Union President Defends Obama Against Racism (VIDEO)

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka offers this moving defense of Obama against racial attacks. (h/t Sullivan)Richard Trumka serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, , he was elected in 1995. He previously was president of the United Mine Workers from 1982 to December 22, 1995. Trumka was born in Nemacolin, PA, a third-generation coal miner who went to work in the mines at age 19. He attended Penn State U and his law degree from Villanova. While president of the UMWA, Mr. Trumka led the successful nine-month strike against the Pittston Coal Company. It became a rallying symbol for the entire labor movement. A major issue in the dispute was Pittston's refusal to pay into the industry wide health and retirement fund created in 1950. Trumka encouraged non-violent civil disobedience to confront the company in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and relied on a sophisticated corporate campaign involving Wall Street investors. Besides his fighting aggressively against employers on behalf of his members, then-President Trumka established an office that raised U.S. mine worker solidarity with the mineworkers of South Africa while they were fighting racial apartheid.] He further served as the U.S. Shell boycott chairman, which challenged the multinational Royal Dutch/Shell Group for its continued business dealings in South Africa. Upon being elevated to the AFL-CIO, Secretary-Treasurer Trumka has focused on creating investment programs for the pension and benefits funds of the labor movement, fighting Wall Street greed, and challenging politicians to create an equitable economy for working people.

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