Against the Wind A History of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association by Paul McElroy - Free PDF Download (2023)

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2With the Wind National Air Traffic Controllers Association Story Paul McElroy All rights reserved. Copyright 2002 National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Cover copyright 2002 National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Aeronautical charts courtesy of US Department of Transportation, National Airline Chart Office Recollections courtesy of Mike Palumbo. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of National Air Traffic Controllers Association. For information contact: National Air Traffic Controllers Association 1325 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, D.C. PRINT HISTORY Hardcover Edition / First Printing: September 2002 Interior Design Amy McElroy, Japphire Inc. Cover Design Sherry Stinson Printed Image Index Dan Connolly Word for Word Book Services PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

3Contents Author's Note 1 Introduction 2 Chapter 1 10 Chapter 2 30 Chapter 3 44 Chapter 4 92 Chapter Chapter Chapter NATCA at a Glance 234 NATCA Family 236 Glossary 250 Bibliography 252 Index 253

4To the men and women of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association whose tireless efforts help keep the world's largest, most complex and safest aviation system up and running.

5Author's Note In the mid-1980s, a visionary group of air traffic controllers sought to amplify their words on the air with a much-needed voice in the workplace. Ignoring personal considerations and threats to their careers, they bravely embarked on a mission that grew into the influential and respected labor organization NATCA. I had the privilege of discovering his spirit and dedication and peeking into corners of his profession that were hidden from the rest of the world. What you have in your hands is the story of the first fifteen years of this vibrant community. Over the course of nine months, I processed piles of files and traveled 80,000 miles to interview some 175 people. While NATCA allocated generous resources to produce high-quality work, they entrusted an outside observer to document their story, and they gave me the freedom to do so in a fair and balanced way. Out of necessity, this book consists of a series of snapshots that record the dreams and actions of thousands of people. I am frustrated by the space constraints that prevent me from mentioning the countless activists and their families who work selflessly to ensure the safety of nearly two million airline passengers a day and improve the working conditions of some 20,000 federal officials. The fact that I could not recognize them all by name does not detract from their contribution, which aroused my endless admiration. My sincere thanks to the dozens of people who have kindly and patiently helped me throughout this project. With our apologies for not being able to identify everyone individually, Atlanta Center Controller Don Brown and Howie Barte of Providence Tower/TRACON deserve special thanks. They had the foresight to come up with this project two years ago. They also played a key role, along with eight other syndicate members who reviewed the manuscript, in making this book as complete and accurate as possible. The NATCA story is far from over. He creates unwritten chapters every day. Let Against the Wind honor those who have now passed unification and inspire the legions to continue their dream. PM / June 2002

6You can't organize happy people. An axiom among union organizers NATCA headquarters: In 2000, the union moved into its own seven-story building on the northern edge of downtown Washington, D.C. The national office is known as the Barry Krasner Building, after NATCA's second president. / jafir

7Introduction Union Rising Sitting in the darkness of the Washington Center in Leesburg, Virginia, an air traffic controller spoke continuously into a tiny microphone on his headset. His accent betrayed the quiet accent of the West Virginia hills, but his strong, confident voice cut through the air like the sound of a shell. Despite his arrogant demeanor, his restless eyes repeatedly roamed the radar range in front of him, the circular screen lit up like a pinball machine in the blinding pain of a bonus round. Twenty-two flashes of green flashed and danced across the glass as two sets of planes pirouetted in unison over Woodstown in southwestern New Jersey and Yardley, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. The aerial ballet formed the swirling crests of a river that flowed northeast through her reach and through her mind before flowing into New York's LaGuardia Airport. Jerry Tierney had his hands full that day. In addition to the avalanche of planes, he had to deal with the aftershocks of the disaster that wiped out three-quarters of air traffic control personnel in August. Chronic staff shortages often forced air traffic controllers to juggle more than one part of the airspace at a time. Tierney drove across the Woodstown and Dupont sectors. Like many of his brothers, he also worked hard during another grueling six-day work week. With thick dark brown hair neatly cropped above his ears and wearing the usual button-down shirt and slacks, the medium-sized Tierney earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the Washington Center's top controllers. Colleagues respected his honest, open demeanor and strong work ethic, and applauded his zero-tolerance for pointless management decrees. In his largely unseen world, where professionals balance the science of physics with the art of choreography, a thin line separates chaos from. Centre.

84 Downwind in Washington Center: The nighttime solitude of this area gives way to frenetic activity after dawn. The M-1 control room where Jerry Tierney and his colleagues worked was replaced by this converted version in the late 1990s. / Control by Paul Williams. Good controllers know their limits. They sense when another plane pushes them into the abyss, scattering their concentration like a collapsing house of cards. Tierney had been pushing tin for sixteen years and realized he was starting to come over the edge. There was no other place to stack the planes to the north as they waited their turn to land. He called on another controller downtown to halt the inexorable currents from Maryland and Virginia to the south. Sitting behind him, the superior jumped in peace and leaned forward. We need to get them in, he said. I'm not taking them, Tierney replied, his eyes scanning his visor as he planned his next steps. The overseer's voice grew nervous. You have to accept those planes. Under pressure from Congress and the airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration publicly announced that the air transportation system had fully recovered from the strike. After enduring a period of flight restrictions, airlines were increasing queues month after month, testing the limits of a largely inexperienced workforce only half the size of . This is where the rubber meets the runway.

9Introduction: Union Rising 5 No, Tierney said firmly. I can't Why not? Because it's not safe. I know how many planes I can handle. Tierney was preoccupied with the twenty-two targets that popped his crosshairs, not realizing that the FAA had a golden opportunity to treat the new group of controllers right and never have to face the organization. slide the supervisor on the keyboard into the data position next to it. His supervisor typed in the computer identification codes for two or three more Confederate planes and pressed ENTER after each number, shifting responsibility for them to Tierney. One by one, the pilots checked their radio frequency. Suddenly realizing what was happening, Tierney exclaimed, Hey, why am I talking to these guys? 1 Luckily there were no leaks. Such incidents, while more serious than most at the time, typify the turbulent culture of an air traffic system that bounces back after a blow. The Reagan administration's firing of more than 11,000 federal employees who broke the law by leaving their jobs is one of the saddest chapters in aviation history. Careers, families and even some lives have been lost in a complex conflict of egos, greed and legitimate issues of workplace and aviation safety. For those who remained on the job and the legions of replacement drivers who joined them, an unfortunate sequel awaited. More than half of the world's air traffic flew to the United States, posing a formidable challenge for the FAA to rebuild its decimated workforce. In addition to the large number of people involved, the pressure of time put a heavy strain on the system. New controllers typically spend several months at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, followed by two or more years of on-the-job training before they are considered fully qualified. Even then, the seasoning process has only just begun. But adversity also presented a unique opportunity. The FAA had a golden opportunity to treat a new group of auditors right and never have to take over the organization, said Alexander Doc Cullison, former president of the Benevolent Association of Marine Engineers Alexander Doc Cullison, former president of the Benevolent Association of Marine Engineers Marine Engineers, a union that supported air traffic controllers. They had Alexander Doc Cullison: A marine engineer turned MEBA union representative, Cullison helped organize the controllers in the files / NATCA

106 With the Wind Ed Mullin: Mullin was a longtime tower controller at Dallas Love Field and an early NATCA activist. Mullin faced particular challenges in the Southwest, where strong anti-union attitudes are prevalent. / NATCA creates a resilient and optimistic workforce that could do anything in the world if handled correctly. It won't be like that. During the short honeymoon, the managers and base worked side by side in a heroic effort to keep traffic moving. However, the harmony was short-lived and the agency could not shake its past habits. As the turmoil for the transition forces eased, too many autocratic managers reverted to their former roles. Complaints from controllers about excessive hours at work, insufficient staff, rushed training and unreliable equipment were largely dismissed as grievances. Suggestions for working procedures and new equipment were rarely asked for and generally ignored. Yelling, bullying and a basic disrespect became commonplace. Once again, managers have relegated front-line crews to the status of hired labor rather than recognizing them as partners in providing air safety. By refusing to take any responsibility for the circumstances that led to the strike and allowing the same problems to fester, the agency sowed new seeds of discontent that inevitably blossomed in another union. Howie Barte, a founding member of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, notes that many people were involved in creating the new organization. But, he adds, no one can match the best organizer the FAA has ever had. NATCA takes off On the morning of May 6, 1987, a single-engine plane carrying a white banner with black lettering flew over the sprawling Dallas Metroplex. The cryptic inscription on the Vote NATCA banner left many who saw it scratching their heads. But his target audience understood the message and was proud. Ballots have just been mailed across the country to more than 12,500 inspectors, who will decide whether to officially sanction the labor organization, which has been more than three years in the making. At Love Field in Dallas, a control tower operator expressed surprise as he looked at the broadcast flag through binoculars. As he stood by the narrow, glass-enclosed cabin, where water seeped through the roof panels when it rained, Inspector Ed Mullin couldn't help but laugh. As the fledgling group's regional representative, Mullin masterminded a banner stunt to boost voter turnout in the staunchly anti-union state of Texas. If the controllers saw their name in lights, so to speak, the recognition could convince them that NATCA has a chance of success. A smile played on Mullin's lips as he watched the plane head south to fly over Redbird Airport. The hour-long flight also required performances over Addison Airport, Fort Worth Meacham Airport, the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport Perimeter, downtown Fort Worth, and the FAA Regional Office.

11Intro: Union Rising 7 south of DFW. Although weather conditions made it impossible to fly over some destinations, the banner was a hit with air traffic controllers. Five weeks later, his sentiments were quantified when the government counted the votes of 86 percent of the workforce. Seventy percent approved NATCA as their exclusive negotiator. Formed while President Reagan was still in the White House, the new union enabled air traffic controllers to regain their voice in the workplace and gave the organized working class a much-needed victory. John Leyden, the longtime president of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization who was ousted in a coup before the strike, believes the achievement is a validation from the FAA and workers in general. If the union could be restored like a phoenix, it would be a great sign of the need for unions, he says. A Walk in the Woods Eleven years later, in early July 1998, four people gathered around a table in a conference room in a Montreal hotel. NATCA President Michael McNally and his predecessor Barry Krasner sat to the side. FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and Tony Herman, a prominent Washington, D.C. attorney, clashed with If the union could rebuild like a phoenix, it was a good sign of the need for unions. them on the other side. The 20-minute meeting, aimed at concluding the union's third contract with the agency, was the culmination of an important journey. This meeting was based on eighteen months of negotiations and preparations, a major seven-year project to reorganize all air traffic. Former PATCO President John Leyden oversees facility ratings and associated pay scales, and the concerted union legislative effort that made NATCA possible. and the FAA to abandon the government's traditional compensation program and negotiate payment. This major achievement would soon place the Federal Sector Union and its employer in the ranks of a very select group, including agencies such as the US Postal Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The topic of discussion this morning was the amount the FAA will pay the 15,000 inspectors under the new facility rating system. McNally and Herman negotiated millions of dollars as Krasner and Garvey watched in silence. In the end, Herman offered $200 million. The two NATCA negotiators conferred briefly before McNally turned to the administrator and said, You're done, Jane. NATCA's five-year contract with the agency resulted in a significant salary increase for controllers. Improve

128 Headwind NATCA File signature on the dotted line: NATCA President Michael McNally and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey officially sealed the 1998 contract. The agreement marked the first time the union and her employer negotiated wages. * Rankings are based on 1999 data based on information from the AFL-CIO, the Federal PAC Almanac, the Federal Election Commission, and union-sponsored websites. Notably, it was the first time they were compensated for the complexity of their jobs rather than simply counting traffic, while other provisions further tied them as partners with the FAA to ensure aviation safety and increase productivity . We had to change the relationship between management and business to meet the challenges, says Garvey. Acknowledging that some trust issues have yet to be resolved in light of the agency's troubled history with its audit staff, he adds: Overall, there are more places where the relationship is more positive than negative. The 1998 contract also marked another turning point in the union's relatively short but remarkable history. Earlier this year, the AFL-CIO approved NATCA's direct charter. The powerful labor organization has preferred to consolidate its broad membership and has reserved this honor for a few since the NATCA was certified. The union appreciated the recognition, which justified the controller's once tarnished reputation in the home of organized workers. Founded on the premise of getting a voice in the workplace, NATCA has become what auditors like to think of as a white-collar union that eschews heavy-handed tactics. Senior officials have regular access to the bureau manager, a hard-fought victory that ultimately ensures union issues are clearly communicated at the highest level. And while equipment and procedures have historically been set up with little or no input from controllers, twenty-nine union managers and technical representatives now work full-time, almost all at the agency's headquarters, on some sixty-five projects. NATCA's role transcends aviation community and national boundaries. Members contribute approximately $1 million each election cycle to the Political Action Committee to fund the second-highest average per member of all union PACs running up and down Capitol Hill. * One of the former members of the National Executive Committee is Vice President of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations, an influential body dealing with professional issues on a global scale. Two other union members serve on IF-ATCA committees. Taking its responsibility to organize the disorganized seriously, NATCA joined nineteen new negotiating units outside the ranks of the controllers and now represents approximately 20,000 FAA employees, including engineers and architects, computer specialists, inspectors, nurses, support staff and others, as well as some controllers. in the Ministry of Defense and in towers operated by private companies. Seventy-five percent of workers represented are union members (including 82 percent of FAA controllers), an exceptionally high level in the federal sector. Essentially a thousand or more devotees

13Introduction: Union Rising 9 activists serve as institutional representatives, on local executive committees, regional and national committees and in many other capacities to guide NATCA on aviation and workplace safety issues, legislative matters, finance, communications, constitutional issues etc. We have our successes on their shoulders, says Executive Vice President Ruth Marlin. NATCA's first national president and executive vice president walked into a nearly empty office, hired staff, bought furniture and fax machines, and got the union off the ground. As the organization grew, so did the leadership. Each successive administration deftly adapted to the times and carried NATCA forward. In 2000, the union moved into its own seven-story headquarters in Washington. The spacious building is a far cry from the cramped quarters he rented across town in the offices of the Marine Engineers Benevolent Association. . As NATCA rose from the ashes of its predecessor, the new union charted its own course and achieved unique successes. Despite this, both organizations have very similar motives and ideals. 1. As told by Jerry Tierney and Paul Williams during interviews in February 2002 and March 2001 respectively.

14We forget all those who died before us. Former President Barry Krasner Age of Automation: Central controllers leaned over flat-panel radars to track aircraft around them Flight information appeared next to each target, thanks to a much-anticipated computer upgrade by the FAA. /NATCA archive

15Chapter 1 ATC comes of age The sun will rise over Chicago in a few hours. The roofs of the sleeping city threw wisps of smoke into the dark, cold air. On the northwest side, lone cars occasionally passed the cylindrical glass towers of the Hyatt Regency O Hare, disrupting the early morning silence. But at the hotel that morning on January 8, 1980, a feverish atmosphere washed over the vast atrium lobby like glistening waves on an airstrip in the summer heat. Several hundred air traffic controllers, key activists in the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, hung around tensely awaiting the outcome of a meeting that could radically change the course of their union. In a nearby conference room, members of the PATCO Executive Board discussed nonstop all night. John F. Leyden, PATCO's burly Irish-American president, clashed with former executive vice president Robert E. Poli, the union's chief operating officer, and all but one of his seven regional vice presidents. The mandate of Leiden lasted ten years. Many controllers respected his insight, knowledge and refinement. They credited their second president for transforming PATCO from an unaffiliated organization that was deeply in debt to a strong and highly visible union. During the Leiden administration, PAT-CO paved the way for the profession. Using delays, sick days, and tough negotiations, he won many benefits, some of which NATCA would have to fight to come back from the strike: a negotiated contract; higher wages in certain traffic facilities; early retirement and second career training program; Cab seat privileges allowed for drivers John Leyden: The distinguished PATCO chairman led the union's fight to achieve many things for drivers. /NATCA archive

sixteen12 Contra el Viento * Early retirement and a second career training program were passed into law and remained in effect after the strike. However, Congress declined funding for the second race program and never renewed it. observe pilot procedures; representing inspectors in National Transportation Safety Board accident investigations; and creating a program in which controllers (and pilots) can report errors without penalty to correct common errors. * Other goals, however, eluded PATCO: higher wages for all controllers; shorter working week; Better staff and equipment. In 1978, an increasingly boisterous chorus of union members led by a band of brawny, defiant activists known as choir members grew tired of recessions and sick leave. Believing that only a strike would lead to new contracts, they portrayed Leyden as a pigeon afraid to take the last step. Poli was seen as a decisive hawk willing to go to war against the FAA. Now, at a board meeting at the Hyatt, disaster boiled over. Leiden's opponents showered him with a litany of accusations. He was too conservative. He lost contact with the members and seemed distant. He lived in an apartment in Florida bought with union money. He flew across the country in a Gulfstream jet. Leiden was furious at the accusations. The union was like their family, so their feathers ached deeply. The apartment and the Gulfstream were figments of his imagination, he snapped, his accent betraying his youth as queen. Sure, he occasionally flew a double Beech or King Air for union functions, but charter planes saved PATCO money. And Poli or other board members always accompanied him on his travels. Leyden watched the stocky, bearded officer Caesar appraise Brutus. A few days earlier, Poli appeared in the Leiden office at PATCO headquarters and said he planned to run against him for president in the spring elections. Poli had never expressed interest in a higher position before, and the two exchanged harsh words. A shocked Leyden later revealed that Poli had quietly harbored the support of many board members and choirboys. Why didn't you say something about it before? asked Leiden now. Referring to the alleged violations, Poli replied that he could no longer work for Leiden. That's why he wanted to be president. He abruptly announced his resignation and left the room. Poli would later tell The New York Times that his dispute with Leiden was a difference in philosophy. I think I'm more militant than he is. 1 Committee members urged Leiden to explain its differences of opinion with Poli. Leyden refused, saying only that these were personal matters beyond the board's purview. However, he admitted that he plans to make some personnel changes in the country and regional offices based on an advisory survey conducted at his request. Finally, he warned them that division breaks up the community. The best that can happen is that Jan. In a dramatic coup, the Board of Directors of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization removed union president John Leyden and replaced him with executive vice president Robert Poli. The Leiden administration lasted ten years and was based on cooperation with the FAA. Poli appealed to the more militant members of the union who had become dissatisfied with Leiden's inability to improve their working conditions.

17brand new leadership, he said reluctantly. With that, Leyden also announced his resignation, which he had not thought about before the meeting. Angry, frustrated and hurt, he left and went to his room in the glass elevator. She grabbed her bag and started packing. Meanwhile, the board voted 6-1 to accept his resignation, drawing the curtain on an era and leading PATCO to labor disgrace. Eastern Region Vice President George Kerr was the only one to support Leiden. I still wonder to this day if they really thought about it and understood the implications, says Kerr. We all had our companions and our loyalists and our politics. A few minutes later Kerr knocked on the door of Leiden's room. A pained expression was etched on Kerr's face. Poli returned to the meeting and withdrew his resignation at the request of the board, he said. Come back and get yours. Lawden refused. If I say something, that's all. My word is my bond. That was the end. My organization was my life. Months later I was a hopeless case. A few minutes later Leiden heard another blow. PATCO General Counsel William Peer stood at the entrance this time. The dismissal was arranged so that Poli could take over, Peer told him. You have a sandbag. Wayne Preston, manager of the Chicago Center location, then appeared and begged Leyden not to leave. The deposed president fought for the fate of the union to which he devoted much of his adult life, but held his ground. If I go, I go, he said. The Executive Board appointed Polij interim chairman and the members elected him in April for a three-year term. Poli and the board of directors offered Leyden the position of emeritus president for a salary, but he declined. Instead, he spent a difficult few weeks at PATCO's Washington, D.C. headquarters tying up loose ends. That was the end, he says. My organization was my life. Months later I was a hopeless case. 2 Former PATCO President John Leyden Chapter 1: ATC Comes Of Age Apr. PATCO distributes an educational kit to its members describing how to set up communication networks and committees for safety, welfare and convoys. The information also includes advice on financial preparation for lost wages during a job campaign and how local unions can arrange bonds and other legal services. Many in the FAA see this as a plan of attack.

18John F. Leyden ATC Facility Current: Previous: ZNY Center Former PATCO Positions/Accomplishments National President FAA Employee of the Year 1969 New York Local Center President Employed 1959 Retired Courtesy of Howie Barte Company Initials: XL City Residence: Queens, New York Husband / Children: Mary/John, Carol Ann Other interests: Avid handicapper Interests: Golf 2001 Present John F. Leyden, the father of organized labor in air traffic control, learned the trade as a radar and radio operator for the Korean Air Force. When he became a civil controller at the New York Center in early 1959, World War II-era radars frequently failed, testing his ability to reassemble scrambled eggs by instantly remembering the positions of all his planes. Leyden's interest in the union grew out of a desire that would later prove all too familiar to NATCA organizers. You shouldn't have had a voice, he says. You should have blindly followed what [management] instructed you to do. He became president of the local New York Center and was elected president of the Air Traffic Controllers Professional Organization of the Year. During his ten-year reign, PATCO has made significant gains in benefits and benefits for controllers. Progress sometimes came through delays and sick days that took Leiden to court, but the law could be kind. To avoid arrest for a labor action, he temporarily stayed in a hotel on Long Island. The ruse failed. Federal marshals burst into his room one night and surprised several visitors and Leiden, smearing his face with shaving cream. He nervously identified himself with the name of another controller who was nearby. Apparently satisfied, the bailiffs left. Two years later, Leyden was approached by an airline security guard at Kennedy Airport who recognized the former agent. If you thought you were kidding me that night when I burst into the room and had a search warrant for you, then we knew who you were, the man said. But I also knew that for that other case you had to go to court the next day. Leiden nodded gratefully. Another matter was a hearing regarding the adoption of one of the two children he and his wife, Mary, had raised. They now have three grandchildren. The eldest was born a dwarf. Leiden has hosted a golf tournament for the Little People Research Fund for the past seven years, raising $750,000, and also serves as chairman of the charity's board of directors. After being expelled from PATCO in 1980, Leyden served as director of the AFL-CIO's Public Employees Division until, before retiring, he chaired the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee in the Office of Personnel Management for two years before retiring. determines. for manual workers. Leyden was also with NATCA throughout its evolution: organizing, lobbying MEBA to join the new union, helping draft bylaws, providing contract guidance, and supporting its successful bid for direct membership in the AFL-CIO.

19Chapter 1: ATC turns 15 from the Dark Ages Leyden and Poli had diametrically opposed views on the union's path to success, but they were driven by identical goals. Those same strong feelings have stirred auditors for decades, creating a cohesive sense of determination that led Leyden, Poli and their colleagues to seek union protection. The motivation was so strong that it survived PATCO's subsequent dissolution and led to a second organizational effort just two years later among a largely diverse workforce. Leyden served in the military before entering the private sector, a typical career for many air traffic controllers in his day. After being hired by the Federal Aviation Agency in early 1959, he received basic training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, then settled at the New York Center, located in Hangar 11 at Idlewild Airport (now Kennedy Airport). Unions in the federal sector did not yet exist. Leyden and his Hangar 11 crew even operated in some sectors without the benefit of flat-line radar, let alone automated flight information. Instead, they used small plastic shrimp boats, named for their resemblance to fishing boats, that contained sheets of paper at the top of each flight. Controllers shoved shrimp boats into their sights as their targets in the planes flashed through the glass. Coordination with the access controllers took place by telephone. They separated traffic vertically by 300 feet and relied on estimates of time to pilot arrival to maintain a 10-minute lateral separation, an inefficiency that translated to more than ten times the horizontal separation used today. Reliance on estimates also led to frequent separation errors. National Archives Pushing Plastic: In 1955, Washington Central controllers tracked aircraft carrying surplus radars built for World War II Navy warships. They identified each target using a plastic shrimp boat that contained flight information. In August, PATCO controllers caused a one-day delay at O ​​Hare International Airport, causing 616 delays of thirty minutes or more and costing airlines more than $1 million in lost fuel. The delay follows the FAA's refusal to pay O Hare controllers a $7,500 tax-free annual bonus and upgrade the tower to Tier V. All other control towers are classified as Tier IV. The agency calls O Hare's lawsuit non-negotiable.

2016 Upwind * Controllers refer to operational failures, including loss of required separation between aircraft, as compromises. Big Blue National Archives: A prototype IBM 9020 computer, providing real-time radar flight data, was installed at the Jacksonville Center in You had one or two jobs almost every hour, Leyden recalls. *Usually managers and pilots looked the other way. Shortly before Leiden reached the center, BOAC (now British Airways) started flying the de Havilland Comet between London and New York in October. A few days later, Pan American World Airways opened a Boeing 707 service across the Atlantic to Paris. In December, National Airlines began flying the Douglas DC-8 between New York and Miami. The era of commercial aircraft has arrived. However, Leiden and its siblings lived in the dark ages of air traffic control. The system has stalled after two decades of neglect, largely due to insufficient funding from Congress and bureaucratic infighting within the Department of Commerce, which ran the former Civil Aviation Administration. However, many changes were coming, prompted in part by two highly publicized mid-air collisions, over the Grand Canyon in 1956 and New York City in 1956. Immediately after the first accident, Democratic Senators Mike Monroney of Oklahoma and Magnuson Warren of Washington led two years long passed a bill through Congress to create the Federal Aviation Agency, the forerunner of today's FAA. The new organization, led by a cabinet-level administrator, opened its doors late last week. She was responsible for the development and operation of the CAA's air traffic control system, regulating air traffic safety, and promoting air traffic. The meeting in New York helped accelerate the team's modernization. Shortly after his inauguration in 1961, President Kennedy issued an executive order that led to the creation of a task force called Project Beacon. Based on nearly a year of research, the panel reiterated the air traffic controller's view that radar equipment should be upgraded so that all flights nationwide can be tracked continuously from takeoff to landing. At the time, much of October's U.S. airspace-related presidential candidate Ronald Reagan wrote to PATCO President Robert Poli, telling him that if elected, he would work to properly staff and re-equip controllers. October 23. The PATCO board of directors publicly supports Reagan and accuses President Jimmy Carter of ignoring serious security concerns that threaten the nation's ATC system.

21Chapter 1: ATC Comes of Age 17 remained invisible to the controllers. Project Beacon also called for the development of an automated system to display aircraft identification, altitude and speed directly on radar, eliminating the need for shrimp boats. Another computer system would automatically print emergency lanes and continuously distribute the information to controllers for better coordination. The working group envisaged a common system. However, en-route hubs handle high-altitude, high-speed traffic over a wide area, while terminal environments handle a combination of converging aircraft. / Japphire Front row (right): Controllers have been using the system, called ARTS, for over three decades. A new system known as STARS replaces ARTS. / National Archives 13 November. The Federal Register publishes a 23-page contingency plan, written by the FAA, outlining how it will respond to a potential air traffic controller strike. Among other things, the plan would ban commercial flights of less than 500 miles. In August 1981, the agency developed another plan to deal with the strike.

2218 Against the Wind President Kennedy issued an executive order in 1962 giving federal employees the right to form unions. * TRACON is an acronym for Terminal Radar Approach Control. In those dark, windowless radar rooms, the air traffic controllers order the planes to land before they are delivered to the airport towers. They also direct aircraft shortly after takeoff until controllers at route centers take over. around airports. To meet these diverse needs, the FAA partnered with Sperry Univac Corporation to develop an ARTS automated radar terminal system that accepted information from a single radar site for its approach control facilities. A prototype was installed at TRACON in Atlanta * Two years later, the agency deployed another system in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. He worked on an IBM 9020 computer and was able to collect data from multiple radar sites. The software contained over 475,000 instructions, relatively small by today's standards, but larger than any other program of the time. The complexity created a coding nightmare. David Thomas, deputy administrator of the FAA at the time, recalled a frustrated IBM employee who complained that all the planes flew at different speeds, and if we could just get them to fly at the same speed, the programming problems could be overcome. 3 Over time, the problems were largely resolved. All twenty centers in the continental United States and sixty-three TRACONs used automated systems by About the time Project Beacon issued its recommendations, Kennedy issued another executive order in January 1962 giving federal employees the right to form unions. His action excited government officials. Their private sector counterparts have enjoyed similar rights under the Wagner Act and other federal and state labor laws for more than a quarter of a century. Kennedy's order and a subsequent order signed by President Nixon became law when Congress passed the Civil Service Reform Act of 1998. From the start, two provisions were central: strikes in the federal sector were illegal and unions could not force people to join the familiar concept. like an open trade. Before Kennedy's executive order, the Air Traffic Control Association was the only option for controllers who wanted a voice on issues. Founded in 1956, this profession has members from all segments of the aviation industry. FAA Academy instructors encouraged interns to get involved, with some even suggesting that those who don't take the risk do the laundry. But the ATCA had no legal authority to represent workers. Many controllers also found that managers dominated the group's elected officials and the ranks of congressional delegates, setting a decidedly anti-union tone. Kennedy's tenure gave the base new opportunities. Shortly thereafter, under the auspices of the National Association of Government Employees and the National Association of Air Transportation Professionals, facility locations representing approximately 5,000 control Jan New York, TRACON goes online in Westbury, Long Island. The facility replaces the IFR Common Room at Kennedy International Airport. It serves Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports and is planned to take over the operation of several smaller airports.

23Chapter 1: ATC is trained 19 years old in New York, Washington, Minneapolis, LAX Airport and Los Angeles Center in Palmdale and elsewhere. The union was born. Local unions had little power, limited by their size, relative isolation, and the agency's reluctance to take them seriously. Controllers stayed at their posts for lunch most of the time. If someone had to go to the toilet and no one was available to intervene, another inspector was at work in two places. Guaranteed vacations were unheard of. Unless supervisors approved days off, controllers constantly manned planes during the day in white shirts and black ties, dark slacks and leather shoes. Two aspects of FAA culture exacerbated dissatisfaction with these terms. In towers, TRACONs and hubs large and small, many administrators ruled in a militaristic style of command and control. They largely ignored the partnership role controllers could play in developing operational procedures, improving equipment and generally ensuring aviation safety. They taught us instead of consulting us, says Dave Landry, who spent most of his career in a small tower in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The people who made the rules never pressed the metal. The boss's managers sometimes had to deal with seemingly insignificant issues, such as the dress code, that could lead to poor results. The Oakland Center comptroller showed up to work one day in 1968 wearing a pastel yellow shirt. The managers told him to go home, put on white clothes and another pair of leather shoes. These shoes cost more than the suit you're wearing, replied the inspector, who thought his outfit was quite professional. That's all, replied the manager. You were fired for insubordination. 4 Because there was no appeals process, the auditor had little recourse and never got his job back. That's why I got involved, says Domenic Torchia, who was PATCO's regional vice president, was fired from the strike and joined NATCA after being rehired by the agency in late 1990. The doors of many facilities changed every year or two with new managers working their way up the hierarchy. Too often, professional drivers have overshadowed the long-term interests of the institution, creating many problems. Fred Gilbert discovered this philosophy when he started at the Chicago Center on January 23. There was no interest in what floats. Secretary of Transportation Drew Lewis replaced Neil E. Goldschmidt, who resigned after a year and a half in office when Ronald Reagan took over as president in January. On January 20, Lewis, a business management major from Philadelphia, unsuccessfully ran for Pennsylvania governor of the year. He later became the Vice President of the Republican National Committee.

2420 Against the Wind They lectured us more than they consulted us. The people who made the rules never pressed the metal. Lebanon tower controller Dave Landry's needs were. It all came down to personal racing needs, he says. The best moments were when we were without a manager. Fifteen years later, the same questions would motivate Landry, Gilbert, and many others to form NATCA and make compelling arguments to generate widespread interest in the new union. In 1967, the frustration finally led to action. Controllers at O ​​Hare Tower/TRACON were exhausted by mandatory overtime and angry that their bonus pay was based on a lower scale, making them less than normal overtime. After the FAA rejected their request for a special raise, controllers slowed work on the rule by strictly adhering to the law's segregation standards, often ignoring them with management's tacit approval to ease traffic congestion. Chicago's central location and hub status caused delays that spread across the country. Punished, the FAA awarded controllers three-step increases in the pay scale of the government's General GS program, amounting to an annual raise of $1,100. Not to look at other institutions, the agency argued that only O'Hare deserved the extra money due to Chicago's high cost of living, understaffing, and difficulties in attracting transfers. Controllers elsewhere objected to the distinction. He pushed for a sweeping policy change that became the rallying cry of PATCO and NATCA for the next thirty years. In other words, this compensation should be based on the complexity of the operations, not just the number of takeoffs and landings. Auditors in Atlanta and Chicago jointly devised a formula to reclassify all facilities and sought signatures from most of the workforce to pressure the FAA to improve wages across the board, a plan they dubbed Operation Snowman. Although the petition failed, the effort led to a desire to create a national group to represent the interests of comptrollers. In the fall of 1967, two local NAGE presidents, Jack Maher, in New York. FAA orders first direct access radar channel in Salt Lake Center. Raytheon developed DARC as a backup system that can be used during failures and scheduled maintenance of the main radar system.

25Chapter 1: ATC Gets Old 21 Center and Mike Rock at LaGuardia Tower founded the Metropolitan Controllers Association, which also included the Kennedy and Newark towers. Quickly realizing that NAGE couldn't provide enough support to help them expand, Maher and Rock sought a public figure who could make their case. They were overjoyed when handsome and well-known lawyer F. Lee Bailey, a private pilot, agreed to lead their young group. More than 700 people from twenty-two countries attended the first meeting of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization on January 11. Bailey rallied the cheering crowd 11 times, supported their concerns and promised to bring them to the attention of Congress and the media. Within a month, more than 4,000 auditors had joined PATCO and volunteered, as the agency had no provision for collecting money through payroll deductions. PATCO was born at the end of a decade plagued by civil unrest and divisive conflict. PATCO's tough, loose character was shaped as much by time as by its staunch, close-knit membership. Before PATCO was barely two years old, it endured another regulatory delay and two sick days with mixed results. After a nationwide delay in the summer of 1968, unprecedented talks with the FAA resulted in PATCO's celebrated members winning the Triple Crown that fall. The FAA has updated pay scales in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York and Washington. Thanks to a law passed by Congress, controllers began to earn one and a half hours for overtime. Capitol Hill also appropriated $14 million in new money to allow the FAA to dust off its training center, which had been closed for seven years, and hire 1,000 controllers over the next few years. However, the two union actions that followed caused problems for the growing union. On June 17, 1969, television host Johnny Carson invited Bailey on his show to discuss air traffic control problems. Confusion was caused by comorbidities with the aim of lobbying the FAA for more concessions, and only 477 auditors participated. March 15 The three-year employment contract between PATCO and the FAA expires. All provisions remain in effect until a new agreement is negotiated, except for immunity under NASA's Air Safety Reporting System. This program, which former FAA administrator Langhorne M. Bond unilaterally terminated for controllers in 1980, allowed them to report errors without risk of fines in an effort to correct common problems.

