Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

force, were fired. Most appealed their dismissal to the
Merit Systems Protection Board, but only 440 were
reinstated during the next two-and-a-half years. 7
When the dust finally settled, more than 11,000
workers no longer had a career in air traffic control.
The Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified
the 13-year-old PATCO on October 17. For the
first time, a union representing U.S. government
workers had been stripped of its legal standing.
On the last day of 1981, Poli resigned, persuaded
by other board members that the union could
not move forward until he stepped aside. According
to PATCO members who kept in touch, Poli later ran
several car dealerships along the East Coast. Executive
Vice President Robert Meyer also quit. Central
Region Vice President Gary Eads and Western Region
VP Domenic Torchia were elected president and vice
3
Aug.
1. Fuerbringer, Jonathan. 1981. Militant controller chief: Robert Edmond Poli.
The New York Times. 4 August, late city final edition.
2. Much of the material about the January 1980 PATCO meeting is based on
interviews with John Leyden and George Kerr in September and November
2001, respectively.
3. Garonzik, Joseph. 1986. Aviation’s Indispensable Partner Turns 50. U.S. Department
of Transportation.
4. Related by Domenic Torchia during an interview in July 2001.
5. 1981. Air traffic controllers set a June 22 strike deadline. The New York Times.
24 May.
6. PATCO figures.
7. Transportation Department figures.
The walkout starts at 7 a.m. Eastern time. Nearly 13,000 controllers—
about 79 percent of the work force—honor the picket line. President Reagan
announces the controllers must return to their jobs within forty-eight
president, respectively.
They took over a mortally wounded organization.
Stripped of its charter and facing claims of
about $40 million, the union filed for bankruptcy on
July 2, 1982. “It is over for PATCO,” Eads told reporters.
“The union is gone.” 8
8. Shifrin, Carole. 1982. PATCO goes bankrupt 11 months after strike. The
Washington Post. 3 July, final edition.
Chapter 1: ATC Comes of Age
hours or they’ll be fired. Supervisors, staff specialists, and military controllers
step in to help handle traffic. Even so, airlines cancel more than 6,000
flights. A federal court impounds PATCO’s $3.5 million strike fund.
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