On August 5, 2021, Richard L. Trumka died of a heart attack. He served three terms as president of the United Mine Workers of America, fourteen years as secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, and nearly twelve years as its president. Shortly after his passing, many, including two US presidents, paid their respects.1 UMWA president Cecil Roberts wrote, “We will miss him terribly, but we know that he has joined Mother Jones, John L. Lewis, William Green, Phil Murray, and all other UMWA leaders who have gone before him.”2 Indeed, Trumka's years in leadership put him in select company in US labor history, but they were decades of decline in union membership and influence. As scholars assess Trumka's contributions and legacy, one challenge will be evaluating his leadership against a backdrop of virulent antiunionism, deindustrialization in the United States, the rise of neoliberalism, and...
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