LAS VEGAS, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Richard Trumka, who takes over as AFL-CIO president next month, says he's ready for the challenges confronting the flagging organized labor movement.
Trumka, the former coal miners' union chief who is now the AFL-CIO's secretary-treasurer, told delegates of the international painters union Monday in Las Vegas he would restore the venerable labor federation to the "agitating, mobilizing, organizing" machine it once was, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
The stage for organized labor's resurgence would be set by reforms of healthcare and labor laws, Trumka said, later telling the Sun in an interview that he is partly responsible for helping to turn back an effort to abandon the so-called public option in healthcare reform legislation.
"I think we helped them do that," Trumka told the newspaper. "It's up to us to help Congress and the president do what's right by working people. Trust me, we intend to help them do what's right."
The Sun said Trumka vowed victories on healthcare and labor law reforms this year, sensing a rare opportunity to reshape labor policy for the first time since the Great Depression, and stepping up his efforts when congressional allies were seen wavering.
