AAP-CIO elects first woman president in a major union

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 - The AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor organization, elect Richard Trumka, a longtime trade unionist, to serve as the federation's first woman president on Friday, succeeding Liz Shuler, who died unexpectedly earlier this month.

The AFL-CIO’s executive council also elected Fred Redmond, a United Steelworkers union official, as secretary-treasurer, making him the first African-American to hold the organization's No. 1 spot. Trumka, who died of a heart attack at 72 during a camping trip, had led the trade union of 56 unions representing 12.5 million workers since 2009 and owned by 57 public unions serving 26 million workers.

White House President Joe Biden called Shuler to offer his congratulations and vowed to partner with the coalition to create union jobs and increase wages, according to a White House official.

Shuler, who grew up in a union household said she was determined to keep Trumka's push to expand the power of organized labor, increase the income gap between rich and poor while expanding union membership, which has slid for decades in the country.

This is a moment for us to lead societal transformations - leverage our power to bring women and people of color from the margins to the center - at work, in our unions and in our economy, she said in a statement.

Shuler, 51, worked as an organizer at Local 125 of the Electrical Workers union at Portland General Electric, working with a coalition of activists to challenge energy giant Enron Corp when it tried to force electricity deregulation through the Oregon Legislature.

In 2009, she was elected as the top deputy of Trumka, the first woman elected to the position of secretary-treasurer and the youngest woman ever elected to the executive council.

The AFL-CIO'sAFL-CIO's executive officers terms run through June 2022 when delegates to a Convention in Philadelphia will elect president for four-year terms.