On the Passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

Washington, DC—Following is a statement from Rebecca Dixon, executive director of the National Employment Law Project:

“The National Employment Law Project mourns the passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Our hearts and condolences are with his family, friends, colleagues, and the larger labor movement, including the 12.5 million members of the AFL-CIO—our siblings in the fight for economic justice.

“NELP and the AFL-CIO share a long history of fighting for workers’ rights together. We’ve been shoulder to shoulder with the AFL-CIO to raise federal and state minimum wages, to fight for the integrity of the unemployment insurance program, to restore overtime protections to millions of workers, and most importantly, to ensure that every worker who wants to join a union and collectively bargain with their employer can do so.

“There was no more steadfast force in the fight against the calculated attacks on workers and their right to join unions than President Trumka. His life’s work is best embodied in the PRO Act, a bold piece of legislation that would dramatically restore and protect workers’ rights to organize and join a union. This bill was developed under President Trumka’s leadership, and there could be no more fitting tribute to his lifelong dedication to workers’ rights than for Congress to pass this bill and President Biden sign it into law.

“President Trumka spent his life fighting to advance the causes of workers’ rights and economic justice. His passion and commitment to the needs of others is an inspiration to all who knew him, and NELP pledges to continue our efforts to ensure economic justice and racial equity for all workers in his honor and out of deep and abiding respect for his memory.”

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