James T. Luken (December 31, 1921 – July 12, 1979) was an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader of the Democratic party, who served as mayor of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, in the 1970s.

Career

After graduating from Norwood High School, Luken started a milk delivery route in 1941. At age 26, he was elected president of the Milk and Ice Cream Drivers and Dairy Workers Local 98 and would continue to serve in that role for the rest of his life. The Milk Driver's Union was a subsidiary of the

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a trade union, labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a di ...

. Luken was one of the few Teamsters who stood up to the corrupt leadership of Teamsters President

Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (; born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975, declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 to 1971. He i ...

. Luken withdrew the dairy workers from the Teamsters Union and testified against Hoffa before the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Luken served in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

from January 1, 1973 until December 1, 1975, when he resigned after being elected to

Cincinnati City Council The Cincinnati City Council is the lawmaking body of Cincinnati, Ohio. The nine-member city council is elected at-large in a single election in which each voter chooses nine candidates from the field. The nine top vote-getters win seats on the co ...

. The following year he became

Mayor of Cincinnati The mayor of Cincinnati is recognized as the official head and representative of the city for all purposes. There have been seventy-six mayors of Cincinnati. The first mayor was David Ziegler, who took office in 1802. The current mayor is Aftab ...

Personal life

Luken was one of eight children in his family. His brother

Tom Luken Thomas Andrew Luken (July 9, 1925 – January 10, 2018) was an American politician of the Democratic Party from Ohio, serving in the United States House of Representatives during the 1970s and 1980s. Early life and education Luken received h ...

and his nephew

Charlie Luken Charles John Luken (born July 18, 1951) is an American politician of the Democratic party who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, and served in the Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Luken, who is divorced ...

, both served as U.S. representatives and mayors of Cincinnati. Headstone for Jim Luken

Luken died in 1979 and is interred at New St. Joseph Cemetery.

References

External links

Luken, James T.
at politicalgraveyard.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Luken, Jim 1921 births 1979 deaths Mayors of Cincinnati Cincinnati City Council members Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly