NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
EULOGIES
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN “For Rich, it was al-
ways about doing right by working people
—fighting for and protecting their wages,
their safety, their pensions, and their ability
to build a good, decent, honorable middle-
class life. It was about workers improving
their own lives and building worker power
together. And it was about America itself.
It was about the American worker being
the heart of our economic might and dy-
namism.”
HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI “He fought
with principle and persistence to defend the
dignity of every person—whether speaking
out against apartheid and discrimination
abroad or fighting bigotry and racism here
at home. … Richard Trumka’s life was a
testament to the power of organizing and
mobilizing for progress, and his leadership
leaves a legacy of inspired advocacy for
workers.”
WASHINGTON U.S. SENATOR PATTY MURRAY
“ To say Rich was a champion for workers
is an understatement—he dedicated his life
to fighting to secure and strengthen work-
ers’ rights and root out systemic inequities
and racism, and this country is better be-
cause of it. We must honor Rich’s legacy
and his lifetime work by continuing the
fight for workers, which must start by pass-
ing the PRO Act in his name.”
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT THOMAS DONOHUE “I won’t
get carried away and call us friends. But we
were cut from the same cloth—raised by
modest families, patriots to our core, com-
mitted to our Catholic faith, our families and
our members. In a town full of fakes, I ap-
preciated how Rich would say it straight to
your face and expect the same from you.
His words had meaning, all of them. He had
a loyalty to his cause that bordered on zeal,
as did I, as do many, yet it never dissolved
into hatred or contempt for the other side.… tenacious and en-
ergetic, an impassioned activist who could switch from ally to
adversary in a blink, and be totally genuine in both.”
WASHINGTON GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE “He did-
n’t just fight for jobs, but for equality for all
working people regardless of race, gender,
occupation or immigration status. He knew
in his core that without solidarity among the
working class, there is no defense against
the political polarization that continues to
plague the nation.”
AFL-CIO SECRETARY-TREASURER LIZ SHULER The labor movement,
the AFL-CIO and the nation lost a legend
… and I lost a dear friend. Rich Trumka de-
voted his life to working people, from his
early days as president of the UMWA to his
unparalleled leadership as the voice of
America’s labor movement. Rich was a re-
lentless champion of workers’ rights, and
even as we mourn his passing today, we will
stand on his shoulders to continue the fight
for workers, and for the fair and just society
he believed in so passionately. We will honor his legacy with
action.”
August 20, 2021 | PAGE 7
Albert Einstein, Time Magazine’s “Person of the 20th
Century” was a visionary scientist, philosopher, teacher —
and a union member. In fact, he was a founding member of
the Princeton Federation of Teachers Local 552, signing its
charter in 1938.