Richard Trumka, head of AFL-CIO and influential labor leader, dies at age 72

Washington — Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO labor union and a powerful force in Democratic politics, died unexpectedly Thursday at the age of 72.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Trumka's death in an emotional speech on the Senate floor, saying the country has "just lost a giant." "The working people of America have lost a fierce warrior at a time when we needed him most," the Democratic leader said. "He had in his veins, in every atom of his body, the heart, the thoughts, the needs of the working people of America."