Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

center controllers visually estimated the horizontal
separation minimum of five miles between planes.
The new program—called the Operational Error Detection
Patch—automatically documented instances
when Riley and his colleagues underestimated
five miles by as
little as 528 feet. Controllers
were suffering
deals left and
right while they
grew used to the
software, which
they scornfully
referred to as “the
Snitch” and “Squeal-a-
Deal.”
Riley’s ears perked up
when he heard about the formation of NATCA in Leesburg.
He passed the word on to several Atlanta Center
controllers, including his brother, Bill, who owned a
trucking business with Lee on the side and had been
hired immediately after the strike. Galvanized by the
activity at Washington Center, the group held a meeting
in April 1984 at a nearby Holiday Inn to gauge
union interest at their facility.
They kept the gathering secret from management
in hopes of attracting a larger turnout, but only
a dozen or so controllers attended. Among them was
a crew member from Bill Riley’s area named Randy
23
Dec.
A Korean Air Lines cargo DC-10 attempting to take off in fog from Anchorage
International Airport collides on the runway with a Piper Navajo.
The accident injures three people and destroys both planes. Subsequently,
Carter. Hard working and low-key, Carter represented
the antithesis of unionism, and to Riley his presence
spoke volumes about frustration among the rank and
file. Despite the fear of retaliation from management,
the controllers formed a research committee. Tom
Allen, Al Damalas, and Bob Hoffman were appointed
to check out their options.
Damalas called his old friend, John
Leyden, who put the Atlanta group in
touch with George Kerr and NATCA.
Kerr told Damalas about the AFGEsponsored
petition drive at New York
TRACON, as well as another one at
New York Center. In late spring, the
Atlanta Center contingent decided to
align itself with AFGE, too, and started to
gather signatures.
Riley and company faced a daunting task in the
South. Widespread textile mill strikes earlier in the
century—as many as 400,000 walked out in 1934—
had cultivated a deep-rooted aversion to labor unions.
Wounds were still fresh for those who endured the
upheaval in 1981. And many new-hires turned a cold
shoulder to anything resembling a “PATCO II” organization.
Controllers who stood still long enough to
listen to the pitch about signing a petition fretted over
the vast wasteland of trainee washouts, management
clampdowns on phraseology mistakes, and a general
fear of the unknown. More than a few who signed
Chapter 3: A Long and Winding Road
53
Lee Riley: Along with his brother, Bill, he
was an early advocate for a new controllers’
union. Riley later became Southern
regional representative. / NATCA archives
ground radar known as Airport Surface Detection Equipment undergoing
testing at the FAA Technical Center is transferred to Anchorage. On
October 10, 1985, the agency orders thirteen more ASDE-3 units.