Biden honors 'close friend' Richard Trumka after hearing of his passing
NBC News
August 5, 2021
President Biden began remarks by remembering his close friend AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, dies at 72
The Washington Post
By Eli Rosenberg
August 5, 2021
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, one of the country’s most powerful labor leaders and an influential voice in many Washington debates, died unexpectedly at 72, according to the federation. Trumka died on a camping trip with his family after suffering a heart attack, President Biden told reporters, saying Trumka was a close friend of his. A third-generation coal miner who rose to power through the United Mine Workers, Trumka had become one of the most powerful labor leaders in the country and a key ally of Democrats in Washington, having worked in some capacity with every Democratic White House the last 30 years.
The Nation
By John Nichols
August 5, 2021
In one of his early moves as the new president of the United Mine Workers of America, Richard Trumka established a solidarity program with Black mine workers in South Africa. It was the mid-1980s. The apartheid regime was tightening its brutal grip on South Africa, and then-President Ronald Reagan was refusing to align the United States with the global movement to put economic pressure on the racist regime. As the thirtysomething leader of a union that was fighting plenty of its own battles at home, Trumka responded to the call from the National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa for a boycott of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil conglomerate that had invested heavily in mining and other South African industries.
‘Relentless champion of workers’: Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO chief and Pittsburgh-area native, dies
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Daniel Moore
August 5, 2021
Richard Trumka, the gruff union leader who rose from a Greene County coal patch to the highest echelon of the U.S. labor movement, died suddenly Thursday after a heart attack at age 72. Mr. Trumka was born in Nemacolin, Pa., led the United Mine Workers of America and spent the last nearly 12 years as president of the AFL-CIO, an organization composed of 56 unions representing more than 12 million workers across the country. “The labor movement, the AFL-CIO and the nation lost a legend today,” Tim Schlittner, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO, said in a statement confirming Mr. Trumka’s death.
Longtime AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka dies: ‘He’s always stood up for labor’
Los Angeles Times
By Brian Slodysko
August 5, 2021
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, a deeply influential voice in Washington who rose from the coal mines of Pennsylvania to preside over one of the largest labor organizations in the world, died Thursday. He was 72. News of his death was announced by President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and confirmed by the labor group. Trumka had been AFL-CIO president since 2009 after serving as the organization’s secretary-treasurer for 14 years.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has died at 72 (Video)
MSNBC
By Andrea Mitchell
August 5, 2021
Longtime AFL-CIO Union President Richard Trumka has died at the age of 72. He was a close friend of President Biden and advocate for the labor movement in politics.
"We will not accept crumbs": a last conversation with Richard Trumka
The Ink
By Anand Giridharadas
August 5, 2021
It took the wind out of me when I heard that Richard Trumka, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. federation of unions, had passed away. Just a few months ago, we had two different conversations — one an interview by me of him, the other a public conversation. He was sprightly and curious and full of the passion that has fueled him through decades of a bruising fight for working people. I know many of you join me in sending love and condolences not only to his family and friends, but to so many of the people around the world who called him their champion. In remembering him, I thought I’d share an excerpt of an unpublished transcript of that interview we did earlier this year, capturing his reflections on the new administration and the new political moment we found ourselves in.
Longtime AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Dies at 72
Bloomberg
By Mark Niquette and Josh Eidelson
August 5, 2021
Richard Trumka, the longtime president of the AFL-CIO and Democratic ally, died unexpectedly on Thursday, according to a union spokesperson. Trumka, 72, died while celebrating his grandson’s birthday, according to an email sent by his staff to labor unions. “He was more than the head of the AFL-CIO, he was a good close personal friend,” President Joe Biden said Thursday at the White House before a meeting with Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups. “At least he was with people who adored him.” Trumka was elected AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer in 1995 and held that post until 2009, when he was elected president, according to the 12.5 million member labor union federation. He was elected the youngest president of the United Mine Workers of America at age 33 in 1982. “The labor movement, the AFL-CIO and the nation lost a legend today,” AFL-CIO communications director Tim Schlittner said in a statement. “Rich Trumka devoted his life to working people, from his early days as president of the United Mine Workers of America to his unparalleled leadership as the voice of America’s labor movement.”
Longtime AFL-CIO labor union president president Richard Trumka dies at 72
Detroit Free Press
By Brian Slodysko
August 5, 2021
Richard Trumka, the powerful president of the AFL-CIO labor union, has died at age 72, Democratic leaders said Thursday. News of his death was announced by President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Trumka had been AFL-CIO president since 2009, after serving as the organization’s secretary-treasurer for 14 years. “The working people of America have lost a fierce warrior at a time when we needed him most,” Schumer said from the Senate floor.
Richard Trumka, president of AFL-CIO, dies at 72
Fox 5
By Jordan Smith
August 5, 2021
Richard Trumka, the longtime president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), has passed away at the age of 72.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka passes away at 72
KBRZ News
By Associated Press
August 5, 2021
Richard Trumka, the powerful president of the AFL-CIO labor union, has died, Democratic leaders said Thursday. News of his death was announced by President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Trumka had been AFL-CIO president since 2009, after serving as the organization’s secretary-treasurer for 14 years. “The working people of America have lost a fierce warrior at a time when we needed him most,” Schumer said from the Senate floor. Biden called Trumka “a close friend” who was “more than the head of AFL-CIO.” He apologized for showing up late to a meeting with Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander civil rights leaders, saying he had just learned Trumka had died. Further details of Trumka’s death were not immediately available. The AFL-CIO did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Trumka oversaw a union with more than 12.5 million members, according to the AFL-CIO’s website.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Dies At 72
NPR
By Andrea Hsu
August 6, 2021
Labor leader Richard Trumka died suddenly on Thursday. He's remembered by colleagues and friends as a tireless champion of workers' rights. President Biden called Trumka a very close friend.