- Collection:
- Southern Labor Archives
- Title:
- Elmer Hamilton oral history interview, 2006-07-13
- Creator:
- Hamilton, Elmer
- Contributor to Resource:
- Slawsky, Norman J., 1949-
- Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia State University Library
- Date of Original:
- 2006-07-13
- Subject:
- Local transit--Employees--Labor unions
Amalgamated Transit Union. Local 732 (Atlanta, Ga.)
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
New York City Transit Authority - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, 33.79025, -84.46702
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
United States, New York, Kings County, Brooklyn, 40.6501, -73.94958 - Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
audiocassettes
interviews - Type:
- Sound
- Format:
- audio/mpeg
- Description:
- Elmer Hamilton was born in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and moved to Savannah, Georgia, to live with his aunt in 1950 when he was 13. He graduated from Beech Hish School in 1955 and joined the Navy shortly thereafter. After an honorable discharge from the Navy as a Petty Officer Second Class, he lived and worked in Brooklyn. In 1974 he moved to Atlanta and in 1979 began working for MARTA, first as a bus driver and later as a train operator. Early in his career with MARTA (Metro Atlanta Rapid transit Authority), Hamilton joined the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 732 (Atlanta, GA) and was eventually elected as the president of ATU Local 732.
Hamilton briefly discusses his early life through high school graduation. He describes both the discrimination and achievements of his time in the Navy, particularly his engineering and refrigeration training. He speaks of his time in Brooklyn, where he worked for the New York City Transit Authority for nine years (1960-1969) and briefly discusses his involvement with Democratic Party Politics in New York. Hamilton talks about his move to Atlanta in 1974 and how going to work for MARTA led to his involvement with the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 732 (Atlanta, GA), as a bus operator steward. His work as a bus operator steward led him to run for president of ATU Local 732 and he discusses several failed attempts to obtain the office before finally winning. His winning bid for president came after running on the platform that ATU members deserved a pension, and after being elected, he went on to hire an outside administrator of the pension which was considered a controversial move at the time. - Metadata URL:
- http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/labor/id/6086
- IIIF manifest:
- https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/iiif/2/labor:6086/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- Copyright to this item is owned by Georgia State University Library. Georgia State University Library has made this item available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For more information see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: Hamilton, Elmer, interviewed by Norman Slawsky, July 13, 2006, Voices of Labor Oral History Project, Southern Labor Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University.
- Extent:
- 02:02:55
- Original Collection:
- Voices of Labor Oral History Project
http://research.library.gsu.edu/VoicesofLabor
Southern Labor Archives - Holding Institution:
- Georgia State University. Special Collections
- Rights:
-
