Riley held several positions during his tenure at The Gleaner Company. These included mechanical supervisor (1955), chief production supervisor (1964) and print and plant manager (1972/73). He retired in 1979 before being contracted as production consultant in 1980. His contract ended on January 31, 1987.

Ian Roxburgh, who took over from Riley as print and plant manager, has very fond memories of him and described him as one of the pioneers in the trade union movement in the company.

He was "very affable, easy-going, but firm at the same time," said Roxburgh.

Robert Jackson echoed some of Roxburgh's sentiments. As a supervisor, "he was stern, never compromised when it came on to the quality of the job and he was very knowledgeable in the field of printing".