Charles Luna
1906 - - - - - 1992
President, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
1963 - 1969
President, United Transportation Union
1969 - 1972
Contributing six decades to the Rail Labor Movement, Charles Luna began working as a Yard Switchman in 1928 on the AT&SF Railroad, and within a year was elected Local Chairman. He was elected Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Vice President in 1954, and President of the BRT in 1963, and became President of the newly formed United Transportation Union in 1969. He was a Labor Spokesman respected both by workers and management.
Elected Vice President and member of the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO in 1969, he served on Amtrakk’s Board of Directors under Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush.
As architect of the merger that created the UTU by uniting the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, and Switchmen’s Union of North America, Charles Luna created in modern times an industrial union in the mold of Debs’ ARU.
Marker can be reached from North 8th Street south of Spruce Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
