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The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization Strike in 1981

HISTORY

President Clinton ended the prohibition on rehiring any air-traffic controller who went on strike in 1981. (To date, the FAA has rehired over 850 PATCO strikers.)

New contract negotiations opened between PATCO and the Federal Aviation Administration

The Federal Labor Relations Authority de-certified PATCO.

Most striking air-traffic controllers were fired.

June 19, 1987

August 17, 1981

1968

August 3, 1981

August 5, 1981

August 12, 1993

February 1981

October 22, 1981

The FAA began accepting applications for new air-traffic controllers.

About 13,000 PATCO members went on strike after unsuccessful contract negotiations.

The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was created.

NATCA was certified as the sole bargaining unit for air-traffic controllers employed by the FAA.

VIDEO

President Ronald Reagan speaks about the air traffic controllers strike.

  • Robert Poli, the PATCO president discussed the union’s demands with the FAA in February 1981.

  • The union wanted a $10,000 raise, a thirty-two hour workweek, a better retirement package after 20 years of service, and updated computer equipment.

  • Their contract was set to expire on March 15, 1981.

  • PATCO had over 37 meetings that led to no agreement between the two parties.

SUMMARY

FAA v.s. PATCO

  • The FAA made a counteroffer of $40 million dollars, shorter workweeks, and a 10% raise to controllers who also worked as instructors and for those who worked night shifts, but PATCO declined the counteroffer.

  • The FAA refused to make any changes to their counteroffer, so on August 3, 1981, 85% of PATCO’s members went on strike.

FAA'S PLAN

  • The union had intentionally planned to disrupt the the nation’s transportation system, but the FAA secretly began to work on a contingency plan if the union chose to strike.

  • The FAA’s contingency plan included:

3,000 supervisors, 2,000 non-striking controllers,

and 900 military controllers to replace those on strike.

  • Also, major airports were ordered to reduce scheduled flights by 50 percent during peak hours, nearly 60 small airport towers were scheduled to be shut down indefinitely, and the FAA’s Oklahoma City training school considered to increase the number of graduates from 1,500 to 5,500.

Despite the immediate cancellation of 6,000 flights, the FAA’s contingency plan was able to sustain about 70% of the normally scheduled flights.

PATCO'S PLAN FAILED

The FAA soon realized they could fully operate the nation’s transportation system safely and efficiently with one third less air traffic controllers; therefore, the PATCO strike really achieved the opposite of what the union had originally intended.

DILEMMA

• The FAA still had to hire and train the PATCO replacements, which took an estimated three years, so consequently during times of low staffing, many temporary flight restrictions were established to reduce the number of aircraft at any one time.

• It was around this time that the FAA developed the concept of flow control, restricting departures until sufficient airspace was ensured.

• The FAA claimed staffing would be restored to prestrike levels within two years, but it took nearly ten years to bring staff levels back to normal capacity.

• It also cost billions of dollars, more than what PATCO had demanded.

  • President Ronald Reagan responded with an ultimatum: the strikers were to return to work within forty-eight hours or they would be fired.

  • As federal employees, the controllers were violating the no-strike clause of their employment contracts.

  • President Reagan proceeded to fire 11,350 striking controllers who had not returned to work and declared a lifetime ban on the rehiring of the PATCO strikers by the FAA.

CONSEQUENCES FOR GOING ON STRIKE

PATCO BECOMES DECERTIFIED

In 1955, Congress had made strikes by federal employees, punishable by fines and incarceration, a provision that was upheld by a judicial decision in 1971.

The Reagan administration jailed PATCO leaders for ignoring federal injunctions, and the union was fined.

In October 1981, the Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified PATCO for promoting an illegal strike.

SOLUTIONS

  • President Ronald Reagan could have taken a different approach to this situation

  • A third party should have intervened.

  • The PATCO members had reasonable demands that continue to reflect even to this day.

  • We know that being an air traffic controller is highly demanding and stressful.

  • In addition, having to work with outdated equipment further strains the capabilities of both pilots and controllers.

  • Modernization of computer equipment, reduced work hours, increased pay and other negotiable items could have been achieved through other parties.

REFERENCES

Cadambi, A. (2010, November 22). American air-traffic controllers strike for benefits and pay, 1981. Global Nonviolent

Action Database. Retrieved from: https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/american-air-traffic-controllers-strike-benefits-and-pay-1981

Glass, A. (2008, August 5). Reagan fires 11,000 striking air traffic controllers Aug. 5, 1981. Politico. Retrieved from:

https://www.politico.com/story/2008/08/reagan-fires-11-000-striking-air-traffic-controllers-aug-5-1981-012292

Kaps, R. W., Hamilton, J.S., Bliss, T.J. (2012). Labor relations in the aviation and aerospace industries. Carbondale, IL:

Southern Illinois University Press.

Macaray, D. (2017, August 30). Labor Day: Ronald Reagan and the PATCO Strike. HuffPost News. Retrieved from:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/labor-day-ronald-reagan-and-the-patco-strike_us_59a6d604e4b05fa16286beb1

Pardlo, G. (2017, February 12). The Cost of Defying the President. The New Yorker. Retrieved from:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-cost-of-defying-the-president

QUESTIONS?

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