North Dakota Human Rights Coalition

For human rights’ sake, Crystal should yield

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:32:53 +0000

The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition hopes that American Crystal Sugar will decide to recognize the dignity and rights of its workers by ending the lockout immediately.
By: Barry Nelson and others,

FARGO — On Dec. 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, chaired the committee that developed the declaration, and the U.S. was an original signatory to the document, along with 47 other nations.

According to the declaration, workers’ rights are human rights. Indeed, Article 23 states, “Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.”

On this 2011 Human Rights Day, the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition calls on American Crystal Sugar Co. to stop violating the human rights of its 1,300 locked out workers.

The declaration says that every person has “the right to just and favorable remuneration, ensuring for everyone and his or her family an existence worthy of human dignity.” Crystal Sugar employees have worked long and hard for that company — many for 10, 20 even 30 years.

And there has been no complaint about the quality of their work. According to the company’s annual report, Crystal Sugar earned $805 million in net proceeds for the 2011 fiscal year.

At the same time, Crystal Sugar executives are proposing changes to health insurance coverage that would more than double workers’ maximum out-of-pocket costs for family coverage. Because the workers refused to accept these proposals, management locked them out on Aug. 1 rather than continuing to negotiate with them.

We are particularly concerned about the Crystal Sugar workers who were employed in North Dakota factories, for they are not even eligible for unemployment compensation. Because of Crystal Sugar’s action, these workers are suddenly without ANY remuneration or compensation, without the means to support themselves and without the dignity of their work.

At a time when the compensation of Crystal Sugar’s CEO, David Berg, has risen to $2.4 million, and the income of Crystal’s chief financial officer, Thomas Astrup, has reached $964,000, it is unconscionable that members of our communities are being denied the right to work, protection against unemployment, an income to ensure an existence worthy of human dignity and the chance to protect their interests.

Responding to the horrors of World War II, the Declaration of Human Rights asserted, “Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.”

The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition hopes that American Crystal Sugar will decide to recognize the dignity and rights of its workers by ending the lockout immediately.

Barry Nelson

Amy Phillips

JoNell Bakke

Susan Peterson

Ellen Dunn

Lillian Jones

The writers are members of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition’s board.

2011 Human Rights Summit Photos

admin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:30:38 +0000

On October 28-29, North Dakota Human Rights Coalition held a statewide Human Rights Summit with great success!

Below is a video of the speech given by keynote speaker, John Nichols, as well as some photos from the event.

Thanks to all who attended!

Click here to see John Nichols speak at North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Summit

North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Releases 2011 Legislative Report Card

admin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 06:53:27 +0000

North Dakota Human Rights Coalition is a broad-based group of individuals and organizations with an interest in the furtherance of human rights in North Dakota. To that end, the organization has completed its 2011 Legislative Report Card and will present its findings at a statewide Human Rights Summit to be held October 28-29 in Fargo. Anyone wanting to receive a copy, in advance of the Summit, can download a copy here or call 701-239-9323. More information on the upcoming Summit will be available soon on the website and Facebook page for the organization.

NDHRC to Hold Annual Meeting: March 8, 2011

admin — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:41:16 +0000

Fargo, ND – North Dakota Human Rights Coalition will hold its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at Prudential Premier Real Estate, 1815 38^th Street South, Fargo at 6:00 p.m. This annual event provides an opportunity for members and others interested in human rights issues to learn about the coalition’s current activities and provide input about what projects and issues should be addressed in the current year. Dinner will be provided and transportation may be available to those who request it, in advance. Please RSVP to 701-239-9323 or rsvp@ndhrc.org.

2011 ND Legislative Action Alert: SB 2051 & SB 2052

admin — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:37:40 +0000

There are certain behaviors and indications of character that have nothing to do with an affiliation to a political party or specific religion–practices that are about doing the right thing–personal traits transcending all political and religious beliefs, as well as an understanding that some things are just plain wrong and not reflective of the values of the citizens of North Dakota.

For example:

Intimidating someone or a group of people trying to enter a public space because of where they go to church is wrong.
Threatening harm to someone or a group of people in a public space because of their perceived racial ancestry is not acceptable.
Injuring or interfering with the ability of a physically disabled individual or group of people trying to enjoy an activity taking place in a public space is nothing short of despicable.

Situations of this type will be addressed by North Dakota Senate Bill No. 2051, a bill condemning the actions and assigning accountability to individuals who attempt to disrupt or to prevent the enjoyment of public places by certain others based upon their perception of those individuals.

There are other behaviors not in keeping with North Dakota Values:

Allowing damage to property based on the age or gender of those owning the property.
Ignoring the destruction of property because the owners are or are thought to be gay.
Saying it’s okay to vandalize property because the owners are or appear to be of a different nationality.

Situations such as this will be addressed by North Dakota Senate Bill No. 2052, which assigns specific accountability to those who willfully damage property specifically based upon who owns that property.

But, don’t we already have laws in place that address these behaviors? Do we need to enact yet another piece of legislation that would only apply to such a small group of North Dakotans?

In a word—yes. This legislation is not only about the victims of these crimes, it’s about assigning accountability to the even smaller group of individuals who behave in a way that is not reflective of the values of the citizens of our state.

We each may have different opinions of the people upon whom these crimes are committed, but we all share the same opinion of the crimes themselves—they are despicable acts and will not be tolerated by the citizens of the state of North Dakota.

Please, take a moment and contact your senator and let them know you do not support looking the other way any longer.

Bernie Erickson, Director

North Dakota Human Rights Coalition

NDHRC Moving Forward …

admin — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 16:40:01 +0000

Greetings from the NDHRC Board of Directors!

