By Ken Burk

On Nov. 6, good jobs and unions will be on the ballot. A good union job was once the pathway to the middle class. It is not a coincidence that as union membership has sharply declined, income inequality has skyrocketed and wages have dropped.

The demand that everyone should earn a living wage and be able to retire with dignity should not be seen as partisan.

The desire for basic fairness in the workplace should not be controversial. And the idea that everyone should be safe on the job should be expected.

I've been a union school janitor for 10 years. I know that unions are the key to good jobs. And I know that funding from Harrisburg is critical to maintaining strong schools in the Commonwealth.

I voted for Donald Trump. But Governor Wolf has my vote because he stands up for good jobs and school funding.

As a businessman, Governor Wolf is known for treating his employees with fairness and respect and paying a living wage.

His opponent, Scott Wagner, is also a businessman but is best known for refusing to release his tax returns because he fears his employees will see his salary and want to unionize.

We need a governor who embraces workers coming together to fight for fair wages and benefits--not on who runs and hides from it. Scott Wagner embodies a new brand of anti-union politicians who think tough talk will fool working people into voting against their economic interests. Wagner has made clear that he opposes unions by his words and his voting record in the Senate.

Meanwhile Governor Wolf has stood up for education funding, protected workers' rights and has supported raising the wage to $15 for contracted workers and has vowed to veto right to work legislation that would cripple collective bargaining rights even further.

Governor Wolf has the endorsement of nearly every union in the state because the choice is clear: he will fight for good jobs for Pennsylvania's middle class who are struggling to hold on.

For thousands of voters in Pennsylvania like me, it is not the political party that matters. It's a matter of trust. Can you trust the candidate to have your best interests at heart? Can you trust them to fight for your livelihood and your family over corporate special interests? I trust Governor Wolf more than Scott Wagner when it comes to my job, pension, healthcare, roads and bridges, schools and my family's future.

Pennsylvania should not follow in the footsteps of other states like Michigan, Wisconsin and most southern states that have attacked unions and, as a result, have seen their quality of life decline in every imaginable way including wages, infant mortality rates, schools funding and workplace deaths.

The Janus v. AFSCME decision dealt a major blow to union workers nationwide but working people are already fighting back. Earlier this year, a wave of teachers' strikes in red states proved that working people are unwilling to accept the race to the bottom and are fighting for school funding for students and fair wages and benefits for workers.

Despite attacks from all sides, unions are experiencing a resurgence and are more popular than they have been in decades. Working people from both sides of the aisle recognize that the key to better healthcare, higher wages, and decent housing is directly tied to good union jobs.

We have a chance to re-elect a governor who will make progress for good jobs and fight so that everyone has the right to join a union.

I am voting for Tom Wolf because unions are on the ballot on Nov. 6.

Ken Burk is a janitor in the Mount Pleasant School District in Westmoreland County, and a member of the 32BJ SEIU union.