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On collective bargaining

Waylon Hedegaard

Bismarck

Law enforcement and firefighters have a difficult, dangerous and necessary job in this state, and most North Dakotans fully support them and appreciate what they do. Every one of our public officials wants to be seen as pro-law enforcement, pro-firefighter and pro-public safety, however our state fails its public safety officers in one major way. They aren’t given a voice when it comes to their job.

No one understands their job better than they do. They know what equipment they need. They know what training they require and what policies work and which don’t. They understand what is safe and what is not. However, in North Dakota, they have no guaranteed freedom to join together and negotiate to meet these needs. This harms both them and our state.

If we want to have the best law enforcement and firefighting departments, we have to give these women and men a voice in their work where they can advocate for better equipment, safer policies and better training.

We can’t keep claiming to support firefighters and to “Back the Blue”, and not give them this voice. True respect is listening to their needs and trusting what they say.

Our law enforcement officers and firefighters have a tough job, and they do it well. We trust them to run into burning buildings to save our families, and we trust them to stop active shooters. As a matter of respect, we should trust them to collectively bargain for what will make them and their departments better.

Hedegaard is president of the North Dakota AFL-CIO.

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