Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

Michael
McNally
Air Traffic Control
Specialist
1982 — Pr e s e n t
Op e r a t i n g in i t i a l s: XO
HOm e t O w n : New York City
CHildre n:
Shannon, Erin
NATCA archives
ATC FACiliTies
Cu r r e n t:
pr e v i O u s:
ZNY Center
Michael McNally always had his eyes in the
sky. He graduated from the specialized Aviation
High School in Queens, New York, and joined
the Air Force. He wanted to become a military
controller, but was stymied by a ten-month waiting
list. Instead, he learned electronics and applied to
the FAA after leaving the service. Hired in 1982,
McNally found the academy exciting and hoped to
settle in happily at New York Center.
Realities of the post-strike workplace soon
tempered his dream. Training became an ordeal
when a supervisor sexually harassed a married
woman at the facility. McNally verified her allegations
and endured harsh reprisals from the supe.
He survived after another manager took McNally
under his wing and certified him as a journeyman.
Like his colleagues, however, McNally then grew
weary of working six-day weeks to keep pace with
skyrocketing traffic.
Consequently, he willingly heeded the call
when former PATCO controller Ed Day, newcomer
Steve Bell, and others talked about another union.
After NATCA was certified, McNally served for
four years as New York Center’s first elected president.
His union perspective was founded on a
desire to work cooperatively with management. A
receptive manager agreed with that philosophy,
and the two laid the groundwork for what became
a major labor-management initiative in the early
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
National president 1997-2000; executive vice president
1994-97; national QTP coordinator; national
president emeritus; N.Y. Center local president.
hir e d
Jan.
1982
1990s known as Quality Through Partnership.
McNally’s vision of collaboration continued
during his term as executive vice president. He encouraged
expansion of a budding roster of NATCA
liaisons and technical representatives, which
boosted controller influence in FAA projects while
saving the agency time and money.
His election as president in 1997 came shortly
after NATCA won the right to legally bargain
over pay. The union was also finishing a massive
project to restructure facility and pay classifications.
Hoping to negotiate a compensation package
that fairly represented controller workloads,
McNally understood the need for cooperation more
than ever. His successful talks with FAA Administrator
Jane Garvey further solidified the labor-management
partnership in a contract that rewarded
controllers with substantially larger paychecks.
Although some union members accused
McNally of not communicating enough, he defends
his style as a necessary strategy. “I would have
tipped my hand,” he says. “I had to keep things
close to the vest.”
After nine years away from home, McNally
left office in 2000 to spend more time with his
wife, Maria, and two daughters. Coming on the
heels of the historic contract and direct affiliation
with the AFL-CIO, he remains wistful about stepping
down. “It’s the best job I ever did,” he says.
“The hardest job I ever did.”