Title
To Honor and Celebrate the Life of Richard Trumka and Extend Sincere Condolences to his Family and Friends on the Occasion of his Passing
Body
WHEREAS, Richard L. Trumka was president of the 12.5-million-member AFL-CIO from 2009 until his death on August 5, 2021. An outspoken advocate for social and economic justice, Trumka was the nation’s clearest voice on the critical need to ensure that all workers have a good job and the power to determine their wages and working conditions. He led the labor movement’s efforts to create an economy based on broadly shared prosperity and held elected officials and employers accountable to working families; and
WHEREAS, In 1982, at age 33, Trumka ran on a reform ticket and was elected the youngest president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). There, in addition to reforming the UMWA’s fractious bureaucracy, he led one of the most successful strikes in recent American history against the Pittston Coal Company, which tried to avoid paying into an industry-wide health and pension fund. Trumka was elected AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer in 1995, and held that post until 2009, when he was elected president; and
WHEREAS, Trumka’s economic advocacy extended from the kitchen table and spanned the globe. He rallied international labor support for workers struggling for justice, and fought to end unfair trade practices and restore U.S. manufacturing strength. As secretary-treasurer, he carved out an innovative leadership role that continues today, working with programs that invest the collectively bargained pension and benefit funds of the labor movement to ensure they serve the long-term interests of workers; and
WHEREAS, Trumka’s commitment to improving life for working people began early. He grew up in the small coal-mining town of Nemacolin, Penn. Nearly all the men in his family, including his father and grandfather, were coal miners. Trumka followed them into the mines, working there as he attended Penn State and Vill...
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