The legacy of Richard Trumka

"There is nothing stronger than the American labor movement. United, we cannot and we will not be turned aside. We'll work for it, sisters and brothers. We'll stand for it. Together. Each of us. To bring out the best in America. To bring out the best in ourselves, and each other."

– Richard Trumka (July 24, 1949 – August 5, 2021)

EPI mourns the loss of Richard Trumka, who passed away last week at the age of 72. Mr. Trumka was a champion for workers’ rights and a passionate leader of the labor movement. In addition to serving as President of the AFL-CIO, Mr. Trumka was the Chair of EPI’s board of directors since 2012. Under Mr. Trumka’s leadership, EPI and the AFL-CIO have shared an unwavering commitment to advancing workers’ rights and strengthening unions.

Mr. Trumka envisioned an economy of shared prosperity for all working families, and EPI vows to keep his legacy alive by continuing to fight in solidarity with U.S. workers. Our work continues until his dream is realized.

Rich Trumka: ‘The single best agent for change is the PRO Act’
For Mr. Trumka, the “next frontier” for U.S. workers was the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Passing the PRO Act would restore workers’ ability to organize with their co-workers and would allow them to negotiate for better pay, benefits, and fairness on the job. Passing the PRO Act would also promote greater racial economic justice because unions and collective bargaining help shrink the Black–white wage gap. Read the blog post

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Richard Trumka was a champion for workers’ rights

What we’re talking about

The challenges America’s unions face
Heidi Shierholz told ABC News that “the reason we’ve seen such a big decline in unionization, despite workers’ interest in being unionized, has everything to do with increased employer aggressiveness against unions.” Watch the segment | Read EPI report on unionization

CEO pay has skyrocketed 1,322% since 1978
CEO pay soared nearly 19% in 2020, while corporations laid off millions of workers during the pandemic. The average CEO is paid 351 times as much as the typical worker. Read the report

Race, gender, and pay equity
Black Women’s Equal Pay Day focuses on the discrepancy between the pay of Black women and white men, but Black women also experience a significant pay gap relative to white women. EPI’s Valerie Wilson talked with TIME about the historical and present challenges facing Black women in the labor market. Read the article | Read Wilson’s blog post

July jobs report shows an economy on track to recover faster than the Great Recession recovery
With 943,000 jobs added to the labor market in July, “the U.S. labor market is solidly on track,” said EPI senior economist Elise Gould. But, she noted, “the fingerprints of historical and current discrimination” remain. “White unemployment now is far below Black unemployment pre-pandemic.” Read more

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What we’re reading and listening to

These 115 Workers Helped Keep New York Alive in Its Darkest Months
A haircut, breakfast on the go, a yoga class: You can pretty much get one anytime—if not anywhere—in New York. If the city doesn’t sleep, it’s because hundreds of thousands of service workers who cater to any conceivable need don’t either. They feed and comfort, entertain and inspire. Read the article

Why are states banning critical race theory?
Fox News has mentioned “critical race theory” 1,300 times in less than four months. Why? Because critical race theory (CRT) has become a new boogie man for people unwilling to acknowledge our country’s racist history and how it impacts the present. Read the article

Why Noncompetes Have Some Yoga Instructors Off Balance
You wouldn’t think of yoga instructors as being scared or stressed out on the job, but some are—because of something called a “noncompete.” Listen to the segment

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Richard Trumka: “The single best agent for change is the PRO Act.”

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