Richard Trumka, president of the powerful AFL-CIO labor organization and a close ally of President Biden, has died, sources said Thursday.
Mr. Trumka, 72, led the labor group’s 12.5 million workers for more than a decade.
The New York Times, citing an AFL-CIO official, reported the cause of death as a heart attack.
Mr. Trumka was with family members celebrating the birthday of his grandson when he died, according to Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association.
Mr. Biden, who apparently learned of the death just before holding an event at the White House, called Mr. Trumka “a close personal friend.” The president looked visibly saddened.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders called Mr. Trumka “one of the nation’s fiercest, most effective advocates for working people ever.”
“From workplace safety to racial justice to retirement security to labor law reform and so much more, Rich has never relented in the struggle to ensure that working people are able to have lives of dignity and security,” he said. “Today, I say a prayer for my friend. Tomorrow, I fight in his memory.”
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said he was “heartbroken” at the news, calling Mr. Trumka “a dear friend.”
“Rich’s story is the American story – he was the son and grandson of Italian and Polish immigrants and began his career mining coal,” Mr. Manchin said. “He dedicated the rest of his career to fighting for America’s working men and women. He was a fierce advocate for working people and a truly decent man.”
A teary-eyed Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York took to the Senate floor Thursday to announce Mr. Trumka‘s death to the chamber.
“The working people of America have lost a fierce warrior at a time when we needed him most,” Mr. Schumer said.
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