In April, I was elected by union delegates to serve a third term as president of AFT Utah. I am so proud of our unions around the nation and in Utah for taking a stand and defending employees and working families.
When workers organize and form unions, it gives them a voice and the power to ensure they can earn a livable wage, receive adequate health care and plan on having retirement security. The efforts of unionists also benefit nonunion members.
In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court will make a decision on the Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 case. The truth about the Janus case is that it’s not about Mark Janus at all. It’s simply a continued effort to defund and destroy unions.
Those behind the Janus case, such as the Koch Brothers and other wealthy corporate barons, oppose unions because we stand in their way of achieving a favored status in the American economy and our national politics.
We see this corporate influence in our state. One just has to look at the large financial donations from the Charles Koch Foundation to policy centers at Utah State University and the University of Utah in addition to financially backed groups such as Americans For Prosperity and Citizens United.
Those who are funding the Janus case are hoping for a favorable decision so they can celebrate the end of unions. They will be disappointed. Unions are alive and well in Utah and across the nation. We will continue to thrive and prosper. Utah unions from the public sector and trades along with the Utah AFL-CIO have united together in solidarity to protect employee rights, safeguard working families, and push back against attacks from those who would demonize the good that unions do in our communities.
We’ve been here for over a hundred years; we look forward to being even stronger for another century.
Brad Asay has been serving as president of AFT Utah since April 2013. He also serves as an executive board member of the Utah AFL-CIO and, before being elected as the AFT Utah president, he taught at Mound Fort Junior High School in the Ogden City School District, where he began his career as a teacher in 1996.