2622 Against All Odds To PATCO's dismay, the agency rejected the immunity deal Bailey had negotiated with Secretary of Transportation John Volpe and suspended the participants. The following spring, the agency issued transfer orders for four controlling activists in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. PATCO was concerned that further reluctant action would destroy the union and announced its intention to stage another strike. For the second time, Bailey refused to push for signatures to document the four-point agreement he negotiated with the FAA. The agency has again violated the gentlemen's agreement. Indignantly, nearly 3,300 inspectors, about one in four, have applied for 20 days' sick leave from March 25. The FAA responded by withholding wages and acknowledging all participants. Although federal courts ordered the controllers to return to work under judicial protection, the FAA later suspended many of them and fired 114 it identified as ringleaders. Another public sector industrial action in March 1970 ended very differently. About 152,000 mail carriers. I want all those people to go back to work. He was out for eight days. Illegal strikers were amnestied and Congress passed the Postal Reorganization Act, allowing the new quasi-governmental U.S. Postal Service to negotiate significant wage increases with its unions. The inequality made a lasting impression on John Leyden, who was among the poor controllers. Since then, he argued, the only illegal strike has been a losing strike. President Nixon From the Kennel to the White House A month after his illness, Leyden flew to Las Vegas for PATCO's third national convention. He was unhappy with F. Lee Bailey's leadership and unhappy with the recent setbacks his union had suffered. Many of the other 200 delegates felt the same way and elected Leiden to succeed Jimmy Hays as the new president. Leiden tried to rebuild the organization in no time. He convinced congressional delegates to revise the Constitution and transform PATCO from the attorney-led corporate orientation established by Bailey to a power-giving union structure. in office for four years when Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency. Helms served as an instructor and test pilot in the Marine Corps during World War II. He later held senior executive positions at Bendix Corporation, the Norden Division of United Aircraft, and Piper Aircraft Corporation. He was General Air Force Man of the Year in 1978.

27Chapter 1: ATC comes into the exclusive hands of the controller at age 23. At an emotional meeting two months later, the Executive Committee agreed to Leyden's recommendation that Bailey resign. Finances were another serious problem, but help was at hand. Several unions courted PATCO, including one of the oldest, the powerful Marine Engineers Benevolent Association, a 10,000-member AFL-CIO affiliate established in MEBA that provided controllers with money, influential political contacts, and offices nationwide. In a vote of members, 92 percent approved membership of the MEBA. PATCO's new relationship soon paid off. For twenty years, MEBA dockers refused to handle Russian ships and cargo. President Nixon was now trying to change his position so that the Soviet Union could get much-needed American wheat. MEBA president Jesse Calhoon suggested that Leiden use the issue as a bargaining chip to reinstate the 114 controllers who had been fired during the 1970 strike. Quiet. Leyden brokered the deal with a phone call to the White House. After explaining that all the fired controllers were good people to go back to work, he said: Mr. Calhoon has spoken to you on a matter of vital importance. The message was clear. In a short meeting one night in the Oval Office, Leyden was joined by Nixon, top advisers H.R. Bob Haldeman, president of PATCO, Robert Poli and John Ehrlichman, White House advisers, and representatives from the FAA and the Department of Transportation. I want all those people back to work, Nixon said before leaving the room. People from the FAA and the Department of Transportation also left, while Leiden stayed. A White House counsel turned to him and advised: Remember, John. If you have a problem, if this doesn't work the way we agreed here today, call me and tell me. Leyden thanked him and went into the hallway. The voices of the two transport clerks echoed down the hall. That crazy son of a bitch thinks he's gonna get it. Courtesy of Dave Landry PATCO Pin: The Choirboys, who led the strike call, wore this signature bauble. April 28 PATCO representatives exit contract negotiations with the FAA after thirty-seven negotiations. The demands of the unions for a 32-hour working week and a separate wage scale are met with strong resistance. 23 At its annual convention in New Orleans, PATCO sets June 22 as the deadline for agreeing a new contract with the FAA.

2824 Upwind 1978 PATCO Agreement: A decade later, NATCA would rely on parts of its predecessor's final agreement with the FAA as a basis for renegotiation. everyone back to work, said one. If you have a problem with that, let's go back now, Leyden called. He saw them go away with joy. While not publicly announced, all fired controllers were gradually reinstated. A Decade of Progress By September 1972, PATCO was back on its feet and officially recognized as a union representing all controllers, not just their members. That same year, PATCO successfully lobbied Congress to pass the second pension bill. This groundbreaking law set the precedent that controllers experienced more debilitating stress than other employees. Accordingly, Congress provided that they could retire at half their base pay at age 50 with twenty years of service or at any age with twenty-five years of service. The law also ensured that controllers who could no longer work for physical or psychological reasons could receive full salary and benefits during their vocational training for two years. Leyden considers this one of the most significant achievements of my tenure, despite his disappointment that Congress later cut funding for the training program. The union made other gains over the decade, signing its second FAA contract of the year. One notable arrangement included annual familiarization trips abroad (FAM trips allow controllers to observe pilots from the booster seat in the cockpit). But when the Air Transport Association told Leiden it would not honor the FAM provision, it called for another delay. I saw it as a matter of principle. If they void that clause, the entire contract will be opened up and everything else will be subject to review and change. That was my mistake, Leiden now admits. Controllers in New York, Chicago and elsewhere, more interested in financial gain, offered only lukewarm support for the two-day dips in May and June. Leyden's second major error came from a proactive move that failed. Realizing that another labor action would have to involve a strike, he looked into other public strikes. Borrowing an idea from a teacher, June An early morning telephone poll of union halls across the country found that fewer than 80 percent of PATCO inspectors voted to strike. Around 5 a.m. ET, Robert Poli tentatively accepted the FAA's final contract offer from Secretary of Transportation Drew Lewis, despite knowing he had little union support for its provisions.

29Chapter 1: ATC begins 25-year strike in St. Louis, he formed a special group of tellers that could be counted on to vote. Chosen by local and regional vice presidents, these choristers worked on their own budgets, managed by Cleveland Center controller Robert Poli, who was selected as executive vice president of the year. Over time, the choristers acted almost uncontrollably, East director George Kerr recalls. Regional Vice President Leiden agrees that a rogue group caused my demise. The Skies will talk quietly about the strike, which gained momentum with the arrival of the choirmaster. Many were Vietnam veterans. Beaten up on their way home from the war and tired of the FAA's militaristic management style, they craved a fight. It was like the proverbial locomotive on a track, says Kerr. Once you have a steam blast and aim it in one direction the object becomes now how do we stop it? Not everyone was on the train. A significant portion of the workforce took their signed non-strike oath seriously. Many drivers also felt they performed relatively well. More money and a shorter work week sounded appealing, but they believed the public would not understand such demands because inflation had averaged 14.7 percent all along. However, others at PATCO believed they were invincible. Part of his confidence came from a letter written by presidential candidate Ronald Reagan in October 1980. Among politicians' pledges: During the 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan pledged to support air traffic controllers. On June 23, the FAA announced that it will continue to test and deploy the Traffic Alert/Collision Avoidance System. A basic version of the automated equipment, installed in aircraft, would work in conjunction with an air traffic control radar system to warn pilots of nearby traffic. Advanced versions would tell pilots to climb or descend in a coordinated maneuver to avoid each other in the event of potential collisions.

3026 Contrary to other things, Reagan stated: You can rest assured that if I am elected president, I will take the necessary steps to provide our air traffic controllers with the most modern equipment available and to adjust staffing and working days to reach maximum level. public safety. Armed with this apparent support, Poli and his contracting team entered negotiations with the FAA in February 1981, demanding three key items (along with ninety-three others): a total annual raise of $10,000, plus semi-annual increases in the cost of living. locomotive on the track. Once you have a burst of steam, how do you stop it? 1½ times inflation; 32-hour work week (controllers in other parts of the world worked 29-38 hours per week); and retirement after twenty years at 75 percent of base salary. As contract negotiations continued with little progress, Poli turned up the heat at PATCO's national convention in May by announcing a June 22 strike deadline. If they [the FAA] see no reason, I swear heaven will be silent, he declared to thunderous applause. 5 Three hours before the strike threat, Secretary of Transportation Drew Lewis made the FAA's final offer of $40 million. That included a $4,000 pay raise (equivalent to 11.4 percent, though the 4.8 percent was the raise all federal workers would have received) and overtime pay when controllers worked more than 36 hours per week. After being recently told that the strike vote of PATCO members did not exceed the required 80 percent, Poli accepted the offer. But after an open discussion, the union's executive committee recommended that members reject the proposal. Local presidents publicly asked auditors for their votes, a scare tactic that helped overcome some restraint and boosted the rejection rate to 95 percent. When the Reagan administration was adamantly opposed to further concessions, Poli called a second strike. On July 2, the PATCO board of directors unanimously recommends that controllers reject the FAA's final offer. The Committee believes that the level of militancy will never be higher to achieve its goals.

31Chapter 1: ATC Comes of Age August 27 August 3 Deadline The night before, auditors appeared in union halls across the country for a recount. The doors were sometimes closed to protect against those whose reservations might lead them to leave, helping to secure the strike's minimum approval of 80.5 percent. A few hours later, at 7 a.m. on that fateful Monday morning, nearly 13,000 inspectors, about 79 percent of the workforce, paid their respects to the columns. 6 Former MEBA President Doc Cullison believes that PATCO's high-profile podium prompted the FAA to prepare intensively for a strike. The FAA almost felt challenged. Cheer up, he says. Both had pistols loaded and ready to go. Agency experts, working with airline representatives, have developed a contingency plan called Flow Control 50. Half of peak-hour flights at twenty-two major airports have been canceled, reducing traffic congestion. En-route hubs increased the horizontal distance between aircraft from the normal 10 miles to 100 miles. Despite this, airlines flew about 65 percent of their normal schedules on that first day. While the effect of the impact was significant, the sky was far from calm as Poli had predicted. Instrument flights were prohibited for smaller private aircraft. The FAA required other general aviation pilots to book flight plans until the end of the year on a first come, first served basis. . Eighty minor control towers were closed and twenty-seven remained closed two years later. The agency began contracting with private companies to manage many of them, leading to a long battle with NATCA. Four hours after the strike, President Reagan appeared in the Rose Garden and ordered the strikers to return to their jobs within two days or be fired. Federal judges moved quickly to seize PATCO's $3.5 million strike fund and impose fines of $100,000 an hour for violating a court order against labor actions stemming from the 1970 illness. striking out of contempt called sprinters, turned to his institution within the Reagan deadline. Remaining Protestants, representing three quarters of the working population. Gary Eads: PATCO's last president, elected in January 1982, took over a decertified union that was facing bankruptcy. Six months later, he announced: It's over for PATCO. The union is gone. / NATCA Archives, July 29 PATCO announces that more than 95 percent of its members rejected the FAA's proposed settlement by a vote of 13,495 to 616. Controllers voted in public rather than a secret ballot by mail.

3228 Against the wind What's in a name? Japphire Built on the marshes of the Potomac River two miles south of The Mall, Washington National Airport commemorates the nation's first president. In 1998, angering inspectors across the country, Congress passed legislation renaming the airport after the president responsible for firing more than 11,000 of his brothers. Speaking against the proposal as lawmakers considered the action, former NATCA Executive Vice President Randy Schwitz said: The designation of America's premier airport will be re-tendered by the Federal Aviation Administration. I'd rather have a stick in my eye than have an airport named after him. To this day, many controllers refuse to call DCA by its new name. Julio Robert Poli announces that PATCO will go on strike on August 3 if their demands are not met. At the last minute, negotiations begin between the union and the FAA.

33Chapter 1: ATC comes from 29 years old, they are fired. Most appealed their dismissal to the Merit System Protection Board, but only 440 were reinstated over the next two and a half years. 7 When the dust finally settled, more than 11,000 workers were out of careers in air traffic control. The Federal Labor Relations Administration revoked the certification of 13-year-old PATCO on Oct. 17. For the first time, the union representing US government employees has been stripped of its legal status. On the last day of 1981, Poli resigned, convinced by other board members that the union could not continue until he resigned. According to PATCO members who kept in touch, Poli later operated several car dealerships along the East Coast. Executive Vice President Robert Meyer also resigned. Gary Eads, vice president of the central region, and Domenic Torchia, vice president of the western region, were elected president and vice president, respectively. They took over a mortally wounded organization. Without a charter and facing about $40 million in claims, the union filed for bankruptcy on July 2. It's over for PATCO, Eads told reporters. The union is gone Fuerbringer, head of control Jonathan Militant: Robert Edmond Poli. The New York Times. August 4, the last edition of the late city. 2. Much of the material on the January 1980 PATCO meeting is based on interviews with John Leyden and George Kerr in September and November 2001, respectively. 3. Garonzik, Joseph Aviation's indispensable partner, turns 50. US Department of Transportation 4. Linked by Domenic Torchia during an interview in July Air traffic controllers have set June 22 as the deadline for strikes. The New York Times. May 24. 6. PACO Figures. 7. Figures from the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. 8. Shifrin, Carole PATCO goes bankrupt 11 months after the strike. The Washington Post. July 3, latest edition. 3 August. The strike starts at 7 am. m., Eastern time. Nearly 13,000 inspectors, about 79 percent of the workforce, adorn the motorcade. President Reagan announces that the controllers must return to their posts within forty-eight hours or they will be fired. Supervisors, staff specialists and military controllers will step in to help direct traffic. Despite this, airlines are canceling more than 6,000 flights. A federal court seized PATCO's $3.5 million strike fund.

34We do not restore the system. We filled it up again. Anonymous air traffic controller. Aftermath of the strike: The FAA hired thousands of auditors in the 1980s, but the Washington Center was constantly beset by staff shortages. /NATCA archive

35Chapter 2 Missed Opportunity As the clock struck seven on the morning of the strike, John Gilbert was driving down a two-lane highway toward downtown Albuquerque. On the other side of the street, a group of pickers crowded in front of a expanse of land dotted with gray bushes. They recognized Gilbert's truck, a classic 1966 cherry red Chevy pickup, and waved at him. Gilbert saw several members of his crew, including the local PATCO secretary and treasurer. Friendly cries came through the open driver's side window. You're on the wrong side, they shouted. They're coming with us. It's not too late. Gilbert looked at them, then deliberately turned right past the guardhouse into the downtown parking lot. Sixteen months earlier, the tall, lanky Houston resident had quit a low-paying job selling telephone equipment to work as a controller for the FAA. He later discovered that the center's switching equipment had become so obsolete that it no longer appeared in the catalogs he used at the telephone company. However, Gilbert was happy with a career with potential. He thought the strikers were asking too much. He was still certified as an Official Controller, but he was too new to fully understand his frustrations. That will come later. A few weeks earlier, his crewmen had asked him if he intended to join the column. Hypothetically, Gilbert asked, let's say we all go upstairs and the FAA says, OK, we've accepted your requests. Everyone can go back to work, except students. So? Will you stay with us? Think about it, one of them said. Many official controllers kept the development at bay until they got the Driving on certificate: John Gilbert started working at Albuquerque Center in 1980 and stayed away from the strike. / Courtesy of John Gilbert

3632 Against the wind John Gilbert: The young controller was awarded a gold star by his colleagues on August 3 for his work. Gilbert, who later moved to Houston, still carries the star on his ID. / Thanks to John Gilbert because the washing speed was very fast. As an intern, Gilbert did not yet belong to the inner circle. If you have to stop and think about it, that answer is enough for me, Gilbert replied. So much for solidarity. I'm not attacking you. They threatened to make his life miserable when the strike was over, but Gilbert rejected it. Misery is a two-way street, he replied. Gilbert exited his car and entered the facility under the watchful eye of his colleagues and friends who stood across the street in the New Mexico heat. His supervisor, Chuck Tuberville, one of the few people on his team who showed up, greeted him. Sally Lane, another controller, had just finished her night shift. He approached Gilbert with a gold star, took one out and stuck it to the name tag around his neck. This is your gold star, Lane said. That's all you get from an employment agency. Gilbert laughed and looked around the control room. Only a few sectors were open. The auditors were joined by supervisors and staff specialists, some of whom had untangled their headset cables that morning for the first time in years and looked nervous again in front of their visors. After such a long absence, they will usually have to undergo training and recertification. But today's unique event made them jump out into the cold again. Ironically, Gilbert realized that he was better qualified to fly the plane than many of the others present. He liked that he could help, but he was not allowed to work without an instructor. With nothing else to do, he joked with Tuberville about navigating the traffic. Honeymoon. Nearly 3,400 air traffic controllers reported on August 3 and in the days that followed, supplemented by about 500 military air traffic controllers and 875 FAA employees who returned within Reagan's 48-hour deadline. They encountered similar scenes. August Approximately 875 drivers return to work. More than 11,000 remain unemployed. Development officer and controller ranks are down 74 percent. The FAA enacts Flow Control 50, which requires airlines to cancel about half of their rush hour flights at twenty-two major airports. The road restrictions are increased to 100 miles. IFR flights are prohibited for general aviation aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less.

