Anniversary of the PATCO Strike

Twenty-five years ago today, the air traffic controllers went on strike.

Bad move.

Aviation did not grind to a halt as union officials had anticipated. Having formulated careful contingency plans, the FAA kept planes flying using supervisors, non-strikers, and military controllers. The first day of the strike, 60 percent of normal flights continued. Four days later, almost 80 percent were operating. The government put in place a system to smooth peaks of traffic—it was a system that PATCO had proposed and the FAA had rejected during their negotiations. Though the airlines had to reschedule and cut back flights, the industry was inconvenienced rather than crippled.

Reagan would not give an inch. He immediately moved to decertify the union and banned the strikers for life from being rehired as government controllers. Union officials had planned poorly for the strike, and they proved inept at presenting their members’ case to the press. “The air controllers have no right to hold up the nation,” The New York Times editorialized. They had not even consulted with other unions. The AFL-CIO issued a statement of support but did nothing.

Click here for the American Heritage article.