EMILYs List Statement on the Passing of Richard Trumka

For Immediate Release

August 5, 2021

EMILY's List Statement on the Passing of Richard Trumka

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, EMILY's List Executive Director Emily Cain released the following statement:

“We are saddened to hear of the tragic loss of Richard Trumka, a lifelong fighter for working people. As president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka made sure the needs of unions and workers were always in the forefront. He was a forceful advocate for economic justice and the leader of a powerful movement that has helped elect countless officials who share his desire to help all of us reach the American Dream. We remain grateful for his work and his legacy.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 158 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.