Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

Joseph M.
Bellino
Air Traffic Control
Specialist
1968 — Pr e s e n t
Op e r a t i n g in i t i a l s: MB, NC
HOm e t O w n : Chicago; McHenry, Illinois
CHildre n:
Anna; granddaughter: Marissa
Ot Her tr i v i a:
Vietnamese interpreter and sign
language interpreter in the past
in t e r e s t s:
Stan Barough
Blue-green water, white sand
beaches, Internet business, rental
properties
ATC FACiliTies
Cu r r e n t:
pr e v i O u s: ORD
RFD
C90 TRACON
Tower
Tower
Joseph M. Bellino has always lived life on the
front lines. Before starting as a controller at
O’Hare Tower in 1968, he served in the Army’s
125th ATC Company in Vietnam. He was also assigned
to the 101st Airborne and 1st Infantry setting
up landing and drop zones. Shrewdly, he bought a
monkey named Johnny to guard him.
“When you sleep in the jungle with a monkey
tied to your wrist, not even the invisible man
can sneak up on you,” Bellino says. Johnny had a
mischievous streak, however, such as the time he
picked Gen. William Westmoreland’s pocket.
Bellino’s tenacity and ethical nature have
characterized his involvement in organized labor
for more than three decades. During a seven-year
fight to overturn his forced medical disability
retirement, he learned enough about the law to
become an astute negotiator who could cite federal
regulations as fluently as sports fans reel off statistics
for their favorite team. Whether he was testifying
before Congress, bargaining with the FAA or
filing an insurance claim for a controller injured in
an auto accident, Bellino always relied on stacks of
documentation and sound oral arguments.
He is motivated by an “eternal” distrust of
the government. After the birth of his daughter,
Anna, Bellino discovered he’d been contaminated
with Agent Orange in Vietnam. Medical prob-
Pr e v i o u s NATCA Po s iT i oN s / AC h i e v e m e N T s
Executive vice president 1991-94; Great Lakes
regional rep 1988-91; O’Hare Tower and TRACON
local president (multiple terms).
hir e d
Sept.
1968
lems that could be attributed to the toxic defoliant
prevented him from having more children.
“The government knew the dangers of dioxin.
We didn’t,” he says. “My continuing lack of trust
in governmental activities has never proven to be
without merit.”
After the FAA reinstated him in 1984 as if
he never left the agency, Bellino did not intend to
re-enlist in the labor movement. “I was so happy
to have my job back,” he says. “But the agency
had become even more of an ogre than before. I
couldn’t stand it.”
Life as an activist can entail protracted
discussions in bars, but Bellino does not drink
alcohol. Instead, he prefers to read or research issues
online, often into the wee hours. Despite his
preference for such low-key activities, “colorful” is
the word most often used by those who know him.
Colleagues rib Bellino about his height—he
stands just 5 feet, 4 inches—yet an equally toughnosed
“adversary” at the FAA measured him differently.
Joseph Noonan, the agency’s director of
labor and employee relations when Bellino served
as executive vice president, once introduced him to
a group of managers, eliciting a comment about his
stature.
“You think Bellino’s short?” Noonan responded.
“The longer he talks, the taller he gets.”