Alfred Harold Chesser (February 26, 1914 – September 25, 2016) was an American labor union leader.

Born on a farm near Sedalia, Missouri, Chesser grew up in Hughesville, Missouri, then back in Sedalia. He became a traveling salesman for American Disinfecting, and after a year as a clerk, moved to Wichita, Kansas to become a grocery store manager. In 1941, he became a brakeman on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and he soon moved to Amarillo, Texas.[1][2]

Chesser joined the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and in 1945 was elected as secretary-treasurer of his local. In 1952, he was elected as secretary of the union's Texas legislative board, and then in 1956 as the board's full-time chair. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1962 when he became the union's national legislative director. The union merged into the new United Transportation Union (UTU) in 1968, with Chesser retaining his role. He was elected as president of the union in 1972, also become a vice-president of the AFL-CIO, and chair of the Congress of Railway Unions.[1][2]

As leader of the UTU, Chesser championed safety legislation, and the formation of Conrail. He retired in 1979, becoming president emeritus of the union, and advising on workplace safety and legislative representation.[1][3][4] In 2001, he received the Eugene V. Debs Award.[3]

Chesser died in 2016, at the age of 102.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fink, Gary (1984). Biographical Dictionary of American Labor. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313228655.
  2. 1 2 "Al H. Chesser". New York Times. July 21, 1972.
  3. 1 2 "Chesser to receive 2001 Debs Award" (PDF). The Debs Foundation Newsletter. Fall 2001. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Labor says goodbye to UTU founding father, Al Chesser". SMART. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
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