Luther Peyton “Pate” King Jr., who served the SMART Transportation Division on the local, state and national levels for more than three decades, passed away Friday, March 22, 2024, at age 80.
Brother King joined our union as a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen on Jan. 1, 1968. Just one year later, he became a local officer, being elected as secretary & treasurer of Local 1172 in Mullens, W. Va. He served as a convention delegate from 1975 to 2014 before his retirement on Halloween 2014.
“The passing of Brother King is weighing hard on his former committee GO 680,” wrote General Chairperson David Phillips. “However, as we reflect on his time of 37 years as general chairman and 50-year railroad career, we celebrate his contributions.”
Brother King was signatory to two crew-consist agreements in 1984 and 1991, served twice as a representative on the union’s national railroad negotiating team and countless on-property memorandum agreements.
And while his negotiating skills were highly regarded, even those paled to his incomparable ability to argue before a Public Law Board.
“He was so good that an engineer who was charged with a stop-signal violation and was a member of another organization said if Pate would represent him, he would change his membership to the UTU — now SMART-TD,” Phillips said. “Brother King took the NEW member’s claim to a PLB and won the case with back pay and the member remained a SMART-TD member for the rest of his career.”
Phillips and retired former Vice President Doyle Turner both were present when Brother King unleashed his uncanny ability to make an argument from his memory the likes they had never seen.
“At Pate’s last PLB, we witnessed him go paperless and win what seemed unwinnable cases,” Phillips said. “In fact, in one case on a rebuttal after the carrier’s argument, Brother King said there was one word to sum up the carrier’s argument — ‘bulls—.’ “
Phillips said he and Turner then watched King give a 10-minute rebuttal without notes or even a pen and paper that eventually prevailed with the arbitrator returning the employee back to work.
Officers contemporary to Brother King described him as an exemplary credit to the union.
“A real warrior has found rest,” retired former UTU President Mike Futhey said.
“His knowledge and understanding of union matters and dealing with carrier were unmatched,” said former Vice President Delbert Strunk, who served with Brother King for 30 years as a union officer.
“He might have been small in frame, but was a giant among men,” said retired Vice President Troy Johnson. “Everyone respected him, especially me.”
GC Phillips said that Brother Pate King’s legacy of service to the members will endure in his general committee.
“To Brother King’s wife and family, our prayers and thoughts are with you, and we are so sorry for your loss,” GC Phillips wrote. “Remember that the impact of Pate will for generations be felt for rail labor of which Pate dedicated his life to as we all well know.”
A service is scheduled April 16 at The First Presbyterian Church of Mullens, 1024 Howard Ave. Visitation is scheduled from 1-2 p.m. with services following. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hospice of Southern West Virginia, P.O. Box 1472, Beckley, WV 25802-1472 or to The First Presbyterian Church of Mullens.
“I would encourage that ALL SMART-TD officers and members to make every effort to attend Brother King’s memorial service,” Phillips said. “A strong showing will show the family of Brother King our appreciation of having an officer and member the caliber of Brother King.”
Phillips expressed his appreciation to Local 1172’s Mark Workman for his outreach to the family in this time of loss.
The SMART Transportation Division expresses its sincere condolences to Brother King’s family and friends. His contributions to the union will not be forgotten.