International President Byron A. Boyd, Jr., (right) congratulates Ray Cunningham on his appointment as the union's human rights coordinator.

Cunningham appointed human rights coordinator
CLEVELAND -- Ray Cunningham, Jr., has been named by International President Byron A. Boyd, Jr., to serve as UTU's human rights coordinator, a position created to educate and promote awareness of the advantages brought by diversity.

"The transportation industry continues to benefit from the increasing involvement of both sexes and all races," Boyd pointed out. "As we enter this new century and new millennium, it is time that we take steps to proactively deal with the related issues and capitalize on the strengths and resources that our organization's diversity makes available to us."

Cunningham, an Amtrak conductor and local chairperson of Local 1933, Washington, D.C., believes diversity represents a resource the UTU can't afford to ignore.

"On Amtrak, it's mandatory to receive diversity training," said Cunningham, "and more and more companies are recognizing the opportunities to either prosper or fail that are related to how they deal with the diversity of their workforce."

Cunningham brings 33 years of rail experience to the position, including the insights gained from 23 years spent in local union positions.

"When we see smoke, we're not going to wait for a fire to break out," he said. "We want to put out the sparks, and educate as we do it."

Cunningham pointed out that his position is more like a part-time job, and that he'll continue to work with Local 1933. "But if there's trouble somewhere, and President Boyd wants me to find its source and fix it, that's where I'll go."

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