Low wages cost North Dakota jobs, puts pressure on unions to organize

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Landis Larson

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Landis Larson, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the North Dakota ALF-CIO, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and spoke about the effect of low wages on the state’s workforce.

The North Dakota AFL-CIO represents about 16,000 members.

The political climate in North Dakota is not union friendly. The state’s $7.25 minimum wage, which mirrors the federal minimum wage, does not bring workers into the state. The unemployment rate is at 2.5 percent, but just over half of all workers (51 percent) work more than one job because they do not earn enough money, Larson said. Attracting people to North Dakota is an issue. For example, a factory in Pembina, closed because it did not have enough workers.

As a result, the North Dakota AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions are in the midst of an organizing push. Larson noted there is more organizing in the area than he has seen in a long time. This is important and it is needed.

The Federation is also working to help families with the cost of childcare. Many people now stay at home with their children due to the high cost of childcare instead of going to work, he said. They have urged state legislators to subsidize childcare. In a meeting, the President of the Minnesota Federal Reserve agreed with the North Dakota AFL-CIO that there needs to be subsidies for childcare.

Listen to the interview to learn more about these topics.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

Low wages cost North Dakota jobs, puts pressure on unions to organize

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