LaPorte, Philip A.United States, Alabama, 32.75041, -86.75026United States, Georgia, Chatham County, Savannah, 32.08354, -81.09983United States, Georgia, Dougherty County, Albany, 31.57851, -84.15574United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798United States, Georgia, Fulton County, College Park, 33.65344, -84.44937United States, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, 44.97997, -93.26384United States, New York, Fulton County, Johnstown, 43.00674, -74.36764United States, New York, Herkimer County, IllionFlemming, Charlie2022-12-07Referenced by: https://archivesspace.library.gsu.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/321901 In this interview, Charlie Flemming recounts his youth playing sports and being raised by union-member parents. He discusses his early career in aviation, beginning in the storage department and progressing to a metal-finishing mechanic through a workplace training program. He recounts joining the IAM in 1979 and the effects of deregulation and mergers on the aviation industry. He tells LaPorte about his involvement in the union at the local level, including running for office and representing the union during contract negotiations. He recalls his time as president of both the Atlanta Labor Council and the Georgia State AFL-CIO as being heavily politically involved. Flemming explains that much of his career involved protests, strikes, lobbying, and endorsement of political candidates. Flemming discusses the changes to the labor movement brought on by larger, international corporations and the rise of a new generation, which were further dramatized by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the interview comes to a close, he shares with LaPorte what he feels his biggest accomplishments were and who he feels were his biggest influences during his time as a labor leader, before reflecting on his decision to retire during the upcoming new year. Charlie Flemming was born in Illion New York in 1952. He moved to the Atlanta area at the age of eleven with his mother, father, and five brothers. His father was a member of UAW Local 882 until he died of lung cancer during Flemming's junior year of college. Flemming played basketball and other sports throughout childhood and college before going to work in aviation supply for Southern Airways. When Southern merged with North Central Airlines in 1979, Flemming joined the IAM. He held many offices for District 143 of the IAM and represented them during the many airline mergers and industry deregulation of the 1980s and 1990s. In 2001, Flemming became the president of the Atlanta Labor Council where he became involved with other local leaders and political action. In 2011, became the president of the Georgia State AFL-CIO. As president, Flemming lead the organization in its endorsement and support of Shirley Franklin, John Lewis, Kasim Reed and Raphel Warnock. Flemming retired from the role of President on January 1, 2023.video/mp4enghttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Container 179||Voices of Labor Oral History ProjectAtlanta Labor Council, AFL-CIOGeorgia State AFL-CIOSouthern Airways, Inc.North Central AirlinesRepublic AirlinesInternational Association of Machinists and Aerospace WorkersHughes AirwestNorthwest Airlines CorporationDelta Air LinesAircraft Mechanics Fraternal AssociationUnited Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Local 1063 (College Park, Ga.)Orange, James (Civil rights worker)Pittston Coal CompanyTeamstersInternational Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of AmericaInternational Brotherhood of Electrical WorkersRailway Labor Act (United States)COVID-19 Pandemic (2020-)Huntingdon College (Montgomery, Ala.)Clayton State University (Morrow, Ga.)Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International AirportRallies--Hot weather conditionsMarches--Hot weather conditionsConsolidation and merger of corporationsBaseballBasketballAirlines--DeregulationLabor leadersLungs--CancerMachinists--Labor unionsEmployee fringe benefitsPensionsApprenticeship programsGrievance proceduresShop stewardsLabor union localsStrikes and lockouts--Coal miningDemonstrationsMayors--ElectionState governments--Officials and employeesWagesCentral labor councilsLobbyingLabor unions and educationFederal aidUnemploymentCharlie Flemming oral history interview, 2022 December 7MovingImage