2021-08-06 12:16:00

Richard Trumka: Union Leaders Reflect on Death of AFL-CIO Head & Labor Movement Challenges Ahead

Richard Trumka, the longtime president of the AFL-CIO and one of the most powerful labor leaders in the United States, has died of a heart attack at the age of 72. Trumka’s death has prompted an outpouring of tributes from fellow labor figures, activists and lawmakers, including President Joe Biden.

Trumka was a third-generation coal miner from Pennsylvania who, at the age of 33, became the youngest president of the United Mine Workers of America. He continued climbing through the ranks of organized labor for the rest of his life, fighting campaigns against apartheid in South Africa, racism within the labor movement and anti-union rules across the United States.

He was elected president of the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest labor federation, in 2009. “We were broken by the news,” says Arlene Holt Baker, former executive vice president for the AFL-CIO and friend of Trumka’s. “He’s the brother in our movement who fought in so many ways for what was right.” We also speak with veteran labor organizer José La Luz, who says Trumka’s main challenge was fighting the erosion of worker power. “What we have witnessed in the past few decades is a massive distribution of wealth from the bottom to the top,” says La Luz. “This remains a fundamental challenge for whoever is going to take up the mantle.”

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. lOur reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. 

On DN!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.

Missed an episode?  Check out DN on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change. 

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling, and online at freespeech.org.

AFL-CIO Amy Goodman Arlene Holt Baker Democracy Now! Free Speech TV Joe Biden Pennsylvania Richard Trumka United Mine Workers of America United States

Economy

The Randi Rhodes' Show

Bidens Economic Victory Lap

Bidens Economic Victory Lap

The Randi Rhodes' Show

An Answer to the Missing Titan Sub

An Answer to the Missing Titan Sub

Democracy Now!

Debt Ceiling: Economist James K. Galbraith Warns GOP Proposal Would Gut Social Safety Net

Debt Ceiling: Economist James K. Galbraith Warns GOP Proposal Would Gut Social Safety Net

Rising Up With Sonali

How to Combat Morality Police Globally

How to Combat Morality Police Globally

The Thom Hartmann Program

The Thom Hartmann Program | Will There Be A Government Shutdown?

The Thom Hartmann Program | Will There Be A Government Shutdown?

The David Pakman Show

The David Pakman Show | Lauren Boebert May Have Cost Republicans Control of House

The David Pakman Show | Lauren Boebert May Have Cost Republicans Control of House

Indian Country Today

ICT | Komi Memem River Gains Personhood, Canada Wildfires, and More!

ICT | Komi Memem River Gains Personhood, Canada Wildfires, and More!

The Randi Rhodes' Show

The Randi Rhodes Show | Lauren Boeberts Inappropriate Behavior

The Randi Rhodes Show | Lauren Boeberts Inappropriate Behavior

Related

The David Pakman Show

David Pakman Show | Republicans Push for Biden Impeachment Inquiry

David Pakman Show | Republicans Push for Biden Impeachment Inquiry

Democracy Now!

Inmate P01135809: Trump Surrenders to Jail in Georgia, Booked on 13 Felony Counts

Inmate P01135809: Trump Surrenders to Jail in Georgia, Booked on 13 Felony Counts

Democracy Now!

Why No Insurrection Charge? Ralph Nader on How Trump Could Still Be Reelected Unless DOJ Acts

Why No Insurrection Charge? Ralph Nader on How Trump Could Still Be Reelected Unless DOJ Acts

Democracy Now!

100 Years of Statelessness: Kurdish activist walks 300 miles from D.C. to U.N. to demand Kurdish rights

100 Years of Statelessness: Kurdish activist walks 300 miles from D.C. to U.N. to demand Kurdish rights

Proud Partners