by James Parks, Nov 27, 2007

Ed Mayne

The union movement is mourning the loss of Ed Mayne, the president of the Utah State AFL-CIO, who died Nov. 25 of cancer. Mayne, 62, the longest serving state fed president, led the Utah union movement for 30 years.    

Mayne began his union career as a member of the United Steelworkers while he was working for Kennecott Copper in the Bingham Canyon mine. He was elected president of USW Local 485 in 1977, leading a tough contract negotiation with Kennecott that year. Shortly after that, he was elected president of the Utah State AFL-CIO at age 32, making him the youngest state federation president in the country at the time.

He was elected to the Utah state Senate in 1994 and was in his fourth term when he died. In the Senate, just as in the union movement, Mayne fought for those who had no voice, working to maintain benefits for the most needy on Medicaid and legislation to raise the minimum wage, among other issues.

AFT President Edward McElroy says Mayne was a man of great integrity and strong convictions:

He enhanced the profile and influence of Utah’s Democratic party and its labor movement in a state where both institutions are in the minority. He earned the gratitude of those on whose behalf he fought, and the respect even of those with whom he sometimes clashed. 

Just this month, with Mayne’s assistance, Utah voters defeated a proposal that would have created the nation’s first universal school voucher program, McElroy says.

Mayne leaves his wife, Karen, and two children, a son, Paul, and daughter, Jamie.

You can find out more about Mayne’s life and funeral services by clicking here.

Jim Judd, who succeeds Mayne as Utah State AFL-CIO president, says Mayne left big shoes to fill. He told The Salt Lake Tribune:

A friend of mine once asked if anyone remembers who played the outfield for the Boston Red Sox after Babe Ruth left. And that is how I kind of feel right now. How do you replace a legend?

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article | Comments (0)