AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Dies At Age 72

The Washington Post reports:

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, one of the country’s most powerful labor leaders and an influential voice in many Washington debates, has died at 72, according to a source at the union federation.

Trumka, a third-generation coal miner who rose to power through the United Mine Workers, had become one of the most powerful labor leaders in the country and a key ally of Democrats in Washington.

As labor issues took center stage in the Biden White House, Trumka had been in the limelight of late, making waves recently when he expressed support for vaccine requirements for workers.

Read the full article.

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, has died of a massive heart attack. Just yesterday, he appeared via video to send solidarity to the striking UMWA miners of Alabama. Trumka got his start in the UMWA before ascending to leadership of the nation’s largest labor federation https://t.co/khI9hf1wGx

— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) August 5, 2021

Some tragic breaking news to report, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka has died unexepectedly https://t.co/UUs1gVr1Oz

— Sam Stein (@samstein) August 5, 2021