A back-up tong for assembling or disassembling threaded joints of tubing for use in oil and gas wells is provided. The back-up tong has both a first and second gripping mechanism. The first gripping mechanism has a plurality of jaws for engaging the tubing to prevent rotation of the tubing in a clockwise direction and the second gripping mechanism has a plurality of jaws for engaging the tubing to prevent rotation of the tubing in a counter-clockwise direction.