37Chapter 2: A Missed Opportunity 33 Picketers gathered at the entrance of a fire station across from Chicago Center in suburban Aurora, Illinois, yelling at their colleagues and running to kick their tires. In downtown Houston, about 140 strikers chanted and waved signs as they gathered along the grassy median strip of busy JFK Boulevard in front of the facility. At the Salt Lake Center, managers stood on the roof, looked through binoculars, and wrote down the names of the protesters. The tension on the outside gave way to different, but equally charged emotions inside. Some strikebreakers worried about how they would treat their colleagues when they returned. Others were glad to be rid of it, if only temporarily. The stress of the previous months, fueled by peer pressure and uncertainty, had swelled like a volcano about to erupt. However, the strike had very pleasant consequences for the workers. As never before, controllers, managers, personnel specialists and technicians put aside hostility, pettiness and class differences. Instead, they worked together with much-needed team spirit to keep traffic flowing. For the first week, people just struggled to trade, says Howie Barte, controller at Quonset TRACON, south of Providence, Rhode Island. It was the Alamo and we loved it. At first, traffic was relatively light, prompting one joker to declare: We're going to have a gap between planes in one country. To cope with the gradual resumption of flights, bosses became pragmatic and abandoned cumbersome operational procedures. Instead of lecturing drivers about wording errors, managers went out of their way to help, including ordering food. In fact, coffee and snacks were banned from control rooms before the strike. Now they were needed. The only break the slim employees enjoyed was a visit to the bathroom. Other rules have been relaxed and Houston Sapphire Center - almost all FAA route centers are built to the same general plan. However, the agency chose a different design at the Houston factory because of Lady Bird Johnson's influence. September 4. The FAA announces it will hire approximately 1,500 temporary employees, including certified airline pilots, to serve as flight data assistants and perform other controller support functions.

3834 Against the Wind Fred Gilbert: The veteran of the Chicago Center organized a conference for controllers from all FAA road centers about a year and a half after the strike. However, agency managers pressured him to cancel the event. / Courtesy of Howie Barte. The manager's praise flowed freely. Traffic gradually recovered as summer turned into fall. Meanwhile, the strikers' hopes for a new job have been dashed and their resentment toward those still wearing the headphones has grown. The villains intensified voice and telephone threats to the controller's homes. Cars were covered in paint splatters and flat tires. The friends once left without saying a word when they saw each other in supermarkets and malls, an embitterment that lasted for years. The loyalty split was huge, remembers Barte, who burned his PATCO membership card in an ashtray at TRACON a week after the strike. If you were in favor you hated PATCO. When he was outside, he hated the people inside. Controllers, however, accepted the challenge of the job itself and enjoyed their honeymoon with management. Joe O'Brien, a gangly former Navy inspector who began working at TRACON in New York in February 1982, has fond memories of that period and his decision to enter the profession. It was the best thing I've done in my life, he says. Energetic and 22 years old, O'Brien joined fifty other air traffic controllers in a facility built for 200. They had to keep the planes separated to the legal minimum, of course, but they had some freedom. Drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes, yelling and cursing at each other to keep the traffic moving, they somehow managed. It was like the Wild West, he says. Further east on Long Island from O Brien, Michael McNally enjoyed the same euphoric feeling in the New York Center crowd. He was young. I was brutal. I was on top of my game, he says. They wanted us to become tin addicts and we did. We keep running, running, running. Or it would take some time for Brien, McNally and others to recognize the long-term negative effects of their frantic pace. Long before that, their relationship with management would have soured after the strike, like a happy newlywed couple in an abusive marriage. One morning about six months after the strike, Fred Gilbert walked into the Chicago Center and passed the cafeteria on his way to the control room. Darkness engulfed the foodline, as it had been since August 3. Diners fought for space; nowadays they only occupy a few tables at lunch time. Gilbert's footsteps echoed through the mostly deserted hallways. In the control room, the previously lively and noisy atmosphere softened to silence, as it had been in September. already in use in TRACON; and arrival measurement, which provides air traffic controllers with computer instructions to help manage traffic flows at major airports.

39Chapter 2: A Missed Opportunity 35 midnight shift. Less than half of the usual number of traffic controllers were located along the four rows of speed cameras. There were so few workers left that several coffee funds were reduced to just one. The lone pot was located in the second-floor administrative wing's outdoor office. Although not a coffee drinker, Gilbert listened in disbelief when his astonished colleague told him about the sign that appeared next to the coffee shop at night. The café was now only for managers. The honeymoon is over. Power Games From Anchorage to Miami, controllers faced the same rough awakening over the next few years. Many supervisors, who had little real authority but were under pressure from above to return the system to normal, waved where they could. They unilaterally adjusted working hours and granted or denied leave based on personal relationships. Work procedures and work rules were changed by order, often with little visible planning and almost no control intervention. In Denver Center, four areas have expanded to five. A major change happened overnight. Mike Fellows arrived at work the next day and found an oil-drawn line on the sight dividing the sector in half. They didn't tell us the frequency, what the procedures were, nothing, Fellows says. They just said, hook up. Such incidents have led to safety concerns. Some managers asked for feedback and then ignored it. Facility manager Quonset TRACON has issued a proposal to return to clumsy operating procedures introduced years earlier. The ad contained yes and no columns. There were no check marks in the yes column, but the plan was executed anyway. It was like someone flipped a switch, remembers Atlanta Center controller Don Brown. The attitude became: It's okay, we don't need you anymore. We won. And they directed again. In the absence of a union contract, the FAA published a 30-page handbook for air traffic workers at centers and towers. The manual, commonly known as the Green Book, describes the schedule and disciplinary procedure. Green Paper: FAA managers and controllers produced this 30-page guide, which was used after the strike in the absence of a collective agreement. October 1. FAA operations were reduced from eleven to nine regions. The West Asia Pacific regions were consolidated into a new West Pacific region headquartered in Los Angeles. The Rocky Mountain and Northwest regions were consolidated into the Northwest Mountain Region, headquartered in Renton, Washington. The states of North and South Dakota were moved from the Rockies to the Great Lakes region.

4036 Hardness against wind and the like. While four controllers were involved in the creation of the guide, some called it a derogatory reference to controllers' rights and responsibilities. Once again the dress code became a bone of contention. The Green Paper left policy to the discretion of facilities managers, many of whom stuck to the bureau's traditional IBM-like uniform. In Monroe, Louisiana, Phil Barbarello, a recent graduate of the FAA academy, showed up for his first day at work without a seatbelt. They sent him home for one. Three Atlanta Center inspectors arrived on a hot July day in officially approved sandals, but without the mandatory socks. They also had to come home on administrative leave (which is not deducted from the employee's holiday pay). Instead of working, says Lee Riley, I sat at home in the sun on the porch getting paid. Instead of working I sat at home in the sun on my porch and got paid by the federal government because some idiot cares if I have socks in federal government places because some idiot cares if I have socks got in a place where the public doesn't even show up. Hostilities inevitably flared up. Yelling at executives and interns has become part of the culture. The controversial environment has impaired some individuals' ability to learn important job skills. Craig Guensch arrived at the Minneapolis Tower six months after the strike and was the only one of his five from the academy to be given an officer to survive. Every month four or five graduates were added and usually only one dropped out. Guensch credits his success to a sympathetic supervisor named Nick Conom, who led by example instead of yelling. When Guensch moved to Miami Tower three years later, he entered an even more sinister atmosphere. I saw a supervisor pick up a strappy bra and throw it through the tower window when Atlanta Center Controller Lee Riley awarded the FAA a $10 million contract to the University of Oklahoma in October to provide certified instructors to the FAA Academy to help the agency new controllers.

41Chapter 2: A Missed Opportunity 37 Someone took the plane on the wrong taxiway, says Guensch, who is now the local vice president for NATCA at the FAA Command Center in Herndon, Virginia. I've seen them throw chairs across the room and push controllers across the room in their chairs because they got in the way. When I completed the final check-in, drivers in Miami murmured with relief, I passed one more with my ticket intact. Two weeks after the strike, Secretary of Transportation Drew Lewis appointed an independent task force to study labor relations at the FAA. President Lawrence M. Jones of The Coleman Company, a manufacturer of camping and outdoor recreation products, led the three-member panel. In March 1982, the Jones Commission issued a detailed report documenting what the auditors already knew. Despite the mass unrest caused by the strike, little has changed. Morale among most employees at all levels of the FAA is low, according to the report. The committee attributes this to incompetent and poorly trained managers. Noting that autocratic regulators led auditors to believe the agency didn't care about them, the 145-page report warned of recurring employee relations problems. Lewis acknowledged that the situation has worsened over the years, but told reporters he does not see an immediate solution. However, he promised that work on improving the working environment will start as soon as possible. 1 Controllers summed up the problem succinctly with a common refrain: They fired the wrong half of the staff. Boot Camp Craig Guensch was part of a new generation, one of thousands of controllers hired to rebuild the system. The FAA allowed a lucky few with military experience and valid matriculation scores to report directly to a tower, radar room or facility. But the vast majority of new hires formed their first impression of the agency during several months of intense boot camp-style training at the revitalized FAA Academy, part of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. Among those in the first class, which began a week after the strike, was a kind, quiet man named John Tune. Growing up on a farm in southern Missouri two miles from his grandparents, Tune was drawn to the open horizon and developed an interest in aviation. After high school, he enlisted in the Air Force for six years with the intention of becoming an air traffic controller. At the time I didn't really know what an air traffic controller was. I've just heard other people's descriptions, says Tune, reiterating his lack of knowledge. In March 1982, the Jones Commission released a detailed report documenting ongoing labor relations problems within the FAA. The report cited incompetent and poorly trained managers. October 17 AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland tells Robert Poli and John Leyden that the Reagan administration will allow striking controllers to return to work if PATCO ends the strike and leadership accepts responsibility. Some PATCO members question the authenticity of the agreement. Five days later, the PATCO Board of Directors votes 7 to 2 to reject the terms, insisting that any deal must also include the resignation of FAA Chief J. Lynn Helms.

4238 Against the Wind John Tune: After working as a controller in the Air Force, the Missouri native received FAA training in the academy's first class after the attack. /NATCA files common among newcomers to the profession. Tune was overwhelmed by unfamiliar equipment and terminology when he first entered the control tower at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. Fortunately, he was matched with a patient who guided him for six months before he retired. If you want to be a controller and have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them, the supervisor said. But I'm not going to motivate you to work. This is something you have to do yourself. Tune took the advice to heart, got to the point and bombarded his superior with questions. He became adept at piloting the T-37, T-38, and numerous B-52 training missions before being transferred to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. In the meantime, he applied to the FAA to join the agency when he returned to civilian life, as new positions often took months or even years to become available. The FAA was not hiring when Tune left the service in September 1980, so he returned to southern Missouri and got a job as a forklift truck driver at a sawmill, working on sawmill equipment and repairing semi-trucks while on the job. call waiting. He could barely contain his excitement when the phone rang late in the afternoon of August 5, Reagan's deadline. That was the goal, says Tune, and I've worked for pennies long enough. But the strike worried him. Although Tune didn't know much about unions, he understood that crossing the line could be dangerous. He called his former supervisor in the Air Force, who now worked for the FAA, and several other friends at the agency. Don't worry, they told him. They're not going to fire us all. Go ahead and take the job. Tune and his wife, Faye, went to the FAA regional office in Kansas City on Friday for an orientation session. Then they returned home to pick up their two-and-a-half-year-old son and some belongings before heading west to Oklahoma City. Armed with a list of apartments from the Regional Office, they quickly found a place to live. On Tuesday, August 11, Tune arrived at the academy with fear. He didn't know what to expect as he passed numerous television news cameras and entered a large hall filled with about sixty people. Among them was Tom Rucker, whom Tune now describes as possibly the best driver they've ever met. During the opening speech, the man behind the stage asked everyone in the audience. October FLRA decertifies PATCO and union files complaint. On December 3, Anthony Skip Skirlick of the Los Angeles Center will testify before the U.S. Court of Appeals. He agrees that the government has a legal right to fire the strikers, but argues that there is no point in dissolving a union that still has several thousand members who are active controllers. However, the court ruled in favor of the FLRA in June 1982.

43Chapter 2: Missed opportunity 39 military training to raise your hand. You'll probably make it, he announced darkly. Good luck for the rest. Maybe you can recycle yourself. The following classes heard variations on the theme. Turn left. Turn right, they were told. By the time we're done, one of you will be gone. Usually, students watched at least half of their classmates wash. While some students found the academy's curriculum unrealistic, the need for strict standards was understandable. As the deputy principal of the academy, Doug Murphy, once explained, a controller must make thousands of life and death decisions. All we ask is that you make the right choice every time. 2 The strike added a less obvious obstacle to new hires. After splitting into different classes, they were confronted by instructors who strongly supported the strike. Many coaches were PATCO members who had to make thousands of life and death decisions. All we ask is that you make the right choice every time. took temporary leave from the administration to work at the academy. Looking at the new generation with suspicion, some hinted that the training would be very difficult. In one class, nine out of ten students failed to graduate. There was little time to worry about it. During the first week, Rucker and the other students assigned to the route centers were plunged into the difficult task of studying a map called the Aero Center, which they had to draw from memory. The map depicts a fictional center and includes twenty-one named intersections, sixteen airways, and over 300 radio frequencies, altitudes, compass directions, and miles. Copies of the map were stuck on the walls of the apartments, on the ceilings of the bedrooms, on the doors, on the refrigerators, even in the laundry room of the complex. Those who survived the card challenge sweated through another few weeks of classroom instruction. Every night, except Saturday, they studied together in someone's apartment. After Pass/Fail Former assistant chief of the FAA Academy, Doug Murphy, December 9 President Reagan rescinds an order to bar fired controllers from seeking employment with the federal government for three years. However, they are still not allowed to return to the FAA. Many controllers who then apply to other government agencies and air traffic control facilities abroad say they are blacklisted because they are almost impossible to find.

44In the 40 Against the Wind exam, the lucky survivors continued with simulated problems without radar. In a clean laboratory lined with brick walls and green checkered linoleum, his ability to think in three dimensions was put to the test. The room also had several tables and two rows of beige console tables. Each console contained a microphone, several intercom switches, and a shelf for airplanes. Students sitting in one row practiced as controllers while the other row were pilots, following a detailed script to simulate different flights. Some participants were so intimidated that they simply gave up. At the end of the grueling course, a two-hour, 100-question exam loomed. Only those who scored at least seventy out of a possible 100 points in their entire work on the show would graduate. All night you dreamed of airplanes and crossing restrictions, remembers Don Brown, who entered the academy in November. His habit of smoking half a pack a day increased to three packs by the time he graduated. Ironically, he got into trouble. You would dream of airplanes and crossing restrictions all night long. even with aviation experience. Brown knew airplanes like the back of his hand and had worked at Spartanburg Airport in South Carolina since he was 16 years old. However, he failed the aircraft identification test because the agency mislabeled the aircraft. When the interns weren't studying, they let off steam at apartment parties and local hangouts. A favorite was Chi Chi's, which served colossal margaritas in aquariums and sold three-for-one drinks during happy hour. Servers at Molly Murphy's wore odd clothes, were deliberately rude, and lay on the table taking customers' orders. Salad bar patrons climbed into a low-slung Jaguar XKE with holes in the hood for bowls of lettuce and garnishes. Many students also visited the Red Dog Saloon, known for having the best covered motorcycle parking in the state. Customers are warned that anyone without a firearm will get one at the door. It was a life of excess, says the student. The pressure cooker atmosphere also made for a cool Atlanta Center Controller Don Brown Dec Robert Poli reluctantly resigns as PATCO chairman after a late night conference call between PATCO leaders. They claim that management will not change its attitude towards the union until there is a change in leadership. Vice President Robert Meyer also retires. In a narrow election the next day, Central Region Vice President Gary Eads succeeds Poli, and Western Region Vice President Domenic Torchia is elected Executive Vice President.

45Chapter 2: A Missed Opportunity 41 tours of easy morals. No one is married there, not even marriages, says another. The students felt a close friendship that spilled over into John Tune's family life. When Halloween came around, he and his wife felt uncomfortable disguising their young son as a treat and taking him to strangers' homes. Not wanting the little one to miss out on any of the little joys of childhood, several students stopped by Tune's apartment with masks and bags of candy. His house was packed again on Thanksgiving, as his classmates watched football, drank beer, and enjoyed a Christmas feast prepared by Faye Tune. After taking their final exams in early December 1981, hopeful students spent an anxious night waiting for their grades, which would be posted on the blackboard the next day. Tom Rucker was the only one in his class of ten to graduate. For many of those who survived boot camp, their joy was often cut short as the reality of the job dawned on them once they arrived at their assigned facility. Tune received a warm welcome to Wichita Tower, but Rucker faced his biggest test yet. The day he reported to the Kansas City Center, he learned that the facility had not seen an intern in six years and was told they had no plans to start him. Rucker saw the prospect as a challenge. He certified eighteen months later. Graduates have seen many of their academy brethren disappear for no apparent reason other than personality clashes with official controllers and FAA managers. Some endured what amounted to a rite of passage. I'll let you make coffee for a week and then we'll see if you can put the headphones on, John Carr's trainer at Kansas City Tower/TRACON told him. If coffee is part of the job, you can wash me right now, Carr replied with his usual bluntness. The irritated instructor replied: I won't tell the supervisor, but I will make you a project so that I can wash myself. Carr, who spent two years as a Navy comptroller in Corpus Christi, Texas, and another two years aboard the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, had a relatively easy retirement. Staff shortages sometimes led to emergency training, particularly in the control towers and TRA-CON. Controllers certified in what many called the pencil-whip position immediately began training others. Some experienced problems as traffic continued to increase. In a subsequent Jones Commission report in November 1984, an auditor remarked: We send them too quickly. Usually controlled driving in average traffic. Here's what they're rated for average traffic. Although the FAA has publicly claimed that personnel shortages have sometimes led to rushed training. Controllers certified in one position immediately began training others. December 31. The FLRA certifies professional airway system specialists who represent electronic technicians to the FAA.

