Topic: Richard Trumka

Richard Louis Trumka (born July 24, 1949) is an organized labor leader in the United States. He was elected President of the AFL-CIO on September 16, 2009, at the labor federation's convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, from 1995 to 2009, and prior to that was President of the United Mine Workers from 1982 to December 22, 1995.

Trumka, born in Nemacolin, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh, is an Italian American, third-generation Polish American, Roman Catholic, coal miner son of Frank Richard and Eola Elizabeth (Bertugli) Trumka. He went to work in the mines in 1968. He received a bachelor of science degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1971 and a law degree from Villanova University in 1974. He married Barbara Vidovich in 1982. They have one son.

From 1974 to 1979, Trumka was a staff attorney with the United Mine Workers at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was elected to the board of directors of UMWA District 4 in 1981 and became President of the United Mine Workers in 1982.