Our Field Representatives
Jack McGough
Chief Field Representative
Jack was hired with the Pennsylvania Railroad as a trainman in 1964. From 1969 to 1973, he was Supervisor of Freight Train Operations. Jack worked as a conductor from 1973 to 1995 with Penn Central and then Conrail. He was elected Vice-Local Chairman of United Transportation Union Local 300 in 1980, and served in that capacity until he was elected Local Chairman in 1988. Jack served as Local Chairman until 2002 and remains active in assisting Local 300 members as well as the members of other railroad locals. Since 1995, he has utilized his vast experience in the railroad industry to help railroad employees in his capacity as a law firm field representative.
Jack may be reached at 215-840-2095.
Ray Cunningham
Field Representative
Ray began his 42-year railroad career after graduating from high school and attending Tyler Community College. He originally hired on with SCL Railroad, which later became CSX Transportation, Inc. Ray transferred to Amtrak Passenger Service in 1986 and served as Local Chairman of UTU Local 1933 for 32 years. He was the UTU Director of Human Rights for 10 years. In capacity, Ray traveled nationwide and mediated Human Rights and Diversity issues in the workplace. During the course of his railroad career, he worked with the Safety Team and also helped organize and implement Operation Red Block. In 2008, Ray received an Administrative Litigation Certification from the California Federal School of Law. Since his retirement from Amtrak, Ray has remained involved with the UTU and the General Committee in addition to helping railroad employees in his capacity as a law firm Field Representative.
Ray may be reached at 804-339-5129.
Dave Brooks
Field Representative
David began his 43-year railroad career as a Brakeman for the Pennsylvania Railroad after graduating from High School. He continued to work freight service with Penn Central and Conrail until he transferred to Amtrak passenger service in 1976. David served as UTU Local Chairman in the Northeast Corridor for 28 years. He was often called to other areas for high profile trials and also served as a UTU representative on the NTSB for major train accidents. David taught at the Texas A&M University fire training center as a guest instructor where he helped author the manual that the university published on Passenger Train Emergency Evacuation. He was a member of the team that designed the new Amtrak high speed Acela cars, using his job experience to facilitate ease of use for trainmen. David worked with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and was an active member of Rail Safety Advisory Committees (RSAC). Those committees developed four sections of the Federal Code of Regulations for railroads: Passenger Train Equipment Standards, Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness, Conductor Certification, and Federal Guidelines for Passenger Hours of Service. He has testified before a Congressional Committee on passenger train safety. Since his retirement from Amtrak, he stays involved with the FRA and UTU International as well as utilizing his vast experience in the railroad industry to help railroad employees in his capacity as a law firm Field Representative.
David may be reached at 301-802-3174.
Fred Cox
Field Representative
Fred hired out as a brakeman in Baltimore, Maryland, on Aug. 6, 1976. He transferred from train service to engine service in March of 1978 and earned promotion to locomotive engineer in January of 1980. From 1993 until retirement, he was an active and involved union leader who held numerous elected offices for the BLET. In 1992, he began serving Division 52 as President, and in 1993, he was elected Local Chairman of Division 52. In 2008, he was elected Alternate Vice General Chairman of the Conrail General Committee of Adjustment (GCA). Following Norfolk Southern and CSX’s split of Conrail, he was elected 2nd Vice General Chairman of the NS Southern Lines Committee in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. Fred was elected 1st Voice General Chairman of the NS Southern Lines Committee in 2019, a position he held until retirement in 2021. As a full-time Union Officer, his duties lay primarily in arbitration. He has written over 700 Public Law Board submissions, and he has personally presented the Organizations position at tribunal more than 300 times. Fred has been married to his wife, Judy, for 32 years. They have three children, Melissa, John and Courtney; and three grandchildren, Samantha, Benjamin and Kenzlie. On top of spending time with family, Fred and Judy love traveling the USA in search of perfect beaches, and they’ve found quite a few! He still enjoys getting in an occasional ride on his old Harley, and he always enjoys a good cigar!
Fred may be reached at 717-578-7262.
Lawrence Edward Kasecamp
Field Representative
Lawrence Edward Kasecamp was born in Frostburg, Maryland on August 24, 1953, the son of John “Sam” Kasecamp and Edna “Pearl” Spiker. Pearl later married John “Hutch” Hutcheson who raised him from the age of five as his own.
Lawrence graduated from Beall High School in 1971 and entered the U.S. Army voluntarily in February 1972. He received basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey and was later trained as a Hawk Missile Crewman at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. In the summer of 1972 he was deployed to Hohenfels, Germany where he served until being honorably discharged in February 1974.
Following his military service, he attended the Grantsville Auto Body Repair School completing the Auto Body Repair course in 1974. He then attended the Allegany County Vocational Technical Institute completing a course in Machine Shop Engineering in 1975.
He began his employment as a machinist at what is now B&T Fabrication in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania in 1976. After a brief period there, he accepted a job as a route salesman for the Canteen Corporation where he became a member of Teamsters Local 453 in Cumberland, Maryland. In early 1977 he accepted employment as a Brakeman with the B&O Railroad where he became a member of Local 600 of the United Transportation Union, which is currently the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Workers Union (SMART). He was promoted to Conductor in 1983 and currently has 44 plus years of service with the B&O Railroad, which after several mergers is now CSX Transportation.
Shortly after being employed with the B&O Railroad, Lawrence became involved in union activities under the guidance and support of his stepfather “Hutch” who worked for the Kelly Springfield Tire Company and was a member of the United Rubber Workers Union, Local 26.
Lawrence was first elected as Secretary of Local 600 in 1979 where he served two terms. He was elected to the position of Local Chairman in 1981 and subsequently re-elected to the position for the next seven terms covering twenty-seven years. He was also elected to the position of Delegate in 1982 and has been continuously re-elected and currently holds that position. In addition, in 1983 he was elected Legislative Representative, in 1988 elected to the position of Secretary of the Maryland State Legislative Board, and in 1992 elevated to the position of Director of the Maryland State Legislative Board, the position he currently holds. He has been re-elected to this position seven times and is currently serving his 26th year as Maryland State Legislative Director of the Transportation Division of SMART.
He also serves as Delegate to the Metropolitan Washington Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, is a member of the Executive Board of the Metropolitan Baltimore Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, is 1st Vice President of the Western Maryland Central Labor Council AFL-CIO and is an area Vice President on the Executive Board of the Maryland State & District of Columbia AFL-CIO.
Lawrence has served on the Air Quality Control Advisory Council, Maryland Climate Change Commission and the Mitigation Work Group of the Maryland Department of the Environment. He is a member of Frostburg United Methodist Church, American Legion, Union Sportsman of America, Maryland Government Relations Association and the National Association of Retired & Veteran Railway Employees.
Lawrence has volunteered his time coaching Pee Wee Little League, Hot Stove Baseball and AYSO Soccer teams in the community. He currently resides in Frostburg with his wife Terri and maintains a very close relationship with their five adult children Amanda, Michael, Brian, Lauren, Ricky and their families; and in addition, their five grandchildren Layla, Oliver, Ella, Brice and Ryhs.