Posted on 09/28/2014 8:32:11 AM PDT by Kaslin
An obituary in the Washington Post for Robert Poli provides a chance to look back at a decisive moment in Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Poli was the head of the militant Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), which launched an illegal strike in 1981. The Post describes the significance of the action:
The strike by PATCO, Reagan’s subsequent breaking of the union and the hiring of replacement workers were among the most significant job actions of their time, said Joseph A. McCartin, a professor at Georgetown University and a specialist on labor and social history. They “helped to define labor relations for the rest of the century and even into the 21st century,” he said, turning public sentiment away from striking as a legitimate labor tactic and further emboldening employers in the private sector to permanently replace striking workers.
Reagan’s hard line with the PATCO strikers six months into his presidency helped establish an image of him at home and overseas as a strong leader who would not be pushed around.
Here is the sequence of events:
The PATCO work stoppage began Aug. 3, 1981, when at least 12,000 of the nation’s 17,000 air traffic controllers defied federal law and walked off their jobs, seeking higher pay, shorter hours, better equipment and improved working conditions in a long-simmering labor dispute.
There were widespread flight cancellations and delays, and 22 of the nation’s busiest airports were directed to reduce their scheduled flights by 50 percent.
That morning in the White House Rose Garden, Reagan declared, “I must tell those who failed to report for duty this morning they are in violation of the law, and if they don’t report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated.”
Two days after the walkout began, Transportation Secretary Drew L. Lewis announced that at least 12,000 striking air traffic controllers had been terminated and would not be rehired “as long as the Reagan administration is in office.”
The Reagan administration stuck to its guns. The strikers were replaced by nonstriking controllers, air traffic supervisors, and military controllers until new controllers were trained.
The episode was a very gutsy move by Reagan, with beneficial consequences. But as I note here, the 1981 strike and response did not come out of nowhere—PATCO had been causing problems for years. In 1969, for example, about 500 members of PATCO called in “sick” in a protest, which caused major air service interruptions. And in 1970, about 3,000 members of PATCO took part in another “sickout,” or illegal strike, that caused chaos for the nation’s air traffic. Those sorts of union troubles continued during the 1970s, which set the stage for the Reagan showdown.
Today, the government’s air controllers have a different union organization, NATCA. Rather than illegal striking, these folks do what a growing number of groups in society are doing to advance their agendas: they lobby.
Brings back pleasant memories of the 1980s. A time when former PATCO workers would deliver my pizzas, fetch my fast food orders and wash my car.
Were you one of those DUPES that walked out on the strike?
Damn.....READ MY POST.....I was one of EIGHT non-PATCO members....I did NOT walk, and retired after 35 years, all as an active enroute controller, NO staff time.
And your fairy tale about AF controllers "walking in and plugging in, saving the facility".....
Such an action would be criminal negligence, and would certainly get a facility manager fired on the spot.
At Chicago, we used furloughed airline pilots as flight data...pulling strips etc. We had controllers from less affected facilities volunteer for TDY on 6 and 12 month stints. A total of around 25, from JAX, MIA, HOU, ABQ, MEM. They were ALL full performance level enroute controllers, yet they were NOT allowed to "just plug in". They were required to learn only one sector, but they had to 'draw the map', learn frequencies, letters of agreement, etc. Then they had to have at LEAST 40 hours OJT on the sector and pass a check-ride.
ANYTHING LESS WOULD BE UNSAFE, and I can assure all that while we cut lots of corners to 'keep 'em flying', we NEVER compromised safety.
For someone to suggest otherwise is an insult to every controller who worked through the strike, and I resent the hell out of it.
I retired in 87, so by the time you came to Travis, they had a new tower. At that time, I was working at CSP Solano in Vacaville, so I was only a few miles away. We could see the rotating beacon from Solano. I made more as a basic academy cadet, than I did as a Msgt with 20 years in. Tell me that was justified. One of the guys who worked for me was still at Travis, so he gave me a tour of the new tower. It was nice. My nephew is at Beale now, after a year at Osan, in U-2 maintenance.
I knew one who was a custody supervisor at San Quentin, when I was there.
I got a tour of Houston Center once, where I got to see Laughlin’s airspace from another Radar facility. I could see Tweets and 38s flying around at the same time. It was big. I hope you got to see the Blackhawks play a time or two.
Several years ago, before I retired, I was having a new house built. My contractor had an errand to run, and asked me to meet the county inspector for the final inspection, I said sure.
Turns out the inspector was a fired PATCO guy, and knew I had worked thru the strike.
The next day the contractor told me it was the first inspection he had failed in over 20 years, and would I kindly make myself scarce when the inspector showed up again. I did, and he passed no problem.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/23/public-sector-unions-bankrupting-america/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_bankruptcy
http://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrezza/2014/05/16/government-employee-unions-tee-up-californias-bankruptcy/
http://www.newsmax.com/US/cities-bankruptcy-after-detroit/2013/08/06/id/519081/
http://gawker.com/5960149/why-cities-go-bankrupt
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/20/why-u-s-cities-are-going-bankrupt/
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100929269
In '81 I had a transfer to Houston approved, but the strike came before the transfer date and it got canceled. Didn't bother me a whole lot, as I was only trying to get out of Chicago, which as a non-PATCO guy was not a pleasant place to work. When PATCO left it 'twarn't so bad anymore.
I never knew how many PATCO guys were at Houston, but it was a nice tour. You did not answer my other point. Did you get to see the Blackhawks play? I am a big time Hawks fan. Two Stanley Cups in 4 years.
Only saw one, against Detroit....I was a Detroit Red Army fan when Scotty Bowman was the coach.
And that was on Reagan's orders.
Chicago was the top priority in efforts to keep a certain level of traffic flying.
A guy named Bob Thorn was the main FAA 'architect' of contingency plans. He and Helms had briefed Reagan on the level of traffic they thought we could run if the strikers were fired. Reagan's response was if the minimum level could not be SAFELY handled, he would Federalize ATC. He stressed that safety must not be compromised.
All managers were aware of the safety mandate, from Reagan, and you continue to believe that they would defy that?
Don't think much of Reagan, do ya?
But I CAN ASSURE YOU that the very best O'hare tower controller could not walk into any low level VFR tower in the country and be certified in less than a month. It is a matter of FAA regulations, not a matter of trust or ability.
Just as I related what our TDY guys from other centers were required to do.....not ability, not trust, but REGULATIONS.
Just as we were required to adhere to separation standards, we were required to adhere to the REGS.
By the way, we did start to get a few ex-military guys about six months into the strike, but they were new hires who had been discharged, now civilians, and they were required to go to the academy in OKC like all new hires.
Well, Scotty Bowman is in Chicago, with son Stan, the Blackhawks GM. They were able to lure him and Barry Smith away from Detroit, and now, Kevin Dineen is coaching there too.
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