A bill that had raised hackles in the special education community because it could have segregated specialneeds children into separate schools will apparently not be moved by its author.

Text the appropriate code below to 81010 to sign up for the new HFT text group:

HFT Classification             Code

Teachers                             @hftte

Assistants                            @hftas

Custodial                             @hftc

Clerical                                @hftse

Registered Nurses               @hftn

Transportation                    @hftt

Paraprofessionals                @hftpa

For the week of April 8-12, 2013, the NDPEA Legislative Update reflects on an opportunity lost with the failure of an amendment in the Senate that would have increased starting teacher pay, and successfully delivers legislation to increase eligibility for Medicaid in North Dakota through the Legislature. Read all about it.

Every year on April 28, the unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew union efforts for safe workplaces.

Working America, AFL-CIO's community affiliate, is launching a new site, www.FixMyJob.com, where workers will have a resource for getting  more information and where they can raise concerns about workplace issues—privately.

Please enjoy the meeting mintues from the Winter quarter e-board meeting.

e-board_meeting_minutes_1-4-13.pdf

The Federation held a general meeting in January to discuss safety issues on campus and we had to faculty guest speakers. This was a great discussion on how to handle personal security issues as faculty.

Two recent studies on nurse understaffing and nurse fatigue have revealed that these two prominent issues negatively impact the quality of care delivery, patient and employee satisfaction and operational costs in hospitals. Read the article from Healthcare Financial News here.

This will serve as notice that the 2013 NFN Nominating Committee has prepared the slate of candidates running for election to the positions of President and Secretary for four year terms from 2013-2017. The election will take place during the 2013 NFN National Federation Assembly, and the nominations are as follows:

Nominations for the Office of NFN President:

• Barbara A. Crane, RN

Nominations for the Office of NFN Secretary:

NFN pauses today to honor the 45th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr, who lost his life while advocating for  justice during the 1968 AFSCME Sanitation Workers Strike.  It is ironic that these many years later, the fight for social justice, workers’ rights and workplace safety continues to be a hard fought battle even in the 21st Century.