Introducing Richard Trumka

In 1989 the United Mine Workers and the Pittston Coal Companies faceoff in Southwest Virginia came to a head and the UMWA went out on strike, the union lead by Trumka and the strikers were increasingly becoming more violent. The union, under Trumka, set out to financially cripple Pittston and cause as much damage and havoc as possible. The public campaign from both the union and company was tremendous.

Richard Trumka and the AFL/CIO were masterful at building support within this industry and getting support. Under Trumka’s leadership, 42,000 UMWA miners walked off the job in sympathy for the Pittston miners, their plan was to both hurt the Pittston mine company and bring political pressure on the industry by stopping the production of coal in the United States.

The UMWA and the strikers were convinced that lawbreaking in the form of damaging vehicles with rocks and tire puncturing devices (star nails), blocking roads, threatening and beating up replacement workers and other Pittston employees was not only justified but the only way to win their struggle. The strikers took the work stoppage to the streets and away from the mines. They knew the best way to put a financial strain on the company was to destroy the trucks and the loads after they left the plant. There were reports of rocks “falling down” from overpasses and drivers being pulled out of trucks and assaulted. There was a special price put on getting the security companies surveillance cameras that were used to follow the trucks around that left the plant. Strikers would wait at a stop light in the bushes and throw a brick through the side window and take the night video camera from the injured guard.

I met Richard Trumka for the first time during this strike when I went in as part of a coalition of AFL/CIO affiliates showing support with money and strike muscle. Trumka helped form a group called "Daughters of Mother Jones" in honor of Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, a famous woman in UMWA history. This group was involved in many parts of the strike including informational picket lines to educate the public and Camp Solidarity, which initiated to feed and house those who came in support of the strike.

The union was facing injunctions and millions of dollars in fines because of violating court orders. I remember Trumka shouting, “We will wallpaper the walls with these injunctions… When we win the strike the injunctions will go away!” Sure enough they did

I had another interaction Trumka in 1995 after he was elected Secretary Treasurer. I met with him again in 1996. We were putting together the Organizers Institute in Maryland to rewrite non-healthcare organizing strategies and to develop new tactics for the rapid growth in healthcare.

The understanding was that John Sweeney was only going to fulfill one term as the AFL/CIO President and then Sweeney would turn his position over to Trumka. We knew that John Sweeney was no street fighter and would not have the strength to confront corporate targets head on. The unions wanted someone who could move the masses and shut down whole cities if needed to push the union’s agenda.

Trumka always had an “us against them” philosophy and looks at corporations as the unions enemies. His approach to organizing is “hit them hard and hit them fast”. Richard Trumka’s definition of a corporate campaign is “Swarm the target employer from every angle, great and small, with an eye toward inflicting upon the employer the death of a thousand cuts….”

Trumkas term as AFL/CIO president will prove to be challenging as he tries to re-energize the union movement and grow the rank and file numbers. On October 1st, In Washington D.C., Richard Trumka said his leadership will lead to the passage of new labor laws and that changing organizing trends will define his tenure. We shall see if he succeeds but make no mistake, Richard Trumka is not another John Sweeney. He is much more aggressive than most of the union leaders today and from my personal experience in dealing with him, I feel he is going to attack the unorganized workforce head on. His whole success is based on militancy and the fact that his strategies and tactics have worked for him. Speaking with Trumka across the country on strike lines and in meetings has give me insight into his philosophy on how work with management teams and provide knowledge of his tactics and strategies that companies need to identify.

When I was a union official, acting as the strike coordinator, organizing director, contract negotiator or any other position within the union, the most important thing was to know our opponents. In organizing campaigns, we knew everything about the supervisory team (from the CEO to the frontline supervisor). We knew about the company’s finances, history, past and present issues, EEOC charges, employee background (anything we could use to our advantage in the campaign).

It is important that management teams use the same tactic. Many management teams I speak with have no Idea who their opponents are. They don’t know who are the union leaders, what tactics they use or even what unions are active in their industrial or their region. They are almost always surprised when they get a petition for a representation election. To stay union free management needs to make this philosophy part of their corporate DNA and wake up from their slumber.

Permanent Solutions knows who the “enemy” is. Call us for more information on how we can help you will all of your labor relations concerns.