The United Transportation Union (UTU) was a broad-based, transportation labor

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...

that represented about 70,000 active and retired

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

mass transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typica ...

, and

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...

workers in the United States. The UTU was headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. On August 11, 2014, it merged with the

Sheet Metal Workers' International Association The Sheet Metal Workers' International Association was a trade union of skilled metal workers who perform architectural sheet metal work, fabricate and install heating and air conditioning work, shipbuilding, appliance construction, heater and bo ...

(SMWIA) to form the

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART) is a North American labor union headquartered in Washington, D. C., was chartered by the AFL–CIO in 2013. The product of a merger between the Sheet Met ...

, known by the acronym SMART.

Membership

The UTU was the largest railroad operating union in North America, with more than 500 locals. The UTU represented employees on every Class I railroad in the United States, as well as employees on many American regional and shortline railroads. It also represented bus and mass transit employees on approximately 45 bus and transit systems and had grown to include airline pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers and other airport personnel. The UTU was very interested in the airline sector and hoped to expand its representation with pilots and flight attendants. The UTU believed it is a viable alternative to other aviation labor unions because the UTU operated under the belief that it has been proficient in interpreting and enforcing provisions of the Railroad Labor Act (RLA), under which airlines also operate. Membership was drawn primarily from the operating crafts in the railroad industry and includes conductors, brakemen, switchmen, ground service personnel, locomotive engineers, hostlers and workers in associated crafts. More than 1,800 railroad yardmasters also are represented by the UTU. The UTU's 8,000 bus and transit members include drivers, mechanics and employees in related occupations.

History

In 1968 exploratory talks among the four brotherhoods’ interested in forming one transportation union proved fruitful and plans were formulated for merging of the four operation unions into a single organization to represent all four operating crafts. The four unions were the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, 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 ...

, 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 The Switchmen's Union of North America (SUNA) was a labor union formed in October 1894 that represented the track switch operators and people who coupled railway cars in railway yards in the United States and Canada. It became part of the United T ...

. The first three of these were considered fraternal orders, as well as labor unions.Schmidt, Alvin J. ''Fraternal Organizations'' Westport, CT; Greenwood Press pp.345-6 In August 1968, the union presidents announced that after nine months of planning, a tentative agreement had been reached on all phases of unity. It was further announced that the name of the new organization would be the United Transportation Union and the target date for establishing the UTU was January 1, 1969. In Chicago on December 10, 1968, the tabulation of the voting revealed an overwhelming desire by the members of the four crafts to merge into a single union, and the United Transportation Union came into existence on January 1, 1969. The new union had 230,000 members. The first president was

Charles Luna Charles Luna (1906 – 1 October 1992) was president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT) from 1963 until 1969. He became the first president of the United Transportation Union, when that organization was formed by merging the BRT and thre ...

, formerly president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. By 1978 the Union had 240,000 members in 1,000 branches.Schmidt p.246 In 1970, the

International Association of Railway Employees The International Association of Railway Employees (IARE) was a union for black railroad workers formed in 1934 at a time when the major railroad brotherhoods restricted membership to whites. Members included conductors, trainmen, engineers, shop ...

joined the UTU. 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, Florida.

Al Chesser AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

, National Legislative Director of the UTU, was elected to succeed Luna, who was retiring. In 1985, the

Railroad Yardmasters of America The Railroad Yardmasters of America (RYA) was a union that represented yardmasters in the United States from 1912 until its merger with the United Transportation Union in 1985 which later became the SMART Union in 2014. Foundation The Railroad ...

joined.

Scholarship program

The Union began a scholarship program in 1973 for qualified children and grandchildren of its members. Fifty scholarships amounting to $50,000 were awarded each year.

Presidents

:1969:

:1971: Al Chesser :1979: Fred Hardin :1991: G. Thomas DuBose :1995: Charlie Little :2001: Byron Boyd :2004: Paul Thompson :2008: Mike Futhey :2015: Joseph Sellers, Jr.

References

Sources * * *

External links