Arthur H. Riani and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Lodge 66 (Mss. Gr. 229)

Biographical note

Arthur H. Riani began his long railroad career at the age of 17 as a trolley boy for the Rhode Island Company. He later became a railroad brakeman for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1920. Riani joined the Providence Lodge 66 of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen in November of 1921. The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen was founded in New York in 1883 to provide conductors, brakemen, stewards, and other workers of the rails with insurance and protective services. Although defeated in a bid for Vice President, Riani was elected as the State Legislature Representative in 1928. By 1929, Riani assumed the responsibility as Lodge Secretary. He began representing the Providence Lodge 66 as a delegate to the National Convention of the Brotherhood in 1935, and would continue to represent Lodge 66 in 1939, 1946, 1954, 1960, 1964, and 1968. Riani attended the 1950 convention as a member of the Executive Board of the Grand Lodge. He was elected Treasurer of Lodge 66 in 1936 after an audit revealed that the former Treasurer illegally appropriated funds. Upon successfully stabilizing Lodge 66’s funds, Riani was promoted to the Grand Lodge as Traveling Auditor. Riani also represented Rhode Island rail workers on the Executive Board of the AFL-CIO. Arthur Riani worked in the National Legislative Office for the Brotherhood in Cleveland, Ohio for thirteen years before returning to Rhode Island to help create and pass railroad legislation. He retired on December 30, 1968 after serving the railroad for 49 years. Even after his retirement, Riani remained active in the Brotherhood which would later become a part of the United Transportation Union.