Several new NDHRC board members joined existing board members for an active and spirited Strategic Planning session recently held April 30th and May 1st at the Dakota Medical Foundation offices in Fargo. The planning session was funded by the Impact Foundation and facilitated by Rose Stoller of the Consensus Council. We set out our plan to move the NDHRC forward in the wake of the economic realities of no new grant funding sources. This had resulted in the elimination of paid NDHRC staff in late 2009.

We have returned to our roots as a true volunteer organization with all of its opportunities and challenges. We encourage each of you to “jump in.”

The draft Strategic Plan crafted by the NDHRC Board sets out six goals with activities and strategies under each of our goals. The goals are:

To speak out consistently, both proactively about human rights issues as they occur, and in a timely manner.
To obtain the services of an intern to design, develop and implement the E-newsletter.
To establish and maintain the routine public presence on human rights issues.
To increase the NDHRC membership.
To establish an annual plan of work and programs.
To assure a sound organizational structure for the NDHRC.

As you can see we continue to have much work to do together in North Dakota as the NDHRC.

The NDHRC board is also working to update and keep current our website and Facebook page to stay connected with members. We need your input and ideas and encourage your voice. The NDHRC board meets the third Thursday of the month.

You may have noticed the recent Op/ed piece written by board members Amy Phillips and Jeannie Camarillo that spoke out against the discriminatory Arizona law on immigration and that appeared in newspapers around the state. We continue to encourage members to be advocates for human rights and speak out when they see or hear about actions that do not respect the rights of all individuals.

We will be in contact again soon. We look forward to a fall workshop, dinner and speaker and the presentation of the NDHRC Arc of Justice Award.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”

Tom Fiebiger

NDHRC Board Chair

Being Out and Gay in High School: Victimization and Young Adult

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:43:21 +0000

Friday, March 26 3:30 – 5:00PM, Century Theater at NDSU Memorial Union,
open to the public

The Human Development and Family Science Gertrude Weigum Hinsz Lecture
Series at North Dakota State University is bringing Dr. Stephen Russell to
Fargo-Moorhead to share his life work, stories and resources for local
educators, students, families and anyone that works with youth. Dr.
Russell has dedicated the last 15 years of his research to looking at
issues facing sexual minority youth – youth who are LGBT. He has looked at
the health risks for sexual minority adolescents, including whether an
adolescent’s home life, school and/or faith community lead to risk or
protect against it. Currently, Dr. Russell is conducting research that
focuses on how families, schools and other support systems can aid in the
healthy development of LGBT young people. His research has been integral
in helping advocacy organizations, school districts and state education
departments develop policy that is supportive of a learning environment
that is inclusive and safe for LGBTQ youth.

Reception to follow in the Prairie Rose Room with Dr. Russell.

http://hpr1.com/tech/article/russells_research_glbt_adolescents_at_risk/

Fargo Fire Dept. Public Perception Survey

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:39:45 +0000

The Women’s Network of the Red River Valley (WNRRV) is pleased to be working with the Fargo Fire Department in their efforts to address the lack of representation of white women and women and men of color in their workforce. Captain Dane Carley of the Fargo Fire Department has created a survey with input from WNRRV members to seek input from the community on how to improve their hiring process. We applaud the efforts of the Fargo Fire Dept. to improve there hiring process.

Please read the message from Captain Carley, and take the public perception survey, so we can gain a better idea of what changes are needed for equitable representation in the Fargo Fire Dept.

Please pass this survey on to everyone you know.
______________________________________________

The Fargo Fire Department is interested in learning what the community’s perception is of the fire department. We are interested in diversifying our candidate pool and feel that one tool to do so is to deliver the appropriate message to people via an appropriate form of media. A survey has been developed to help us learn about the community and what the community members think of the fire department and a career in the fire service. You will find two ways to access this survey below.

1. Follow this link: Public Perception Survey<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=cibH9w8xnMQcYnUupL39fA_3d_3d>

2. If the link does not work, open a new window then copy and paste this address into the address bar:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=cibH9w8xnMQcYnUupL39fA_3d_3d

The focus of our interest is on the immediate Cass and Clay Counties area and I welcome anyone who would like to forward this link to someone in the Cass and Clay Counties area to do so. Regional input is also helpful but not our primary focus. If you are aware of an interested organization within the eastern North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota, or northeastern South Dakota area that would have input, please forward it to that group also; however, I will not be traveling out of the two county area to pick up paper copies.

If you have any questions, please call me at (218)329-2630 between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm. If I do not answer, please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible.

Thank you very much for your time,

Dane Carley
dcarley@cityoffargo.com
(701) 241-8165

NDHRC Annual Meeting: November 14, Fargo

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:20:54 +0000

Saturday, November 14, 2009
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Dr. James Carlson Library, 2801 32nd Ave. S., Fargo

Please join us for the NDHRC Annual Meeting! Learn about the NDHRC’s current activities, and provide input about what projects and issues you would like the NDHRC to focus on in the future.

Lunch will be provided.

Please RSVP to jessehegland@ndhrc.org

Come to My Census!: October 24, Fargo

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:21:53 +0000

Fargo-Moorhead 2010 Census Public Education Training and Conference

October 24
10am-3pm
Fargo Public Library
102 North 3rd St.
Fargo, ND 58102

Every 10 years, the U.S. Constitution calls for a census count of all persons living in the United States.

Based on census numbers, nearly $400 billion of federal resources are allocated annually to states, communities, and community-based organizations.

Our communities have a lot to gain or lose in the 2010 census. We need to make sure everyone is counted!

At this conference, learn about the key messages and outreach strategies organizations across the country are using to encourage census participation among the hardest-to-count communities.

Learn about special initiatives happening in Fargo-Moorhead and how to become involved in our national effort.