Charles Luna (1906 – 1 October 1992) was president of the

Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT) was a labor organization for railroad employees founded in 1883. Originally called the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen, its purpose was to negotiate contracts with railroad management and to provide in ...

(BRT) from 1963 until 1969. He became the first president of the

United Transportation Union The United Transportation Union (UTU) was a broad-based, transportation labor union that represented about 70,000 active and retired railroad, bus, mass transit, and airline workers in the United States. The UTU was headquartered in Cleveland, Oh ...

, when that organization was formed by merging the BRT and three other railroad unions in 1969.

Early years

Charles Luna was born in

Celeste, Texas Celeste (''Light Blue'', in Spanish language, Spanish) is a city in Hunt County, Texas, Hunt County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 814 at the 2010 census. History Like many towns in Hunt County, CelesteGulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. From its starting point in Galveston, Texas, the railroad eventually extended northwestwards across the state to Sweetwater and northwards via ...

during four summer vacations. After he completed high school in 1928 he joined this company as a

switchman A switchman (North America) or pointsman (British Isles) is a rail transport worker whose original job was to operate various railway switches or points on a railroad. It also refers to a person who assists in moving cars in a railway yard or ...

in its East Dallas yard. In 1929 he joined Dallas Lodge 671 of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. In 1936 he was elected a member of the Dallas-area grievance committee of the railway company, and from 1940 to 1946 was chairman of the grievance committee. From 1943 to 1946 he was also a deputy president of the national organization. In 1947 he started to work for the Brotherhood full-time as General Chairman of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe. In 1949 and 1953 he sat on the national committee to bargain on all members' wages and working conditions. In 1954 he was made Vice-President responsible for Denver, Colorado, and later for Dallas, Texas. In the 1960 convention he was elected designated successor to president William Parker Kennedy. In 1961 he moved to headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, where he chaired the key committee on wages and conditions.

Union leader

Luna became president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen in 1963. He succeeded W.P. Kennedy, who retired at the end of 1962 at the age of 70. On 1 January 1969 the BRT merged with three other unions to form the

. The others were the

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (B of LF&E) was a North American railroad fraternal benefit society and trade union in the 19th and 20th centuries. The organization began in 1873 as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen (B of ...

, the

Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen The Order of Railway Conductors of America (ORC) was a labor union that represented train conductors in the United States. It has its origins in the Conductors Union founded in 1868. Later it extended membership to brakemen. In 1969 the ORC merg ...

and the Switchmen’s Union of North America. Luna became president of the combined union, with 230,000 members. In 1969 Luna was elected chairman of the Congress of Railway Unions. In 1971 the UTU Insurance Association assumed the insurance and welfare plans of the brotherhoods who had formed the UTU. The UTU held its first national convention in August 1971 in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...

. Al Chesser, National Legislative Director of the UTU, was elected to succeed Luna, who was retiring.

Later years

In 1970 Luna was chosen by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

to help form the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. This set up the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

inter-city passenger service. Luna served as an Amtrak director for twenty years. Charles Luna died of a heart attack on 1 October 1992 at his home in Dallas, Texas. Amtrak’s highest safety honor is the Charles Luna Memorial Safety award, which has been presented annually since 1990.

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luna, Charles 1906 births 1992 deaths Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen people People from Celeste, Texas People from Dallas Trade unionists from Texas