4642 Upwind Weather Sign: This warning is posted at all FAA centers, towers and TRACONs. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the agency increased the security of its facilities. / Japphire Airspace has never been safer, the agency reported 589 mid-air collisions in 1984, up 64 percent, 1,058 in 1987 before starting a steady decline thereafter. However, despite the large number of close calls, there was no major driver error accident. Seeds of Discontent In an effort to improve employee relations, the FAA formed groups of managers and controllers in early 1982 to address local problems. With the right people, these facility advisory boards and human relations boards, known as FABs and HRCs, could give auditors a voice and drive real change. Too often they focused on trivial problems and recommendations from the board of directors were ignored by management. As a result, the initiative proved largely unsuccessful and caused yet another frustration for controllers. A supervisor named Freddie Fisher ran the FAB in Lincoln, Nebraska. The auditors put suggestions to him for consideration, but most of the time he came right back to them saying that they were of no avail. Dan Brandt, a burly American from the Midwest who spent eight and a half years in the Air Force before joining the FAA after the strike, objected one day. Wait a minute, he said. Isn't that a group decision? I'm the chairman of the board, Fisher answered dryly. If I say it won't work, it won't work. Comptroller Fred Gilbert served as president of the Chicago Center FAB. We took the request for granted, he says, and became proactive about airspace, personnel and other issues. During monthly conference calls between four centers in the Great Lakes region, Gilbert and his colleagues realized they were facing the same problems. They soon realized that a meeting of all FAB centers made sense. Gilbert created a questionnaire to ask controllers about problems at work and whether a national meeting should be held. FABs at twenty-four hubs and CERAP hubs from Guam to Puerto Rico responded in January. The FAA publishes the National Airspace System Plan, which outlines a twenty-year plan. Key elements include: replacement of obsolete and unreliable IBM 9020 mainframe computers and development of sector packages in desk centers; consolidation facilities; implement Mode S transponders, which will eventually enable communication between controllers and pilots; and the installation of a meteorological Doppler radar.

47Chapter 2: A Missed Opportunity 43 emphatically yes, although two of them stated that they could not afford the trip. Knowing that it could be several years before the FAA would fund such a meeting, Gilbert planned an event for the spring of 1983 that would be cheap enough for the controllers to pay for themselves. He then approached management for feedback. The head of the facility, acting on orders from the regional office, called Gilbert shortly afterward and told him to cancel the meeting. Other managers also harassed Gilbert and intimidated members of the Chicago Center FAB. Gilbert eventually capitulated and canceled the event. Later that summer, Gilbert was asked to testify at a congressional hearing on stress from controllers. The FAA's notoriety extended beyond the Jones Committee report, and Capitol Hill continued to monitor the industry. Gilbert appeared with six other controllers and managers. Naturally prepared in advance, the committee members asked him a series of pointed questions about the canceled FAB conference. The congressman wanted to know if the harassment by the administration was stressful. It will define what stress is for the rest of my life, Gilbert replied. The FABs were phased out by the agency under NATCA, and the FAA signed its first contract at the time, and the boards violated Sections 7 and 48, which covered negotiations for workplace changes. There was an opportunity to significantly improve the situation, but that opportunity was missed, says Jack Crouse, a comptroller at the Washington Center who chose not to strike and later helped push for a new union at the facility. The FAA did not use it. Instead, the agency turned a blind eye to its staff's complaints and turned a blind eye to Jones Committee reports and General Accounting Office investigations that documented poor employee-management relations at the agency. Staggering under the weight of so many autocratic managers, the agency found itself incapable of significant change. Just as the PATCO strike became a fait accompli, so this new seed of discontent inevitably grew into a desire to regain union representation. Incompetent management was found to be a factor in low morale among controllers. Daily job reporter. March 17 (No. 52). 2. Chiles, Jim The Hardships of Air Traffic Control School. Smithsonian magazine. January. July 2 PATCO files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. President Gary Eads says the union has $5 million in assets but owes $40 million, including $33.4 million to the airlines for violating a 1970 court order against a strike.

48We wanted a stronger voice because we knew what happens when we don't have one. President John Carr Doomsday: Provisional NATCA regional representatives and others listen to national organizer John Thornton, right, on June 11, 1987, as the FLRA counted the votes that resulted in union certification. /NATCA archive

49Chapter 3 The Long Winding Road The day's service ended at the Washington Center, a squat, oblong building clad in red brick and white corrugated iron siding on the outskirts of Leesburg, Virginia. Many of the inspectors trudging across the parking lot were exhausted. The Washington Center handles traffic in eight states, including busy New York-D.C. runner. Since 1981, the number of flights has increased by 20 percent to an average of 6,000 a day, but radar controller ranks have returned to only half their pre-attack levels. On this afternoon in the autumn of 1983, twelve to fifteen air traffic controllers decided not to go home immediately. They were notified of the special meeting by word of mouth and gathered around a large conference table in the training room on the second floor of the facility. Many of them, including a much loved man named Rick Jones, were veterans who continued to work at Jones, stood up and started talking about a new program the FAA planned to roll out to all of its centers called Structured Staffing. The agency planned to limit the number of high-powered radar controllers. New employees could only move on if there was a vacancy. There seemed to be no relief for FPLs tired from the six-day weeks that resulted from understaffing. I am dizzy, in my stomach, in my whole body, the inspector said at the time. I can't keep up with the work. Either you need more people to do the job or you need less work, it's a simple equation. 1 Another aspect of structured hiring, introduced by the FAA shortly after the Central Washington meeting, prioritized the development of professionals with credits for on-the-job training, regardless of prior air traffic control experience Paul Williams Place of Birth: Frustrated with staff shortages, air traffic controllers at the Washington Center formed a facilities-based organization called NATCA in the fall of 1983.

5046 Experience against the wind. At first glance, politics seemed to be taking shape. He favored better-educated new hires, a group less likely to harbor pro-union sentiment. But instead of crushing another uprising, the agency started a fire. The older angry students watched helplessly as they passed them. Former military FAA controllers were especially outraged. Despite their years on military air bases or on aircraft carriers, they were delegated to hand out flight maps and assist radar controllers. Meanwhile, less experienced colleagues, many of whom had no aviation experience, went through the training program and enjoyed corresponding pay increases. The academy was tough enough, says Atlanta Center Comptroller Don Brown, whose Oklahoma City class lost 65 percent. When we came back, we almost had to repeat the same work before my head, stomach, whole body was spinning. I can't keep up with the work. Either you need more people to do the job or you need less work, it's a simple equation. we hit the floor. And then we hit the ground and it was hard. But we survived this process where you had to be superhuman to do it because the vast majority of us didn't and what was our reward? They held us for six months. The problem was more than money. Academy graduates who were told they could report to their route center in two years and two days—an impractical goal for such a complex job—later realized this was their employer's first big lie. The FAA also proposed a structured personnel variant for towers and TRACON, but never implemented it. For Washington Center auditors meeting after work, the prospect of a structured workforce was the last straw. Most of them were fully trained a long time ago. But the center desperately needed more radar controllers to reduce overtime. The old guard also didn't like the way the program would slow down the Washington Center controller. July A Pan American World Airways 727 departing New Orleans International Airport encounters wind shear and crashes, killing all 145 on board and eight on the ground. A subsequent study recommends wider use of low-level wind shear warning systems at airports, and in October 1983 the FAA orders another fifty-one systems. By October 1991, LLWAS units had been installed at 110 airports across the country.

51Chapter 3: The long and winding road 47 timely promotion of new employees. Rick Jones and others in the room agreed that the only way they could try to change the new policy, along with other issues, was through a union. The philosophical consideration soon turned into a tactical one: who could lead their embryonic group? For president, Jones nominated Jack Crouse, an Air Force veteran who had worked at Rochester Tower and Baltimore Approach before being transferred to the center about six weeks before the strike. Simple and eloquent, Crouse seemed to be a good fit for him and the auditors appointed him without bothering to vote. They also chose Charlie Bolling as vice president and a tall, stocky controller named Mike Scott, formerly of the Chicago Center, as treasurer. As secretary, they prevailed over John Bentley, a Washington Center mainstay since the 1970s, who was perfectly suited for the role. He owned the most important tool in the business, a RadioShack TRS-80 computer. Once that was arranged, a new question arose: what should they be called? Someone suggested DUCK, replacing Organization with Association. Crouse shook his head. Too close to PATCO, he said. Someone else suggested NATCO and the wheels started turning. The Air Traffic Control Association still existed, so the ATCA was dropped. But what if they put the word National in front of it? The group made no decisions that day, but soon accepted the name National Air Traffic Controllers Association, despite their intention to form a single union. Organizers created simple membership cards and those who joined gave as much as they could afford each month. The founders of NATCA, like its predecessor, wanted to return to the AFL-CIO. But they learned that the huge labor organization did not immediately embrace unions. Instead, NAT-CA would have to join through an AFL-CIO branch. Undeterred, NATCA contacted the American Federation of Government Employees, representing approximately 750,000 workers employed in sixty-seven agencies and the District of Columbia. The problems with controllers were all too familiar to organizer John Thornton, who had been hired by AFGE a year earlier. New union: Within six months of its formation, two-thirds of Washington Center auditors signed a petition in support of the proposed labor organization. November 5. The FAA announces it will consider applicants for specially qualified air traffic controllers between the ages of 31 and 35, dropping the previous age limit of 31. The change applies to the application period from 8 to 30 November and any other application period up to and including 1984.

5248 Against the wind Jan. Thornton, the fired striker, was out of work until the beginning of this week. He and his family lived on his wife's wages as a caretaker until he got a job as an insurance salesman, though he continued to pressure Capitol Hill to rehire the strikers. . A few months later, John Leyden told Thornton about a job with AFGE, and he soon found himself enjoying working for the nation's largest federal workers' union. But when his boss approached him about organizing the Washington Center controller, he was the only PATCO member on the staff to resist Thornton. He said he didn't want to do that. They were the people who replaced me. He has had to overcome many burdens. Struggling with his emotions, Thornton finally acknowledged the wisdom of helping after Leyden told him: There's no way the government will allow the fired controllers to be rehired unless they regroup. One afternoon in December 1983, as Thornton was walking outside AFGE headquarters to meet with some of the Leesburg organizers, union president Ken Blaylock looked at him and stopped him. Now, John, when you get there, tell these people AFGE was the only union that supported PATCO. Make sure they know, Blaylock said. Thornton nodded politely. He knew the NAT-CA contingent would never respond to such a message, and he suddenly realized how little the FAA increased administrative requirements for on-the-job instructors. They must be certified in the workplace they train, work at it for a minimum of 30 individual hours, and have an instructor certificate. A Face from the Past After serving eight years as an Air Force controller, including a year at Phan Rang Air Force Base in Vietnam, John Thornton joined the FAA in 1973 at Washington National Tower/TRACON. Three years later, he ran for president of the local PATCO community, still as an intern. His brother-in-law, Victor Padgett, an FPL at the facility, also threw his name into the ring, telling Thornton, "I don't think anyone should run unopposed." But Padgett voted for Thornton, who won by a single vote. Tall, quiet and professional, Thornton distinguished himself as a union leader at the facility and as a voter representative at several PATCO conventions, speaking on behalf of towers and TRACON from southern Pittsburgh to Richmond and Roanoke, Virginia. With his young daughter at home, the 36-year-old father was concerned about the health implications of his job. He couldn't suffer the same fate as a friend a few years older who suffered a heart attack and was unable to pick up his children. Thornton joined the chorus of strikers in hopes of a better pension and a shorter work week. Like other notables at PATCO, his activism attracted unwanted attention. He

53Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 49 Courtesy of Howie Barta John Thornton: The former PATCO controller found himself organizing a largely new workforce two years after the strike. was tagged with five other controllers in Washington, D.C. and Virginia and arrested on charges of assaulting the government. Kenneth Conklin, the attorney representing Thornton and two other defendants, negotiated a deal with the Justice Department in which he would plead not to contest the contempt charges and pay a small fine. But two weeks before Christmas 1981, the final court hearing took an unexpected turn. The government has defended its position, but the court's view is slightly different: the integrity of its orders, said U.S. District Judge Albert Bryan Jr. Conklin and his clients. 2 They were wrong, Conklin argued in his defense. They stopped working. 3 Undeterred, the judge ignored the plea deal and sentenced the defendants to ten days in jail in Fairfax County. Thornton, Tom Galloway, who was president of PATCO at Washington Center, and another controller at the center named Bill Lombardi Jr. they looked at each other in surprise. When the hearing was over, federal sheriffs handcuffed the three nervous men, chained their legs, and led them through the back door of the courthouse and into a patrol car. In a gesture of appeasement, another judge reduced the $5,000 fine imposed on Thornton and Galloway to $1,000 each that same day. * To their relief, the three controllers were locked up together in the same cell block with older, non-violent prisoners. For ten sober days, they slept in fits and starts on mattresses on the floor, listening as the guards regularly broke up the fighting of the younger convicts across the hall. Thornton's worst moment came that first night when he looked at his wife and daughter through the thick glass that separated him from the visiting room. Ginny had been present at all previous hearings, but on Thornton's advice, she skipped the final trial because she assumed it would be routine. Alarmed by her lawyer, she quickly called her family before they watched the evening news. Eleven-year-old Michelle handled it well, too, though Thornton still feared the experience would put her off. When the trio were released, 200 guards and their families gathered outside the prison to greet them with a moving message of support. * Sanctions for Dulles Tower/TRACON and Newport News, Virginia PATCO presidents also reduced. Stephen Wallaert of Norfolk Tower/TRACON was not fined, but spent a week in jail in August 1981.

5450 Against the trade union wind, he realized his old profession. He believed the key was to focus on the driver's problems. He described the process of forming a union and explained to the group that they must collect signatures to call elections from at least 30 percent of the workforce. The petition would then be submitted to the Federal Labor Relations Board. Once the elections were called, the majority should vote for the union. The following month, President Reagan took the oath of office for his second term. At AFGE, Thornton's phone began ringing nonstop with calls from controllers in New York, Atlanta, various cities in Florida and elsewhere. Pressure Cooker Brian Fallon Highlights: A strike has wiped out much of TRACON's New York workforce. Heavy traffic, staff shortages and a tedious trainee certification process led controllers to talk early on about organizing a new union. Located along bustling Stewart Avenue in the Long Island suburb of Westbury, New York State is TRACON. The square white building contains a dark cavernous space with radars along all four walls and rows of lockers that stand behind visors like sentinels. There is more space in the center of the room, as well as desks for supervisors and other staff. From here, controllers manage thousands of arrivals and departures every day from the airport's seventeen towers, crammed into one of the most congested airspaces in the world. In addition to the three major airports of Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, Teterboro, New Jersey is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country. Controllers also coordinate route traffic that crosses the metropolitan area with the Boston, New York, and Washington interchanges. Formerly known as the IFR Common Room, the facility gained a notorious reputation after the strike for heavy traffic and rough treatment. February Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis resigns after serving January 23-February. Elizabeth Dole replaces Lewis. Dole, most recently President Reagan's public affairs aide, has held government positions since the Johnson administration.

55Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 51 increasingly relied on a decimated workforce to move more metal. The atmosphere in the pressure cooker was often brutal for the participants, half of whom passed out. They walked on eggshells to please their instructors and visited T.G.I. local. Fridays and other bars, hoping to pass the exam with FPL in a rite of passage to certification. The atmosphere also helped create close friendships and a hotbed of union spirit that brought together activists such as Phil Barbarello, Steve Bell, Joe Fruscella, Steve Kelley and Joe O Brien, all of whom worked in the Newark sector, and Barry Krasner in the area . from LaGuardia. * George Kerr also now sat on the Boards of Directors of TRACON and worked in the Islip sector. After losing re-election as PATCO's eastern region vice president, he resigned a month before the strike. Kerr suffered from Hepatitis A, a condition that prevented him from passing the FAA vetting that was his ticket back to the rankings. As a result, he sadly watched from his home as thousands of his fellow union members lost their careers. When he recovered, PATCO was decertified. With the help of the FAA's Eastern Region Director and the FAA's Chief of Labor Relations, who respected Kerr's honesty and integrity, he was rehired in September. Kerr immediately saw that little had changed within the FAA. He also felt some guilt about getting his job back. I am a trade unionist and I believe in what is called brotherhood, he says. When the new controllers asked his advice on employment matters, he offered it freely. Krasner, O'Brien and others learned about NATCA at the Washington Center. Frustrated with the ineffectiveness of TRACON's Human Relations Council, they heeded Kerr's whispered suggestions about organization and held a controllers' meeting at the Westbury Holiday Inn in early 1984. Only a handful of people showed up, but the group was determined to keep going. They appointed O Brien and Krasner as president and vice president of the organization with no official name. Krasner, who grew up in Flushing, New York, dropped out of high school five months before graduating (he later earned his GED) and served as a surveillance radar controller on a guided-missile frigate in the Atlantic. After his discharge from the Navy, he attended electronics school and opened a shop with a friend. But the business relationship soured and he devoted himself to selling electronic parts. In the time of Joe O'Brien: The former Navy comptroller was 22 when he started working at TRACON in New York in February. Two years later, he was named the institution's first local president. / Courtesy of Howie Barta * In the spring of 2002, TRACON of New York had 100 percent NATCA membership. With 250 traffic controllers and fourteen traffic engineers, it was the largest location of its kind in the country. The center in Chicago is the site with the most members at 400. Fall FAA provides structured staffing in its centers. The program limits the number of radar controllers, delays the training of new hires and increases officers' overtime hours. Structured Staffing also prefers controllers with credits for on-the-job training, regardless of previous ATC experience. The FAA disbands the structured workforce in June 1984, but that prompts some frustrated controllers to consider unionization.

