services including education, police departments, fire departments, parks, road maintenance, even mosquito control. Chris Runge said that a coalition is being formed to fight the petition. Besides NDPEA, other organizations involved are NEA, AARP, Long Term Care Providers, League of Cities, Farm Bureau, Farmers Union and many others. Lonny Winrich said that other states who have tried similar measures, notably California and Colorado, are suffering serious consequences. New Members: Gerry Nies welcomed two new members in attendance, Karen Harrie and Nancy Rice. The state organization now offers a $100 prize for the Chapter who recruits the most new members each quarter. Chapter 41 came in second, but the winning group was Chapter 49, also located in Grand Forks. Chris Runge explained that recruitment of new members is important. The larger our membership, the stronger our bargaining position.
Political Activity: Gerry Nies stated that NDPEA is trying to build a good working relationship with our state legislature. Chris Runge said that NDPEA’s support is issue related, not party affiliated. After the press conference reporting low morale among North Dakota State Employees, Governor Hoeven invited the NDPEA Board of Directors and the Executive Officer to meet with him. The meeting took place on March 5, first with the Governor and then a separate meeting with the Lieutenant Governor. The Directors were able to talk directly to the Governor about employee issues. Chris Runge reminded members to “Vote your job. Lobby your interests.” COPE (Committee On Political Education) keeps union members informed about the political process. Union dues can be used to educate members, but can not be used to support a candidate. The NDPEA website (ndpea.org) has a link to the voting records of state representatives on all issues that affect NDPEA. Jerry Kram passed out a pre-printed post card addressed to Governor Hoeven requesting he include a significant pay raise and fully paid family health insurance in his budget. Data for CCF: Chris Runge said that she has visited with Curt Stofferahn. Information for Council of College Faculties will be made available on a CD. Pay Lag: Chris Runge stated that NDPEA has been involved extensively in the pay lag issue. She spoke to the State Board of Higher Education in November of 2002. An e-mail was sent out to all state employees 18-20 months ago informing them that a pay lag was going to take place. Initially, the pay lag was scheduled to be eight days, not fifteen. NDPEA didn’t receive or hear much negative feedback from the membership. But they did look for ways to soften the transition and were able to arrange the zero interest loans over a one year period, rather than the six months originally proposed. NDPEA also visited with other states that have made this transition to get their input. When NDPEA met with the Governor, he indicated he had talked with the State Board of Higher Education but that there was nothing he could do. NDPEA is concerned that if the pay lag is eliminated now, the costs involved to make changes to the PeopleSoft software would be so high, they would use up any funding that might be available for employee raises. Lonny Winrich said the State of North Dakota will run two payroll systems, the new one for Higher Ed employees and the old one for the other state employees. Because of the high costs and antiquated system, it is felt that at some point the state will move to one system and adopt the pay lag for all employees. NDPEA feels this decision has been made by the State Board of Higher Education. The Board has not shown any signs of changing their decision and NDPEA considers the pay lag a done deal. Chris Runge said membership is important and that NDPEA needs to grow the organization to gain strength to increase the union’s bargaining power in the future. Door prize winners were Karen Harrie and Gerry Nies. Meeting adjourned 1:15 p.m. Financial Report as of April 5, 2004 Beginning Balance: October 1, 2003 $490.06 Deposits: October 20,2003 $158.00 February 2, 2004 $157.00 February 17, 2004 $158.00 Expenses: October 30, 2003 $ 39.00 November 5, 2003 $ 51.34 December 29 ,2003 $ 21.35 January 30, 2004 $ 48.04 Ending balance: $728.33
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