Reginald L. Thomas was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Community Development Advisory Council on Jan. 1, 2017. Reginald joined Laborers' International Union of North America Local Union No. 264 in May 1996 as an employee of J. E. Dunn Construction Company. In 1998 he was appointed laborer foreman for J. E. Dunn and supervised crews until he was appointed to the position of secretary/treasurer of construction for General Laborers’ Local Union No. 264 in 1999. He served in this capacity along with the positions of assistant business manager and field representative until February 2010. He was then appointed to his current positions of president and business manager for the local.
Thomas is a native of Kansas City, Mo., and a graduate of the Kansas City School District. He attended Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, Mo., where he pursued a degree in business management. He also attended Prairie View Texas University and Kansas City Business College.
Thomas serves as president of the Western Missouri and Kansas Laborers District Council, secretary on the G.K.C. Laborers Health and Welfare Fund, the Construction Industry Substance Abuse Program (CISAP), and the G.K.C. Laborers Vacation Fund. He also serves as chairman of the G.K.C. Laborers Pension Fund and the G.K.C. Training Fund. He serves on the Executive Board of LIUNA African American Caucus, and is a trustee on the Western Missouri and Kansas Laborers District Council Joint Apprenticeship Program. He serves as secretary/treasurer for the G.K.C. AFL-CIO, an executive board member to the Missouri AFL-CIO, a delegate to the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades council, and is chairman for Working Families Friends, a community/labor assistance program.
Thomas was appointed by Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Sylvester James to serve on the Airport Aviation Board and T.I.F.F. commission. In 2016, Thomas received the Lillian L. McKittrick Labor Advocacy Award in recognition of dedicated unrelenting service to the Labor Movement from the NAACP.