5652 Despite the wind from the strike, Krasner was about to turn 29 and realized that he and his wife needed more financial security. Air traffic control seemed like a good bet. He took the FAA entrance exam and the agency soon called him to offer him a job. Despite his naval experience, Krasner didn't know much about air traffic control, much less the difference between centers and TRACON. When the FAA asked him where he wanted to work, he asked, What's the best paying place closest to my house? TRACON from New York, the agency announced. Krasner quickly told them that TRACON was his choice. But at the academy, he began to rethink his decision. Instructors, hearing where he went after graduation, often asked him: who pissed you off? Krasner's interest in the union was an anomaly to his family, who knew about organized labor only through word of mouth. When he called home to state his intentions and seek advice, the answer reflected that culture. don't just leave, said her father, a chiropractor. They will fire you like the others. Krasner dismissed her concerns. He and other activists met John Thornton and began collecting signatures for a ballot. To fund their venture, they introduced a $5 voluntary membership fee per pay period. More than half of the air traffic controllers supported the effort and handed out money to crew representatives who came to collect the money. Difficult task Japphire Atlanta Center: The organization started here in the spring of 1984 after auditors heard of efforts in Washington and New York. Despite fears of reprisals from management, 30 percent of the center's inspectors signed the petition within a week. Atlanta Center is tucked off Highway 19/41, across from the Atlanta Motor Speedway in rural Hampton, Georgia, a half-hour drive south of the city. During the night shift, Controller Lee Riley leaned back in his chair, rested both feet on the console, and spoke to a colleague in Leesburg on the phone. Riley, who had two years of experience with the FAA, sympathized with the software program recently installed at the centers. Traditionally, the 1983 fall controllers at the Washington Center talk about creating an independent union in their institution. Veterans Jack Crouse, Charlie Bolling, John Bentley and Mike Scott are leading the effort, which they call the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Soon after, other facilities began organizing efforts, including the New York Center and TRACON, and control towers in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Bradley, Connecticut.

57Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 53 The air traffic controllers in the center visually calculated the minimum horizontal distance of five miles between the planes. A new program called Operational Error Detection Patch automatically documented cases where Riley and his colleagues underestimated five miles by just 528 feet. Controllers were subjected to treatment left and right as they got used to the software, which they disparagingly referred to as snitches and whiners. Riley's ears perked up when she heard about the formation of NATCA in Leesburg. He spread the word to several Atlanta Center controllers, including his brother Bill, who ran a trucking business with Lee on the side and was hired immediately after the strike. Encouraged by the activities at the Washington Center, the group held a meeting at the nearby Holiday Inn in April 1984 to gauge union interest in their facility. They kept the meeting secret from management in hopes of attracting more participants, but only about a dozen inspectors attended. Among them was Randy Carter, a member of Bill Riley's regional team. Diligent and humble, Carter was the antithesis of union work, and to Riley his presence spoke volumes about the frustrations among the ranks. Despite fears of retaliation from the administration, the inspectors formed a commission of inquiry. Tom Allen, Al Damalas and Bob Hoffman were appointed to evaluate 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 AFGE-sponsored petition campaign at TRACON in New York, as well as another at the New York Center. In late spring, the Center's Atlanta contingent also decided to join AFGE and began collecting signatures. Riley and company faced a difficult task in the South. Widespread strikes in textile mills at the turn of the century, numbering as many as 400,000 in 1934, cultivated a deep-seated distaste for unions. The wounds were still fresh for those who had endured the turmoil of And many of the new hires turned their backs on anything resembling a PATCO II organization. Controllers who stood still long enough to listen to the petition-signing speech were alarmed by the sheer devastation of interns, management's tougher crackdown on misspellings, and a general fear of the unknown. More than a few signed Lee Riley: Along with his brother, Bill, he was an early supporter of the new controllers union. Riley later became the regional representative for the South. / NATCA Archives December 23. A Korean Air Lines DC-10 cargo plane attempting to take off in fog at Anchorage International Airport collides with a Piper Navajo on the runway. Three people were injured in the crash and both aircraft were destroyed. Subsequently, a ground-based radar known as Airport Surface Detection Equipment, which was tested at the FAA's Technical Center, was transferred to Anchorage. On October 10, 1985, the agency ordered thirteen more ASDE-3 units.

5854 Against the Wind later timidly approached the organizers and asked them to remove their names from the list. I never saw any compensation from management, says Bill Riley. But the fear was there. However, 30 percent of Atlanta Center riders checked in within the first week of their trip. Elsewhere, too, the number grew. In late May 1984, AFGE filed with the Federal Labor Relations Administration for an independent union only for its Washington Center facilities. The NATCA petition included the signatures of two-thirds of the 320 controllers in Leesburg. In June, AFGE petitioned the New York Center and TRACON and the Atlantic Center, the first salvo of a national campaign. Although the eventual union would be relatively small, organizing it posed a huge challenge. Employers must recognize the 12,000 FAA controllers who make up the controller workforce as a profession and must have the necessary work rules to exercise judgment without fatigue or overworked working conditions. 450 facilities across all fifty states and several U.S. territories. Hoping for faster results, AFGE planned to organize each of the agency's nine regions separately before merging them into a national unit. The union would be appointed by the AFGE Board, not a full member. As such, it was called the American Air Traffic Controllers Council, or AATCC. Meanwhile, another government union known as the National Federation of Federal Employees filed petitions from control towers in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the Bradley-Windsor Locks in Connecticut. It's unclear if the combined activity affected the FAA, but the agency suspended its structured recruiting program that same month. The controller's efforts also attracted outside attention and gained significant credibility as influence ALPA President Henry A. Duffy 1983/84. On Dec. 31, the FAA is ending its general aviation reservation system, which had been in place since the PATCO strike two and a half years earlier for private pilots wanting to fly IFR. January 31st. FAA Administrator J. Lynn Helms retires after serving April 22, 1981.

59Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 55 The Air Pilots Association supported his initiative. We don't want to return to old attitudes, said ALPA President Henry A. Duffy. To avoid this, their employers must recognize controllers as the profession they are and provide them with the necessary work rules to carry out their judgments without fatigue and overworked working conditions. 4 Like sparks from a prairie fire, the floodlights ignited quickly. AFGE-sponsored campaigns spread as far south as West Virginia, Tennessee and Florida, where former PATCO comptroller Art Joseph collected signatures in downtown Miami. They flew to the Midwest under Fred Gilbert's leadership to downtown Chicago and downtown Indianapolis, where Mike Ford, one of the strikers who successfully appealed his firing, formed a loose group with some colleagues called the Alianza de Professional Drivers. In the West, veterans Phil Greer at Oakland Center and Anthony Skip Skirlick at Los Angeles Center sounded the alarm. In New England, Howie Barte, who rejected the strike in Rhode Island, learned of the Washington Center's efforts in early spring. Barte, with warm green eyes punctuated by dark brows and a face framed by a Dutch boyish hairdo, was no stranger to union activism. A former pilot of three Puerto Rico air taxi teams, he joined the FAA during a drunken recruiting wave in 1970 and then served as local president of PATCO in the New Bedford, Massachusetts tower for a year and a half. Barte switched to Quonset TRACON in 2008. Having barely completed classroom training, he showed his combative nature by successfully challenging management's decision to reassign employees who were on Labor Day rosters and steal their vacation pay. He later became the editor of the Quonset TRACON Tabloid, the PATCO newsletter. Now, however, Barte was hesitant to return to the fray. “I really wanted nothing to do with unions because of the fear and torment PATCO has put me through,” he says. But the FAA made me realize how short-sighted that is. He also called Kerr and was later called by John Thornton. At the May meeting, Thornton met Barte, Donna Gropper, who was a controller at Providence Tower, and eight other people from Quonset, Providence, New Bedford, and Groton, Connecticut. Again, Thornton paved the way for union. After returning to Washington, Thornton called Barte and asked if he would be the organizational representative for New England. With 8- and 11-year-old daughters Dynamic Duo: Controllers Donna Gropper and Howie Barte led a campaign to organize facilities across New England over the summer / NATCA Archives Apr. Retired Navy Vice Admiral Donald D. Engen takes over as FAA administrator from J. Lynn Helms, who resigned two months earlier. Engen received twenty-nine flying awards in World War II. He also flew combat missions in the Korean War. After retiring from the Navy in 1978, he worked for Piper Aircraft Corporation and Kentron Consulting before joining the National Transportation Safety Board.

6056 Against the Wind Donna Gropper: Since being hired by the FAA in 1975, Gropper has held numerous union and management positions. He is now an air traffic controller at Orlando Tower/TRACON. Employees and management praise his philosophy of cooperation. / Japphire * PATCO's negotiating unit included automation specialists, who maintain the software programs that control radars and other equipment in FAA facilities. Naturally, they joined the efforts for a new union. Barte occupied himself with the building blocks that kept him moving and a half-finished extension at the back of his house awaiting completion. All he wanted was a contract, he says. I didn't want to be a leader. I didn't have time to participate. Thornton then asked Gropper, who agreed. Like Barte, she was involved with PATCO as a local union secretary and vice president at Mac Arthur TRACAB (a combination of tower and TRACON) on Long Island. But Barte, a passionate and driven person who couldn't sit still, called Thornton. We're giving you two for the price of one, he said. We will be co-representatives. Over the summer, the two kicked their signature campaign into high gear, quickly delivering petitions to AFGE from the four institutions attending the May meeting, as well as other New England institutions. In his spare time, Barte used the telephone lines to make contact, while Gropper wrote a monthly evangelistic newsletter on his Royal typewriter. On October 22, 1984, AFGE filed a petition on behalf of all New England branches, making it the first region to call for union elections. The negotiating unit would represent some 665 air traffic controllers, automation specialists and air traffic controllers. * It really caught on in the Northeast, remembers Gropper, who later held several management positions along the East Coast before taking his current job as an air traffic controller at Orlando Tower/TRACON. But I was also surprised how quickly the rest of the country recovered. It was a thorough effort. By then, AFGE had applied for twenty-eight facilities and the organization had spread to Kansas, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and even Alaska. Damaging Failure Even as the Controllers celebrated reaching a major milestone in New England, several looming problems threatened their momentum. In Atlanta, the Riley brothers did not like AFGE's policy of making their proposed union a council rather than a separate department. We have several May 1984 petitions from AFGE to the FLRA to establish NATCA in Washington Center. The petition was signed by 214 auditors, about two-thirds of those who work in Leesburg, Virginia. In June, AFGE also filed petitions in Atlanta Center, New York Center, and TRACON for a union called the American Air Traffic Controllers Council (AATCC). NFFE calls for unions at control towers in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Bradley, Connecticut.

61Chapter 3: The long and winding road 57 needs. We wanted to be our game, says Lee Riley. How can auditors expect AFGE to negotiate on their behalf 20 years of retirement, additional sick pay and substantial pay increases if their legions of white collar workers cannot justify the same consideration due to the less stressful nature of their jobs? jobs? The other auditors agreed. Yes, your profession faced unique issues that were unfamiliar to AFGE members. But they did not find the politics of the union board spectacular. If AFGE failed to serve them adequately, controllers could join another union after being certified as a bargaining unit. However, the Rileys disagreed and withdrew their support for the AATCC. * The brothers did not officially speak for the southern region, but their actions affected the organization. Only 24 percent of the region's 2,700 auditors had signed AATCC petitions in December. In a status report at the end of the year, AFGE organizational director David Kushner noted that the breach hit us hard, spreading to the Southwest, Central and West Pacific regions. At the just-concluded meeting in Chicago, he wrote, several AATCC regional representatives spoke of the difficulty of attracting younger auditors. The new hires echoed Rileys' argument that the office workers union didn't understand their profession well enough to help them effectively. Even in the eastern region, rooted in the working-class stronghold of New York, Kushner warned that support for AFGE was waning. Not surprisingly, the AATCC also encountered resistance from its employer, who did not welcome the possibility of another union, regardless of membership. Retired Navy Admiral Donald Engen, who took over as FAA administrator from J. Lynn Helms in April 1984, has publicly admitted that the agency never really resolved its labor problems. But he said he prefers to work individually with controllers. 5. In July, the FAA tried to derail the organizers. In a petition filed with the FLRA, the agency sought to consolidate all facility claims into one national bargaining unit. The employees affected by the petitions do not have a separate interest group from controllers elsewhere, the FAA argues. The FLRA has scheduled hearings in November to discuss the matter. Ironically, in 1970 the FAA took the opposite stance when it required PATCO to form unions for one installation. As a result of the bureau's current tactics, auditors would have to spend significantly more time and money collecting signatures from 30 percent of the total workforce before elections are held. The picture was even bleaker at the Washington Center, where the agency's action seemed to doom independent NATCA. In September, Jack Crouse and company decided to combine their efforts with the darkest cloud overshadowing organizational efforts: money. AFGE was in serious financial difficulties. * In March 1985, Lee Riley and Anthony Skirlick formed an organization called the United Air Traffic Controllers Lobby in hopes of becoming a direct affiliate of ALPA. However, the group never started from a standstill. 22 October. AFGE petitions AATCC of New England. More than 40 percent of the inspectors have signed petitions. FLRA Holds Hearings on AATCC Petition. In November, the FAA is challenging the proposed union on the grounds that it is regional, not national, and includes data systems specialists (they were included in PATCO's bargaining unit). The FLRA Regional Director rules in favor of the AATCC, but the FAA is appealing.

6258 Against the Wind AATCC and NATCA names dropped. The darkest cloud overshadowing the effort was money. AFGE membership suddenly declined in the early 1980s, causing serious financial problems. In his report, Kushner suggested a conservative budget of $675,000 to continue organizing controllers. He acknowledged that it would be another 12 to 15 months before AFGE could expect to receive enough money in AATCC fees to cover its costs. Kushner was also concerned about the superficial support for the effort among AFGE's national vice presidents, given its financial constraints and the challenges of organizing another 800 Japphire 800 Independence Avenue: In her appeal against the regional unions' petitions, Kushner alleged the FAA that he is airborne. traffic control system from the headquarters in Washington and therefore the new negotiating unit must come to the national level. type of workforce. The Washington Center Movement, which began just two years after the strike, spurred regional activity and grew into a promising boom. But when the AATCC 1984 ended on a subdued note, the flight to a national union was in danger of being abandoned. Controllers Win Round A much-needed victory lifted the mood on February 28, 1985, when the FLRA approved New England's petition. The ruling followed three days of hearings last November, when the FAA reiterated its objection to proposed unions at a facility in Atlantic City and Bradley-Windsor Locks, as well as a New England regional unit. The agency claimed it conducted air traffic operations and employee relations from its headquarters at 800 Independence Avenue in Washington, rather than its nine regional offices. Therefore, every union must be national. The FAA also held that automation specialists were part of management and should not be included in a bargaining unit. FLRA Regional Director S. Jesse Reuben agreed in part and rejected union requests at individual facilities. But he allowed unity in New England, noting that the FAA's regional directors have a broad ausstud. At the AATCC meeting in New England, auditors elect Howie Barte of Quonset TRACON in Rhode Island as their regional representative. Several other regions also currently have representatives: Eastern, Joe D Alessio, later replaced by Joe O Brien, both of New York TRACON; Great Lakes, Fred Gilbert of Chicago Center; Northwest Mountain, Gary Mill of Salt Lake Center.

