Unhappy Again: The air controllers reorganize

The air controllers reorganize

No labor conflict in recent years ended more dramatically than the collision between Ronald Reagan and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization. Two days after PATCO's illegal Aug. 3, 1981, walkout over pay scales, benefits and working conditions, an angry President ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to fire 11,345 strikers and hire replacements. Only about 500 PATCO members were rehired; the rest are permanently blackballed.

Last week the 13,000 controllers currently on the job were trying to organize. At a founding convention in Chicago, a new organization known as the National Air Traffic Controllers Association announced that it intends to win...

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