Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

36
1981
Against the Wind
2
Oct.
dures and the like. Although four controllers were
involved in creating the guide, some disparagingly
referred to it as “management’s rights and controllers’
responsibilities.”
Once again, the dress code became a bone of
contention. The Green
Book left the policy up
to the discretion of facility
managers, many of
whom held firm to the
agency’s traditional IBMstyle
uniform.
In Monroe, Louisiana,
a graduate fresh
from the FAA Academy
named Phil Barbarello
showed up for his first
day of work without a
belt. He was sent home
to find one. Three Atlanta
Center controllers
arrived at the facility
one hot July day wearing
officially sanctioned sandals but no socks, which
were required. They, too, were ordered home on
administrative leave (which is not deducted from an
employee’s allotment of annual leave).
“Instead of working,” says Lee Riley, “I was at
home sitting in the sun on the porch getting paid by
The FAA awards a $10 million contract to the University of Oklahoma to
provide certified instructors to the FAA Academy to help the agency train
new controllers.
the federal government because some idiot is worried
about whether I have socks on—in a place where the
public doesn’t even show up.”
Inevitably, hostilities resurfaced. Yelling at controllers
and trainees became part of the culture. The
contentious environment
affected the ability of
some developmentals to
learn critical job skills.
Craig Guensch
“
arrived at Minneapolis
Tower six months after
the strike, and survived
as the only one of his
group of five from the
academy to certify as
a journeyman. Each
month, four or five
more graduates arrived
and usually just one
checked out. Guensch
credits his success to an
understanding supervisor
named Nick Conom, who led by example rather
than shouting. When Guensch transferred to Miami
Tower three years later, he walked into an even more
rancorous atmosphere.
“I saw a supervisor take a strip holder and
throw it across the tower off the window because
Instead of working, I was at
home sitting in the sun on
the porch getting paid by the
federal government because
some idiot is worried about
whether I have socks on.
— Atlanta Center controller Lee Riley