Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

94
Against the Wind
NATCA archives
Legacy of the strike: John Thornton, left, confers with MEBA President Gene De-
Fries, right, and NATCA General Counsel Bill Osborne at the union’s Atlanta convention
in 1988. Thornton’s PATCO background dashed his hopes of becoming president.
* NATCA retained a professional parliamentarian
to monitor its proceedings in Atlanta.
Central Regional Representative Dan Brandt
handled the duties during the 1990 convention
and Howie Barte has served as parliamentarian
at every subsequent gathering.
1987
22
July
“John’s loyalty
and his contribution
to NATCA were unparalleled.
Nobody
can deny that,” says
Steve Bell, the Eastern
regional rep at
the time. “But there
was no way, no way
we could campaign
and build a union
by electing a PAT-
CO guy as the new
president.”
A healthy dose
of wariness about
Thornton’s relationship
with MEBA also
existed. For the contingent
from New
York, parochialism came into play, as well. Bell had
emerged as a leading candidate for president in the
upcoming national election.
After delegates voted down Barte’s CEO proposal,
Barry Krasner introduced two constitutional
amendments aimed at barring Thornton from the
presidency he sought. One resolution defined an
active member as a certified controller or a developmental
in a training program. The second limited the
The Aviation Safety Commission, created by Congress in 1986 to develop
recommendations on improving air safety, holds its first day of hearings.
NATCA national organizer John Thornton presents a six-point improve-
right to vote or hold office to active members.
Krasner, who had taken over as the local
president at New York TRACON from Bell, was very
familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order and would later
earn a reputation for running conventions with a deft
hand. * But he became tongue-tied while simultaneously
trying to write and announce one of the resolutions.
“Wait, wait, wait,” he stammered, trying to be
diplomatic. “What I’m trying to do—”
Thornton leaned toward a microphone and
remarked, “Barry, we all know what you’re trying
to do.”
The measures passed, but some felt badly for
Thornton. Northwest Mountain Regional Rep Gary
Molen, who dismissed the anti-PATCO sentiment as
pettiness, nearly came to tears watching the drama
play out. “He’s the one who got us going and we owed
him something,” Molen says now.
To that end, the Atlanta delegates bestowed
Thornton with the union’s first honorary lifetime
membership in appreciation of his contributions.
Their recognition moved Thornton and he understood
the controllers’ desire to run NATCA. But the
snub over the presidency still hurt.
During the four-day convention, delegates wrestled
over a variety of organizational issues and came
to grips with politics. One proposal would establish a
weighted scale for National Executive Board members,
giving two votes each to the four largest regions and
ment plan. Key elements include immunity for controllers who report
operational errors, increasing FPL controller ranks, addressing equipment
problems, and ending the FAA’s contract tower program.