The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization or PATCO was a labor union that once represented air traffic controllers in the United States in matters relating to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ... Downtown Stuart Stuart is a city in Martin County, Florida, on Floridas Treasure Coast. ... A trade union or labor union is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment. ... Air traffic controllers are persons who operate the air traffic control system to expedite and maintain a safe and orderly flow of air traffic and help prevent mid-air collisions. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ...

It was initially founded in 1968 and succeeded in being recognized as a collective bargaining agent in 1969, after a brief labor stoppage referred to as the "sickout". To circumvent the federal law against strikes by government unions, numerous controllers called in sick. After a few days the federal courts intervened and most controllers went back to work by order of the court, but the government was forced to the bargaining table. The controllers won substantial pay raises (about 110% their previous pay^{[citation needed]}). Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... A sickout is a type of strike action in which the strikers call in sick. ...

In the 1980 presidential election, PATCO, the Teamsters and several other AFL-CIO unions departed from their usual practice of backing Democrats by endorsing Ronald Reagan. Presidential electoral votes by state. ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), formerly known by the name International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, is one of the largest labor unions in the United States. ... American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 54 national and international unions (including Canadian), together representing more than 10 million workers. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Justice Sandra Day OConnor created this criteria: a law is unconstituional if it favors one religion over another in a way that makes some people feel like outsiders and others feel like insiders. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967 – 1975). ...

PATCO Strike

On August 3, 1981 the union declared a strike, seeking better working conditions, better pay and a 32-hour workweek. In doing so, the union violated a law {5 U.S.C. (Supp. III 1956) 118p.} that banned strikes by government unions. However, several government unions (including one representing employees of the Postal Service) had declared strikes in the intervening period without penalties. Ronald Reagan, however, declared the PATCO strike a "peril to national safety" and ordered them back to work under the terms of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Only 1,500 of the more than 13,000 controllers returned to work^{[citation needed]}. PATCO thought it could cause the national air system to grind to a halt and use that as a bargaining tool. Reagan gave union members 48 hours to return, knowing that Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis had secretly trained replacements and the airplanes kept flying at 80% of normal^{[citation needed]}. August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... See also general strike, or for other uses see: strike (disambiguation). ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967 – 1975). ... The Labor-Management Relations Act, commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act, is a United States federal law that greatly restricts the activities and power of labor unions. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Andrew Lindsay Lewis, Jr. ...

On August 5, following their refusal, Reagan fired the 11,359 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored the order, and permanently banned them from federal service. They were replaced initially with nonparticipating controllers, supervisors, staff personnel, some nonrated personnel, and in some cases by controllers transferred temporarily from other facilities. Some military controllers were also used until replacements could be trained. It proved the most stunning defeat for unions in 60 years. While some former controllers were subsequently rehired, they and their replacements are now represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which was organized in 1987 and has no direct connection with PATCO. August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is a labor union in the United States. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

PATCO is now back as a labor union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, Inc., and is an Independent Labor Union Certified by the NLRB Union. It represents the interests of the PATCO strikers, and has continued to fight the FAA on the lockout and age discrimination of the strikers since the ban was lifted by President Clinton on August 12, 1993. Clinton also offered many of the fired workers their jobs back, not many took them back because of different life styles and new employment. PATCO currently represents Air Traffic Controllers in the private sector, and is organizing private-sector Air Traffic Controllers everywhere in the USA to enhance their profession with better wages and working conditions.

See also

• Air traffic controller

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Controllers survey the field at Misawa Air Base, Japan. ...

External links

• PATCO Web Site
• PATCO Documentary: Causes and Legacies of the 1981 Strike in progress
• Article giving the numbers in the strike
• Overview of the strike and its effects

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References

• Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization Records, 1968-1982. Georgia State University W. R. The University Library, Special Collections and Archives Department. 25.75 linear ft.in 52 boxes. Manuscript Collection No. L1986-45. Online guide retrieved April 27, 2005.