No Longer Silenced by Fear. Exposing Open Secrets
April 25, 2022 | Amy Jacobson, Executive Director, Prairie Action ND April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month, a designation to raise awareness of sexual assault and to break this cycle of violence. According to the ND Council on Abused Women’s Services (NDCAWS), “Sexual violence, sexual assault or sexual abuse is any type of […]
Make Economic Security for all Families a National Priority
March 11, 2022 | Amy Jacobson, Executive Director, Prairie Action ND Families are the basis of a thriving country and economy. When we address the economic insecurity that many families face and ensure that everyone with young children can afford the basic necessities of food, healthcare, housing, child care and transportation, we are creating conditions […]
Roe v Wade Hangs in the Balance
January 22, 2022 | By Dr. Erica Hofland, North Dakota Section of ACOG Chair, Dr. Ana Tobiasz, North Dakota Section of ACOG Vice-Chair, Tammi Kromenaker, Clinic Director, Red River Women’s Clinic, Destini Spaeth, President, North Dakota WIN Abortion Access Fund, Kristie Wolff, Executive Director, North Dakota Women’s Network, Katie Christensen, North Dakota State Director, Planned […]
“Low Interest Loans to Pay for Child Care” are Not the Answer
January 9, 2022 | By Melissa Gjellstad, Grand Forks, ND The Grand Forks Herald Editorial board is right, we need to figure out a way to make child care more affordable for North Dakota’s working families. It’s really expensive, even with just one kid. One year of child care is equivalent to a year’s tuition […]
‘Toxic’ Environment Causes Two ND Women Legislators to Retire
By Amy Jacobson, executive director of Prairie Action ND | Nov. 26, 2021 It’s true: Elected leadership that reflects the population of our state is critical to policymaking that is responsive and beneficial to the lived experiences of our diverse communities. Recently, we’ve seen quite a loss of women in elected office. This is concerning […]
Working Families Relying on Congress to Fix Child Care Crisis and Pass Build Back Better
By Landis Larson, president North Dakota AFL-CIO | Nov. 21, 2021 This special session was a missed opportunity to focus on what North Dakota working families need, with attention instead being spent on divisive social issues that have little to do with North Dakota. During the special session the North Dakota AFL-CIO was part of […]
Lack of Child Care in Rural Communities is Hurting Children in Need of Foster Homes
By: Lindsey WilkinsonOctober 16, 2021 I am a mom and a union steelworker building Bobcats in southeast North Dakota, where my husband, Will, also works and we are both active in our union and community. In addition to raising our own kids, last year we opened our home to fostering kids. This has been a […]
Special Session Should Focus on Working Families Priorities
September 29th, 2021As submitted to Prairie Action ND With the upcoming special session, the Legislature and Governor must consider assisting working families with wrap-around benefits to fully address the workforce availability problem. With additional funds coming from the Federal government from the pandemic, we need to think strategically about making the most of these dollars […]
Get Federal Relief Aid to the People
September 6th, 2021As submitted to Prairie Action ND This Labor Day, we at the North Dakota AFL-CIO would like you to think about the working people of North Dakota, but also the $1 billion of federal relief money meant to go to working people that is tied up at the Bank of North Dakota right […]
North Dakota Legislators Set to Copy & Paste Texas Abortion Ban
September 5th, 2021 By now you have heard the news, the state of Texas has implemented the most extreme abortion ban in the county. It is an unconstitutional law that bans abortion at six weeks, well before most women even know they are pregnant. In Texas, as in most states, 85 to 90% of abortions […]