Landis Larson, President, North Dakota AFL-CIO

Co-signed by AFL-CIO affiliates: Northern Valley Labor Council, Northern Plains United Labor Council, Missouri Slope Central Labor Council

In a recent interview on “Meet the Press,” Governor Doug Burgum showed his cards on working families and the economy. According to Burgum, what is getting in the way of driving the economy forward? “Red Tape Ideology.” What examples of “Red Tape Ideology” did he address in his nearly hour-long interview? Unions and “Made in America” policies.

The North Dakota AFL-CIO, the federation of labor unions in North Dakota, along with the Northern Valley Labor Council, the Northern Plains United Labor Council, and the Missouri Slope Labor Council couldn’t disagree more. In fact, we agree with the majority of Americans that labor unions and Made in America policies are good things that we need more of, not less.

We’d like to remind Governor Burgum that some of the most iconic and successful products to come out of North Dakota are union-made and benefit from Made in America policies. From the legendary flour that we process and ship from our state mill in Grand Forks to the world-class tractors, skid steers, and buses we build in Fargo, Gwinner, Bismarck and Pembina. From the electricity we produce in coal country to the roads we drive on every day, not to mention the many large-scale construction projects that we’ve built. Our state’s success is based on the hard work and sacrifice of North Dakota’s working people, many of whom are proud members of their unions.

Whether you see Buy Union and Buy American provisions as a hindrance to economic success or a tool to improve economic success is in the eye of the beholder. We see things as working people and Burgum sees things as a billionaire businessman.