The Eighties in America - Salem Press (2009)

on August 3, during the peak summer travel season
when union members believed that the government
would have no choice but to yield in order to save the
economy, about 12,660 PATCO members went out
on strike.

Response to the Strike President Reagan declared

Air traffic controllers’ strike

the controllers to return to work within forty-eight
hours or face permanent loss of their jobs. Only 1,260
returned to work, so the government fired the other
11,400 strikers and began accepting applications for
new workers and trainees. More than 45,000 appli-
cants responded. Training centers increased enroll-
ments, offering classes in two or three shifts per day.
While the new recruits were trained to replace the
terminated controllers, the government needed to
employ temporary replacements to keep the airlines
running safely. The ranks of the two thousand non-
striking controllers were supplemented with three
thousand supervisors, nine hundred military con-
trollers, and one thousand controllers from sixty
small airports that were closed temporarily. The FAA
ordered airlines at major airports to reduce sched-
uled flights by one-half during peak hours and to
maintain five miles between all aircraft, instead of
the ordinary one-half mile, to ensure safety. Within
five days, the airports were operating at 80 percent of
their normal capacity.
Federal judges ordered the arrest of the PATCO
leaders who had ignored federal court injunctions
against the strike, and they levied fines of $1 million
per day against the union. The Justice Department
brought indictments against seventy-five control-
lers. On October 22, 1981, the Federal Labor Rela-
tions Authority (FLRA) decertified PATCO. Later,
on June 19, 1987, the FLRA certified the National
Air Traffic Controllers Association as sole bargain-
ing union for air traffic controllers.
Public response overwhelmingly favored the gov-
ernment. While sympathetic to their stressful jobs,
taxpayers were aware that air traffic controllers’ pay
in 1981 was two to three times the national average
salary. The public also realized that if the control-
lers’ strike succeeded, U.S. Postal Service employees
would expect similar concessions, as would other
federal employees, which would add billions of dol-
lars to the federal budget.

The strikers drew support from AFL-CIO labor

leaders, but airline pilots and machinists did not join

the strike. Some foreign unions supported PATCO

by causing delays in flights to the United States.

Canada closed Gander International Airport, in

Newfoundland, to U.S. aircraft but reopened it im-

mediately when President Reagan threatened per-

manently to abandon air service to Gander by U.S.

airplanes.

Impact The success of President Reagan’s re-

Air traffic controllers’ strike

shifted the balance of power in labor disputes be-

tween the federal government and its employees.

The controllers’ union was iconic, because its mem-

bers’ jobs both required highly specialized skills and

were manifestly essential to the nation’s infrastruc-

ture. If their strike could be broken, it seemed that

any strike could be.

The major airlines reported losses of up to $30

million per day during the strike, but the FAA imple-

mented a strike contingency plan that lessened po-

tential losses and allowed commercial and military

planes to remain in the air. Many labor leaders and

historians have said that the failure of PATCO’s

strike contributed to the decline in the power of la-

bor unions over the next two decades.

Further Reading

Noonan, Peggy.When Character Was King: A Stor y of

Ronald Reagan.New York: Viking, 2001. Sheds

light on the effect of President Reagan’s decisive

handling of the strike on foreign relations.

Nordlund, Willis J.Silent Skies: The Air Traffic Control-

lers’ Strike.New York: Praeger, 1998. Discusses the

power of labor unions to affect the economy and

analyzes the relationship between unions and

public policy.

Round, Michael A.Grounded: Reagan and the PATCO

Crash. Rev. ed. New York: Routledge, 1999. Exam-

ines federal statutes, particularly the no-strike

laws, and the relevance of President Reagan’s rhe-

torical background in relation to PATCO and

FAA negotiations and the strike.

Marguerite R. Plummer

See also Canada and the United States; Reagan,

Ronald; Reaganomics; Unions.

The Eighties in America Air traffic controllers’ strike
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