Tom Payne oral history interview, December 12, 2012

Interviewed by Phil LaPorte: Tom Payne discusses his childhood in Cave Spring, GA, where he was born in 1937. His parents were farmers. After graduating from high school in 1956, he recalls how he took a series of jobs, including with Coca-Cola in Rome GA, the State Highway Department, Lockheed Aircraft in Marietta, GA, and with his brother on a plumbing job in Summerville, GA. Finally, Payne got into the apprenticeship program in the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 72 in Atlanta. He reflects on his strong family ties in the labor movement. He had five brothers in the Plumbers union and a sixth in the United Auto Workers union. He recalls how four of his brothers-in-law were also involved with unions, including the Carpenters Union and the IBEW. Payne credits his oldest brother with leading the rest of the family into union membership. He then gives details on the apprenticeship program, what one needs in order to do well on the test for apprenticeship, and how opportunities opened up for an individual who went through the program and was initiated into a local lodge. Payne explains that the number of accepted apprentices correlates to the realities of the job market. He recalls the jobs he had during and after his apprenticeship training period, which were both commercial and residential, and what he learned and how the testing was overseen by municipal bodies. Payne remembers the jobs he took on receiving his certification, which put him in a supervisory position. The first was at the Holy Family Hospital and the next was at the Westminster School. Payne connects the work he did on those jobs to his next job, helping to build Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. The building of the stadium was meant to entice the Milwaukee Braves to move to Atlanta, he explains. Payne recalls his next job working on the building of Cobb General Hospital, which had a fair amount of specialty equipment that needed to be installed. Payne describes how the different unions work together on a big project like a hospital and how they work through serious tensions on joint jobs. He then discusses his involvement in the union itself, including running for and winning a seat on the Plumbing Examining Board. His next jobs included a small project at the Ford Plant in Doraville and an expansion to Northside High School. In 1969, Payne ran for the Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Local 72, which he lost by 40 votes. However, he says that the loss motivated him to run again. Payne successfully ran for the vice presidency of local 72 in 1970 and then for the business agent position in 1972, which was his first full time position. In his new role as business agent for the union, according to Payne, he received no formal training. As the business agent, Payne also served as a trustee for the Pension Board. In 1974, he was nominated to and won the election for the position of business manager of Local 72, a position that he held until 1991. In 1976, Payne successfully negotiated a supplemental pension and health plan funded by contractors who employed union members. He describes the relationship between the union and the Industrial Relations Council, an organization made up of both labor and management. The Plumbers and Pipefitters had a no-strike clause in their contracts, so any unresolved disputes had to go through the IRC. Payne reflects on the role of the business manager and talks about some of the contractors that he negotiated in that position. He describes the type of work that his members were hired for, including commercial projects like hotels, shopping malls, and sports arenas as the city expanded. Such projects came to dominate the market for plumbing work. Payne also spearheaded a number of public service programs, which he felt benefited the public and contractors, as well as the union, in part because it gave them better footing for negotiations. Payne then discusses how the Plumbers union worked within the Georgia Building Trades Council and the Georgia State AFL-CIO. Then Payne talks about the role the Building Trades Council played in electing Sam Nunn to the Senate. Moving back to more labor centered issues, he recounts the struggle to have MARTA built by unionized labor and how the Davis-Bacon Act shaped that dispute with the city of Atlanta. The unions led a protest to city hall of over 10,000 people to ensure their interests would be represented on this project. Payne reflects the increasing use of nonunion labor in various building projects in Georgia during this period. He discusses the public debate over Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro Georgia, which the union wanted to keep open. Payne remembers the role unions played in various political campaigns. He talks about his time as vice president of the international in 1981, a position he held for five years. Payne talks about the work he did when he was appointed to the positon of International representative and how he serviced his district. Payne reflects on the changing nature of labor in the state of Georgia and what the labor movement should be doing in order to further its collective goals—including actively pushing for greater diversity in the movement. To that end, he remembers the first African American member of the Local 72. He discusses family again, especially his wife and then he talks about the awards he has won over the years. Payne also talks about his faith and his work in Paulding County for drug addicts, as his son died of an overdose. Associated Unions: UA - Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Local 72; Georgia Building Trades Council; AFL-CIO