Left: A new plaque commemorating IAM founder Tom Talbot has been installed on his monument in Atlanta’s Grant Park. Right: The gravesite of Talbot in Florence, SC.
In Atlanta’s Grant Park stands a monument to IAM founder Tom Talbot. IAM Grand Lodge Convention delegates placed it there in 1948 in recognition of Talbot and the union’s founding in an Atlanta railroad pit 60 years earlier.
In 2013, to celebrate the IAM’s 125th anniversary, a new plaque was dedicated for the monument’s base. The installation is now complete.
IAM Local 709 in Marietta, GA, which hosted the 125th anniversary celebration, and its Vice President Mike Owens made sure the installation was performed with union labor.
“Many thanks to Mike, Directing Business Representative Perry Gulledge and the members of Local Lodge 709 for ensuring this was completed,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Mark Blondin. “It’s a great honor and responsibility to be there at our birthplace, and Local Lodge 709 steps up to the challenge every time.”
The IAM Southern Territory is honored to be the birthplace of the union and also takes great pride in knowing that the IAM’s founder is also buried in the South. A monument to Talbot towers above his grave in Florence, SC.
