"The problem in the public sector in North Dakota is there's no collective bargaining," said Chris Runge, executive director of the North Dakota Public Employees Association. "So that leaves us with collective begging." Legislators in North Dakota oppose collective bargaining for public employees in order to assert their authority over the budgetary process. "They fear they'll lose control," Runge said, "but that's so far from the truth. It works just fine in 29 states; their governments haven't ground to a halt."
From: A UND Prof
Date: 02 Dec 2000
Time: 09:39:10
Notice the mention of unions, bargaining, negotiations, and strikes in these reports. UND also has faculty unions, but they are powerless. Decades ago the state legislature made it illegal for state employees to engage in collective bargaining, declaring that we are all private contractors. So it is the legislature which has the only say in salary appropriations, and since we're last in the country, it can be clearly seen what they have said over the years.
Feb 9, 2001 SB 2263 and HB 1373, NDPEA sponsored collective bargaining bills for state and political subdivision employees were heard in the House and Senate Industry, Business and Labor Committees. For the first time in many sessions, there was good discussion on the rights of public employees to bargain collectively for wages, benefits and working conditions. Kurt Smith, president of IUPA, the police officers union in Minot testified in support of the political subdivisions bill as did Joe Westby, Executive Director of NDEA. The North Dakota Catholic Conference testified in support of the right of employees to bargain collectively for the first time. Christopher Dodson, Executive Director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference provided excellent church doctrine of the natural law of the right to join unions and bargain collectively. Even with God on our side, the bills stand little hope of passing. [Source NDPEA (North Dakota Public Employees Association)]