63Chapter 3: The long and winding road 59 in relation to everyday working conditions. Reuben also agreed with the AATCC's union organization of automation specialists and air traffic controllers, as workers in both positions worked closely with controllers. Traffic agents even reported to the same supervisors and personnel department. The FAA had 60 days to appeal, after which the New England union election remained pending. However, the verdict delighted the AATCC organizers. They were also encouraged that the FLRA Regional Director understood the FAA's inconsistent management policies. All auditors knew that the FAA was not the cohesive national entity it claimed to be. There were significant differences in working rules, terminology, and even some operating procedures between the regions, leading to the end of the Nine Kingdoms. Shortly after the ruling, the Eastern Region collected enough signatures to petition the FLRA for a second regional unit. By the spring of 1985, the AATCC had filed sixty-four petitions, more than double the previous October, from institutions in twenty states and Puerto Rico, thanks to the persistent efforts of Thornton, the two organizers he hired, and numerous auditors. Discontent was so widespread at CERAP in San Juan that Barte and Gropper hired most of the auditors during a three-day trip to Puerto Rico. AFGE Eastern States was hosted by Beth Thomas. Thomas, a former operating room nurse turned comptroller, had firsthand experience of these issues and was immersed in the union culture. She grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where her grandfather splashed in knee-deep icy water in the state's coal mines. His descriptions of the dangerous working conditions in which miners carried a canary through dark, damp tunnels to warn them of poisonous gases left a lasting impression on the important protection unions could provide. Thomas's mother worked for the city and was a union member, as were several uncles who worked on the railroad. Her husband, Chuck, was a fired inspector in Tampa. Beth Thomas applied to the agency in the 1970s and was waiting to be hired when the strike broke out. The FAA offered her a job soon after, but she turned it down. However, she accepted a second offer in December 1981 and was assigned to small control towers in Hagerstown, Maryland and Binghamton, New York. She was unable to return to Tampa, where Beth Thomas, controller and labor organizer, realized the pressures of her former profession. Still, Thomas fought an uphill battle to convince the controllers to support the new union. / NATCA Archives Nov. 30. The United States Air Traffic Control Organization was disbanded for lack of funds. USATCO was founded in April 1982 and had about 800 members in its peak year. With no contract and no employer, USATCO focused on bringing back the laid-off controllers. Membership declined steadily, however, following a May 1984 federal court ruling against President Reagan's renomination and re-election in the fall.

64Beth Thomas Traffic Management Specialist 2001 Current Job Initials: ET NATCA Archives Hometown: Altoona, PA Other Highlights: Completed the Boston Marathon in 3 hours 15 minutes Interest: ATC Facility Workflow: P r e v i o s: ATCSCC HGR, BGM TMB, FLL, Command Center AAT-120. Towers Evaluations Past NATCA Positions/Performance 1988 Contract Team; National President of the Critical Incident Stress Management and Employee Assistance Program. equipment; QTP coordinator of the South region. Hir ed Dec In the chess game of life, Beth Thomas has landed on the board in many areas: OR nurse, air traffic controller, work organizer, manager. While he generally plays on the player's side, his eclectic background prompts the benevolent Thomas to seek out win-win strategies. His union commitment was based in the Pennsylvania hills, where relatives mined coal and maintained the railroad. His management philosophy was influenced by Maslow's theory of satisfying the hierarchy of human needs. These advices have been refined by professional experience. A better retirement plan led her to leave nursing and join the FAA. She also realized that it would be easier to help her ex-husband Chuck and his colleague fire PATCO strikers from the agency. Despite four years in the Air Force, she was still disheartened by the FAA's autocratic rule. There are better ways to conduct business that involve decent courtesy, he says. Thomas resigned three and a half years after growing tired of commuting between upstate New York and his home in Tampa, Florida. But his desire to improve workers' rights continued to shine. As an organizer for AFGE and MEBA, she traveled almost constantly from the summer of 1985 until her NATCA certification in July. Facing antagonism, fear, and apathy, little Thomas held his own, winning over many skeptical checkers. You must have a union, he always argued. There is no other way, like a person, to make their voice heard and recognized. After certification, she organized nurses at four South Florida hospitals before being rehired by the FAA at Tamiami Tower. When Quality Through Partnership became popular, Thomas hit the road again as the Southern Regional Coordinator and discovered that collaborative sessions can be more difficult than holding meetings. People don't want to give up their territory, she says. Encouraged by the potential of QTP, Thomas became Tamiami's Air Traffic Manager for two years, an experience that reminded her that people, not programs, nurture successful relationships. He transferred to air traffic assessment and returned to the FAA Command Center in December. Through it all, Thomas has steadily maintained her relationship with NATCA, either as a full or associate member. His long term with the union reflects a different passion. He participated in the Boston Marathon four times. But Thomas slows down often enough to enjoy life and spends free time with his non-Natca family: his mother, sisters, cousins, and their children.

Sixty-fiveChapter 3: The Long and Winding Road With her husband still alive, Thomas resigned from the agency in May, but she wanted to remain active in the movement. A month later, he began working from home for AFGE and Thornton, both of whom he knew from their PATCO days. Chuck Thomas was an accomplished carpenter and designed an office for his wife in the guest bedroom. He quickly covered the walls with org charts, institution contact names, travel plans, and the number of signatures, which slowly grew with the fragmented organizational effort. As an outsider, one of her biggest challenges was getting the word out to the home base. Few people were willing to take the plunge and post things on a bulletin board, Thomas recalls. In many places this was not easily accepted. I give a lot of credit to the people who actively led the campaign. Even his affable personality initially failed to break the ice in the wary southern working-class country. While touring Florida with Bill Riley, the two camped in the back of a franchise butcher shop for a day, but only spoke to ten drivers from nearby Jacksonville Center. Only two people came to hear his speech in Orlando. I've had many difficult meetings, says Thomas. Many people hung up. More organizational activity took place west of the Mississippi River. Gary Molen, a bona fide Salt Lake Center veteran, was one of many to take up the torch. His penchant for boots and wide belt buckles, reminiscent of his upbringing in Montana, earned him a reputation as a cowboy who wore headphones. After joining the FAA in 1968, Molen endured a rainy and busy year in Houston, working downtown, before eagerly transferring to a small enclave in his hometown of Great Falls. The center handled traffic through eastern Montana to Fargo, North Dakota and south to Sheridan, Wyoming. When it closed in 1976 and operations were moved to centers in Minneapolis and Salt Lake, Molen moved to Utah. Growing up with a father who worked as a switchman and brakeman for the Great Northern Railway union, Molen understood the value of workers' organisations. He joined PATCO while still training in Great Falls, but had to leave the bargaining unit when he became a classroom instructor. When the strike broke out, Molen was fighting for his own happiness and that of Gary Molen: In the 1970s, he worked at a roadside center in his hometown of Great Falls, Montana. Molen was NATCA's Northwest Mountain Regional Representative from 1985 to / Courtesy of Howie Barte March Howie Barte presents an image showing a control tower and radar survey with the letters AATCC as a proposed logo for the group at an organizational meeting in Boston. The AATCC refuses to accept the logo, which Barte and comptroller Kim Kochis collaborated on, citing concerns that it favors terminal controllers. However, Barte uses it to organize efforts in New England.

6662 Against the Wind Kelly Candaele: AFGE (and later MEBA) organizer covered the West, where a lax attitude and a “right to work” culture challenged its ability to spark interest in the union. / Japphire the pain of seeing friends lose their jobs. Returning to the sights was a revelation. They all pulled together. Many, many commented that it should have been, he says. Thus ended the honeymoon between the controller and management. It's back to the same old mess. Little has changed from the strike to the formation of the new union. One night, Molen overheard a colleague on the phone with Skip Skirlick from downtown Los Angeles. Molen called, heard about the organization, and was soon talking about the Salt Lake union. Shortly thereafter, AFGE Western States organizer Kelly Candaele visited the center. The job at AFGE was the first union job for the tall, brooding Irishman. Initially, Candaele was ambivalent about the controllers due to his strong feelings about people crossing the line. But he knew the stakes were high in air traffic control, leaving ununionized workers vulnerable. He also realized that it would be symbolic for the labor movement to reorganize several thousand controllers. Mill's philosophical position attracted the Candaeles and they agreed. However, selling AATCC has been difficult in the West, given the region's laid-back culture and legitimate work ethic. Molen and Candaele also found it difficult to hire new employees in their 20s, who were well paid and had little work experience to assess working conditions. The two traveled extensively through Utah and Colorado together. Candaele knew that certain personality traits and communication skills were crucial in people waving the organization's flag. The PATCO agitation colored many controllers' views on organized labor. Candaele understood that the AFGE-funded team had to proceed with caution, focus on issues and allay fears before they could gain the trust of the auditor. He believed that Mill's honest and thoughtful nature and cowboy wisdom were a perfect fit for him. The covert nature of their efforts could turn the fear into anger of potential recruits at the meetings, some of whom felt trapped by poor working conditions but feared the potential consequences of organizing. Mill was patient and calm. The fateful incident helped shape Candaele's view of the Montana resident. It was snowing as they drove south on Interstate 25 from Denver Center in Longmont to Stapleton Airport. Candaele nervously gripped the wheel whenever the Air Pilots Association announced the possibility of organizing controllers. ALPA and AFGE will debate the proposal over the summer, but ALPA's Executive Council will vote against the measure at the end of August. During the fall, John Thornton and Howie Barte sought the interest of other unions, including the Marine Engineers' Benevolent Association, which organized PATCO.

67Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 63 The car skidded on the slippery road. As a resident of Los Angeles, I am not used to driving in the winter. Suddenly a semi truck drove past him, sending a wave of sleet pouring down the windshield and destroying the road ahead. Candaele slammed on the brakes. The car turned around. Sparks flew as the passenger side scraped the fence along the median strip. The car sped off and then hit the fence several times, throwing more embers into the air before skidding to a stop. They both silently welcomed the presence of the guardrail that kept them from hitting oncoming traffic. Candaele looked at Mill. Gary was as calm as he could be with a sort of smile on his face. Almost like, why did you do that? Candaela remembers. Neither of the two was injured. Unfortunately, Candaele forgot to take out insurance and his bosses at AFGE would not pay for the damage. If management decided to look for faults, they might find that things are not right. They can make someone's life miserable. You always knew you could get fired. Other checkers joined Candaele as he moved further west, including Dave Bottini, an organizer for the San Francisco Tower. Bottini became involved after the tower boss changed his seniority policy and denied him credit for time spent with the FSR while on loan from the Defense Ministry. He was also concerned about the lack of job security for the largely unskilled workforce. If management decided to look for faults, they might find that things are not right. They can make someone's life miserable, he says. You always knew you could get fired. That wasn't fair. Bottini joined Candaele and Skirlick on a winter trip to visit downtown Albuquerque. They announced two meetings at a nearby hotel. The morning passed as they waited in the conference room for someone to show up. Finally, in the afternoon, a lone controller appeared and cautiously asked a few questions. No, we are not here to fire you, the organizers stressed. We can't go on strike. Tower O Hare Comptroller Dave Bottini June Citing financial constraints, AFGE lays off fourteen employees, including John Thornton and the rest of its organizational staff, except the head of department. July 26 The FAA awards a contract to IBM to replace the 9020 computers in the on-the-go centers with new 3083-BX1 Host computers. From 1967, 9020s were installed.

6864 Against the wind Some auditors saw professional organizations such as ALPA and AMA as perfect models for their fledgling union. the controller casually listened as his legal rights from the employment relationship were explained to him. There was a knock at the door. Everyone looked and saw a reporter and a TV cameraman peeking into the room. Is it a group of controllers trying to organize a union? asked the reporter. Can we come in and record? No, the organizers replied in unison. But the nervous inspector was already out the door. Interests of Violators On April 26, 1985, the day before the FAA's deadline to appeal the ruling authorizing regional unions, the agency filed a two-page statement. This predictable move further delayed the election until the full FLRA reviewed the matter. The following Monday, however, AFGE controllers and organizers awoke to surprising news. ALPA President Henry A. Duffy announced that his union, an AFL-CIO affiliate representing 34,000 pilots from forty-eight airlines, had plans. organizing controllers. ALPA First Vice President Thomas Ashwood said the pilots were interested in speeding up the ride because they wanted the controller's opinion on a $10 billion program to overhaul the air traffic control system. AFGE's efforts are dead in the water, not moving, and time is of the essence, Ashwood said. 6 Some Drivers Thomas Ashwood, ALPA's first vice president, saw professional organizations like ALPA and the American Medical Association as perfect models for his fledgling union. They admired how organizations emphasized reason over violence and cooperation over conflict. But while ALPA was financially strong, well-organized, and had significant influence in the industry, fundamental disputes occasionally erupted between controllers and airline pilots. Many were concerned about how to resolve disagreements within the same organization. The importance of ALPA also raised a legal problem. Article 20 of the AFL-CIO bylaws did not allow communication. August Delta Air Lines L-1011 crashed after wind shear on final approach to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. 134 of the 163 people on the plane and one on the ground died in the accident. DFW's low-level wind shear warning system did not detect turbulence until after the accident, demonstrating its limitations. Raytheon is developing a terminal Doppler weather radar for better warning capability.

69Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 65 petition among its associate members. If another union tries to organize the same group of workers, the original member can seek mediation to determine who should retain exclusive rights. Although AFGE publicly promised to continue the campaign, during the summer of 1985 it quietly held talks with ALPA about carrying on the campaign. AFGE's ongoing financial problems served as a catalyst. In June, he laid off 14 employees, including Thornton, Thomas and Candaele. Like an aborted summer romance, ALPA ended its fling at the end of August when the General Executive Council voted against the proposal. Experts believe MEBA was likely a factor in their decision. The benevolent Association of Marine Engineers officially waived its rights to organize inspection to AFGE in the spring of the year. When it became apparent that AFGE would try to sell those rights to the pilots' union, MEBA vehemently opposed it. Most auditors simply shrugged, concerned about ALPA's relationship as a union. But they were bitterly disappointed, though not too surprised, when the entire FLRA overthrew its regional director in Washington in September and rejected New England's bid for a regional union. The authority agreed with the FAA's claim that it operated the nation's air traffic system primarily from headquarters. In support of its decision, the authority cited PATCO's national bargaining unit and a similar FLRA ruling on the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service as precedents. In light of its decision, the body declined to decide whether automation specialists and air traffic controllers are eligible to join the AATCC. The decision, which came 11 months after AFGE applied for a unit in New England, sounded the death knell to their stalled efforts. The layoffs wiped out AFGE's organizing department and the union seemed reluctant to spend much more money on inspectors, who now had to get all new signatures on petitions calling for a national union. On the Way Down Beginning in June 1984, Barte held monthly conference calls with activists in New England and other regions as they joined the AATCC. For now, the calls centered on the one thread holding the effort together, and that was AFGE's Gene DeFries: The MEBA president had repeated history by turning over his union's resources to controllers. MEBA also organized PATCO. / NATCA Archives September 20. By overturning its regional director's decision, the FLRA rejects New England's bid for a regional union in its entirety. Citing PATCO and the similar FLRA ruling on the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service as precedents, the authority requires only a national bargaining unit to be appropriate.

70Howie Barte PvdD Local Chairman Alt. RVP ANE-540 Relationship 1990/93/97 Current Employment Initials: RJ Hometown: New York City Children: Laura, Susan Other Interests: Courtesy of Howie Barte Restored American Era Jeep Korean War Interests: Science, Electronics, Computers, Exploration of space, sushi Current ATC Facilities: PVD Viewed: OQU EWB ZSU Tower/TRACON TRACON Tower Center Born in the Bronx, Howie Barte spent part of his childhood in Madrid, Spain, Caracas, Venezuela, and San. Juan, Puerto Rico while their parents engaged in various professional activities. But Barte didn't begin to appreciate unions until he saw the world from the cockpit of an airplane above the blue seas of the Caribbean. His first air taxi team kept him flying despite inclement weather, excess cargo and a lack of water survival equipment. The next airline, whose pilots belonged to ALPA, rated safety much higher. It was like working in a sweatshop, and then I realized it doesn't have to be that way, he says. Low-cost carriers did not offer much job security. After being suspended twice, Barte applied to the FAA and began working as a controller at the San Juan Center in 2011. Two months later, he heard familiar voices on the radio as his pilot friends fought a thunderstorm. Grateful to be on solid ground, Barte recalls, they got out, but it was scary. He joined PATCO, maintained his associate membership while serving four years as a comptroller in the Navy, and was enlisted as a factory representative six months after arriving at New Bedford Tower in Massachusetts. He wasn't afraid to talk, he says. Barte continued to be involved in the transfer of past NATCA Interim New England Regional Representative positions/performance; Member of Parliament with NATCA National Conventions since November Employed by Quonset TRACON in Rhode Island to edit the local union newsletter. However, seeing the increasing drumbeat as a way out of corporate hysteria, he resigned from PATCO the day after the first strike vote and continued to work. Barte quickly realized that the controllers needed another union, and in 1984 he became a founding member of the movement to create NATCA. His goal was to return the contract. I had no idea this was going to be my life, he says. After playing a pivotal role in the push for NATCA certification, Barte suffered a heartbreaking loss in the union's national election that year. He could not ignore the call to activism for long. For the past twelve years, he has served as Local President at Providence Tower/TRACON, Deputy Vice President for the New England Region, and NATCA Regional Liaison for the FAA Resource Management Branch (ANE-540), all while retaining his driver's license. He serves as a delegate to all union conventions, a position he held in 1992, and is known as NATCA's unofficial historian. Somehow, Barte also found time to raise two daughters, satisfy his Star Trek craving, and restore a military jeep he had registered with the serial number NCC-1701-NATCA, a reference, of course, to the Starship Enterprise. .

71Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 67 only a financial commitment for the campaign (besides Barte's long-distance landline phone bill). Tired of the lack of support and its impact on the pace of organizing, Barte began reaching out to other unions to ask for their support. Thornton, who had been keeping in touch with key activists while collecting unemployment data, also answered the phone. The US communications staff seemed willing to help, but only offered money after the checkers collected the required 30 percent of signatures. With a workforce of around 12,500 controllers, that's no fewer than 3,750 names. Officials from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers and the Teamsters responded: We will contact you, and they never have. MEBA President Clayton E. Gene DeFries echoed the same refrain. Increasingly discouraged, Barte fired the former PATCO organizer. By the end of October 1985, the green leaf season was over. I will emphasize that this new organization of air traffic controllers will be really new. It won't be a rebirth disguised as the old PATCO. they came and went in New England, and winter coats came back into fashion. The stunted white pine needles that covered Barte's garden seemed to symbolize more than the passing season. Unfortunately, Barte thought that the monarch who had halted organizational efforts was about to die him in a deep freeze. Suddenly there was a thaw. At three o'clock in the afternoon his phone rang. DeFries informed him that MEBA would organize the controllers, but the news could not be made public until December 2. Barte, delighted, agreed to keep quiet. In mid-November, Thornton and ten activists met with AFGE's David Kushner in Alexandria, Virginia. AFGE had spent about $250,000 and was limited in how much more it could do, Kushner warned. He talked about the national organizing committee and another post office. But weak support led to growing disillusionment among some at the table, including Barte, who knew this would be AFGE's last meeting with them. The curtain came down. MEBA President Gene DeFries November ABC News dedicates its Nightline program to the ATC, marking the first major television coverage of the issue since the strike ended. Howie Barte disputes FAA administrator Donald Engen's claim that the FAA has enough controllers, saying management has not changed since the strike. New York TRACON's Joe O Brien and two unidentified controllers also appear on the show, along with Representative Guy Molinari.

7268 Upwind Howie Barte: His appearance on ABC's Nightline in November 1985 helped draw attention to understaffing and low controller morale. / Courtesy of Howie Barta As promised, MEBA made its intentions public in early December. In an effort to clarify the initiative to the public and controllers, DeFries said, Let me emphasize that this new organization of air traffic controllers will be really new. It won't be a rebirth disguised as the old PATCO. The new union will be effectively and adequately tailored to the needs of this new generation of air traffic controllers. 7 Barte flew back to Washington to meet De-Fries on December 5 and plan another campaign. At Barte's request, they were joined by two other key activists: Joe O Brien of New York's TRACON, representing the Eastern Region, and Dan Keeney of Daytona Beach Tower/TRACON in the Southern Region. The difference with the AFGE meeting was like night and day. DeFries promised solid financial support and noted an important difference: the controllers will be fully affiliated with the engineers' union. Unlike the agreement with the AFGE council, the new union would set up its own structure and set policy without competing with the interests of other employees. What do you want in return? Bart asked. We don't want anything, DeFries said. We just want to see them organized. It's good for business. DeFries then asked Barte to resign from the FAA and become the new union's national coordinator. I'm an air traffic controller, Barte replied. My goal is to get a contract, not a job. He suggested that DeFries ask John Thornton, whose experience as an auditor and in the organization made him the perfect candidate. Barte, Keeney and O Brien left MEBA headquarters feeling euphoric. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but the momentum for the new union has been revived. Part of his optimism stemmed from another helpful pick-me-up three weeks earlier, when ABC-TV highlighted the controller's case on its popular nightly news program. The segment aired towards the end of a year in which 1,500 people died in plane crashes around the world. The worst in the United States occurred on August 2, when a Delta Air Lines L-1011 crashed into wind shear on final approach to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, killing 137 people. Ten days later, a Japan Air Lines 747 suffered mechanical problems and limped for thirty minutes before plunging into Mount Ogura outside Tokyo. All but four of the 524 passengers were killed, making it the deadliest single plane crash in history. The Nightline broadcast was prompted by an on-air clash three days earlier between Nabisco Nov. AFGE outlines further organizational activities, reinforcing the belief among several controllers that the union does not intend to commit sufficient resources to end the AATCC campaign. December 2. MEBA President Gene DeFries announces that the union will organize controllers. In October, DeFries informed Howie Barte, who contacted the union for help, about MEBA's intentions.

73Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road The 69 Brands and Piper Archer business jets over Cliffside Park, New Jersey, killed six people and injured several others. Controllers were not initially involved in any of the accidents, but Nightline questioned President Reagan's actions *Reporter Jack Smith noted that official controller ranks had been reduced by 5,000 since the strike, but they were handling 1,000 more flights a day . The number of reported near misses rose by an alarming 65 percent. Inexperienced inspectors trained others and sick leave was denied because there were not enough substitutes. In a taped interview, Joe O'Brien said that the employee relations councils failed because FAA management simply took the groups' recommendations and did nothing more. FAA Assistant Administrator Quentin Taylor downplayed the problem, saying the complaints came from an extreme minority of auditors. FAA Administrator Donald Engen, New York Republican Congressman Guy Molinari and Barte appeared live on the show. Barte spoke from the ABC studios in Boston. When the technician attached the microphone to his lapel, he could hear his own heartbeat in the earphones. Her nervousness vanished when she heard Taylor's assessment. Barte noted that 2,500 controllers have signed a petition to form a new union, though the organizers haven't reached all parts of the country, and said management within the FAA hasn't changed at all since Nightline also released the music video . Engena a week after the strike in Congress and testified that the FAA doesn't need more controllers. I'm full. I now have everything I need, he said. If I had more drivers today I literally wouldn't be able to use them. The tape sparked a heated argument about the ongoing understaffing between Engen, Barte and Molinari, who said he intended to give President Reagan a letter signed by seventy members of the House of Representatives urging him to remove some of the to re-employ dismissed inspectors. During commercial breaks at the Boston studio, Donna Gropper jumped excitedly into the shadows behind the cameraman while giving Barte a thumbs up. On their way home in a rented limousine, courtesy of ABC, they decided to stop for drinks to watch a show that had been taped an hour earlier. While they were looking for a tavern, Barte thought of telling the bartender that he would be appearing on TV and then betting on a free round, thinking the bartender wouldn't believe him. As the minutes ticked by until the broadcast, they finally found a pub. Barte, Gropper, and the driver raced in, only to find there was no television. The broadcast caught the attention of many airline passengers and air traffic controllers who watched it. The ranks of official air traffic controllers had been reduced by 5,000 since the strike, but they were handling 1,000 more flights a day. The number of reported near misses rose by an alarming 65 percent. * In its May 1987 accident report, the National Transportation Safety Board cited a lack of coordination among Teterboro tower controllers as the cause of the mid-air collision. Several controllers were also named in the civil suit, prompting NATCA to lobby for immunity from liability actions. 5th of December. MEBA President Gene DeFries invites Howie Barte to Washington, D.C., to discuss the organization and agrees to Barte's request to include two more controllers: Joe O'Brien and Dan Keeney, representing the Eastern and Southern Regions. DeFries asks Barte to serve as National Coordinator, but he declines and recommends John Thornton, who accepts the position.

7470 Against the Wind New Acronym: When MEBA took over the organization in December 1985, the union revived the name created two years earlier at the Washington Center. with a sense of justification because one of their ranks successfully debated the FAA administrator in a national forum. Engen ignored the facts and seemed out of touch with the reality of his staff. Barte's layout was one of our best tools, says Dave Landry of Lebanon Tower in New Hampshire. The interview pushed people who were on the fence. In mid-December 1985, Engen fulfilled his Nightline promise and met five controllers at FAA headquarters in Washington, away from the facilities manager's intimidating presence. Among those who attended the unprecedented two-and-a-half hour meeting were Barte and Washington Center Comptroller Walt Simpkins, who took over as president from Jack Crouse and also served as Eastern Region deputy on Washington's interim executive committee. controllers. Continuing the discussion on Nightline, both auditors noted that persistent understaffing leads to excessive overtime. Simpkins admitted that they were able to go on summer vacation, but stressed that his colleagues suffered. While we were on leave, we knew someone at the facility was working overtime so we would be off work, he said. Simpkins has not had two consecutive days off in the past ten months. After the meeting, Barte took a taxi across The Mall to the MEBA headquarters on North Capitol Street to discuss the organization with Thornton, who had been hired as the national coordinator. The question of the name of the new group arose again. This time there was little discussion. Thornton drew up a list of possibilities, and they quickly agreed to re-establish the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Back on Track The new year started off bright, if confusing, for controllers. AFGE and MEBA competed for their loyalty and important signatures on election petitions in letters sent across the country. Though the Dec Five controllers meet with FAA Administrator Donald Engen to discuss the state of the ATC system and controller morale. The reunion is a result of the Nightline program. Subsequently, Howie Barte and John Thornton agree to change the proposed union's name to NATCA, which Washington Center controllers used while organizing. They also agree to accept the AATCC logo used in New England as the new NATCA logo.

75Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 71 The Logo Was Born Like many of the founders of NATCA, the logo came from the union of the AATCC. One day in the fall of 1984, Howie Barte took a break from handling phone calls to sketch a logo for the New England Monthly Newsletter. The circular artwork paid homage to hubs and TRACON with its dashed and guilloche lines and other markings representing radar range, and was anchored to the control tower at the bottom. Influenced by his interest in Star Trek, he chose a computer font for the initials AATCC in the center. Following the logo's debut in the October issue of the New England AATCC Update, Barte teamed up with Kim Kochis, the second controller on his team at Quonset TRACON. * Kochis, who loved to draw and paint, drew on the graphic design skills he developed in high school. When Barte and Kochis finished, concentric circles with radar scans replaced the radar map. The tower cab rested on a T in a series of simple block letters spelling AATCC. Barte presented the final product for formal approval at a meeting of regional representatives of the AATCC in March, but some auditors argued that it did not represent the correct centers on the route. Not wanting to change the design, Barte wore it year-round in New England. When MEBA arrived on the scene, he gave a copy to Thornton, who gave it to a union graphic artist. The resulting logo, with red lettering and blue lines, made Barte proud when he saw it at the first national NATCA meeting. The logo was later registered as a trademark in 1993, and in 2000, then-President Michael McNally presented Barte with a plaque in recognition of his efforts in creating the union's longstanding symbol. Kochis notes that many companies change their visual identities as they mature, and says he's surprised it's stuck all these years. Two unsuccessful attempts to redesign the logo were made in the 1990s. To ensure its permanent appearance, delegates to the 2000 NATCA convention mandated that all amendments must be approved by a majority vote at the convention. * Kochis was subsequently transferred to two other New England facilities before settling in May 1995 at Raleigh-Durham Tower/TRACON in North Carolina.

7672 A Helping Hand Against the Wind: When the FAA instituted random drug testing in 1986, NATCA educated staff about their rights. In the fall of 1987, a few months after certification, the union signed a contract with the agency outlining testing procedures. Most of the activists quickly jumped onto the MEBA deck, a few clung to the sinking AATCC ship. AFGE put together a handful of newsletters in the spring to maintain support, but their limited efforts failed. AFGE did not want to quietly give up and was eager to recoup its organizational investment through future fees. AFGE raised the issue of organizing rights for auditors at an Article 20 hearing before the AFL-CIO in June. It soon became a point of discussion. Still struggling with money problems, delegates to the AFGE convention voted later that summer to end AATCC's campaign funding, opting instead to focus on the organization's existing unions. NATCA, on the other hand, started running and never looked back. MEBA support revived the fiery effort and soon ignited the fire. Many familiar faces were present at the first national organizational meeting on January 11, 1986, including several nominally elected to represent their regions in the AATCC: Barte of New England, Dan Keeney of the South, Gary Molen of Northwest Mountain who endured jokes because he wore cowboy boots and a belt buckle and O Brien of the East in his suit. Walt Simpkins was also in attendance, along with representatives from centers in Boston, Denver, Los Angeles and Miami, among others. In particular, the president and vice president of Professional Airways Systems Specialists were in the crowd. PASS, which became a union in late 1981, represented workers in the FAA's Flight Facilities, Flight Standards, and Office of Aviation. December 31, 1985/86. NATCA's first organizational letter is sent to the country by US mail. January 3rd. NATCA's first organizational letter is sent to all controllers in the country from NATCA/MEBA headquarters in Washington D.C.

77Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 73 Industry Standards. After PASS President Howard Johanssen stood up and offered to provide guidance in setting up business premises, publishing information about NATCA and filing complaints on their behalf, he was warmly applauded by the appreciative audience. An enthusiastic John Thornton led the process. His good humor was not only due to the fact that he had a lucrative job again. After watching AFGE run out of money and union after union refuse aid, he worried that the controllers would never organize. MEBA's full pockets and powerful political contacts were a great relief. Thornton hasn't lost his sense of history either. In addition to its long tradition of representing seafarers, MEBA has supported PATCO. Now it seemed right that the same union should once again stand behind the controllers as they fought to regain their place in the organized working class. Thornton was joined onstage by Beth Thomas and Kelly Candaele, whom he recruited to reprise their roles as organizers. Behind them hung a banner with the new NATCA logo and the words MEBA/AFL-CIO. Even at this early stage, the auditors expressed a desire to become more than just a union. They envisioned a professional organization that would impact things like retirement, reduce stress, and reinstate an immunity program for controllers who reported operational errors. Former FAA administrator Langhorne Bond unilaterally canceled the program at NATCA and wasted no time in amplifying and finding his voice. Impact in the Making At around 7:30 a.m. on March 3, 1986, a gangly traffic controller named Michael Sheedy sped across the double-decker Verrazano Narrows Bridge en route to New Brunswick, New Jersey. Sheedy, whose deep voice was familiar to pilots on New York's TRACON frequencies, was chosen by his colleagues to testify at a congressional hearing on airspace congestion, jurisdiction and procedures. After the hearing, Sheedy had to return to Long Island in time to begin his three-hour shift. Such was the frenetic pace of NATCA activists, many of whom still worked six days a week and spent their days off trying to form a new union. Even with MEBA's help, they had to take advantage of annual vacations, family travel privileges, and sometimes spend their own money to visit other facilities, attend organizational meetings, and eventually voice their concerns publicly. The House Aviation Subcommittee hearing, chaired by California Democrat Norman Mineta, marked another milestone. For the first time since the strike, the drivers' organization Jan. About two dozen activist drivers, MEBA organizers and representatives from around the country attend NATCA's first national organizing meeting in Alexandria, Virginia. The AATCC logo, from which MEBA's graphic artists created the name NATCA, is officially used for the first time. The same logo is still used today.

7874 Against the Wind Norman Mineta: The California Democrat attended a one-day NATCA conference in March 1986 as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Aviation. President Bush appointed him Secretary of Transportation in the Department of Sea Transportation. He testified before Congress. Sheedy was joined by Newark Sector Controllers Steve Bell and Joel Hicks. When a General Accounting Office representative testified about serious personnel problems, Bell, Hicks, and Sheedy nodded in agreement. They operated in an area with barely half of the controllers authorized by the FAA. The hearing generated a lot of media attention, which led to enthusiastic reactions from controllers at TRACON. When Bell arrived at work the next day, it was as if he had just hit a home run at Yankee Stadium, he recalls. The attention also aided his organizational efforts. Meetings that brought together six or seven people began to attract between forty and sixty participants. A few weeks after the hearing, more than thirty NATCA activists from all regions except Alaska gathered in San Francisco. Congressman Mineta, a well-known speaker on aviation issues, also attended the one-day conference. MEBA's political contacts led to their presence, further legitimizing NATCA's increasing public role on behalf of the controller. In June, Fred Gilbert and John Thornton testify. For the first time since 1981, the organization representing labor inspectors testifies before Congress. Steve Bell, Joel Hicks and Michael Sheedy speak for NATCA. An activist makes his voice heard. Steve Bell, a newcomer to the growing union, soon became its leader. He grew up in Baltimore and moved to Omaha when he was 15. During his nine years as an Air Force comptroller, Bell and his friends dreamed of making it big with the FAA after they retired. The agency hired one of Bell's friends, who became a PATCO representative at Litchfield Tower (now Goodyear) in Phoenix's western suburbs. Bell was surprised when a friend refused to agree to Reagan's ultimatum. Another ex-army friend was also fired, giving Bell his first inkling of the strong feelings welling up inside him. The FAA closed all small towers in the Phoenix Valley and began contracting with private companies to operate them. A few months later, Barton hired ATC Incorporated Bell to work at Falcon Field in Mesa. By the time the FAA called it the following spring, PATCO had been decertified. Concerned that he wouldn't get another chance to join the agency, Bell accepted his job offer. I didn't understand the problems in August. But they became immediately apparent when his first instructor sat down with him at Ontario TRACON in South

79Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 75 in California. Steve, we don't want you here, the coach said. Your chances of succeeding are slim. However, Bell survived training and found himself with TRACON in New York in December 1984 after a brief stop on the approach to Omaha. One of Bell's instructors was Joe O Brien, who occasionally spoke about the union. One day, O Brien asked Bell if he wanted to join. You're kidding, Bell said. I don't even know if I'll be there next month, let alone help them unionize. That's fair, replied O Brien. I'll ask you when you leave. Steve Bell: As the son of a preacher, he inherited a gifted tongue. On the day Bell presented the certificate in June 1985, O Brien approached him again. After a service shift, Bell and another controller joined O Brien in his basement in Selden, Long Island, learning about the AATCC. Reflecting Stan Barough's penchant for history, over the next few months Bell sought more information from PATCO co-founders Mike Rock, John Leyden, and some of the choirboys who had been laid off. He didn't see the militancy happening again, but he knew the issue would be a major hurdle to overcome with controllers who distrusted unions and opposed Patco. The Cliffside Park, New Jersey broadcast in November 1985, which led to several civil suits against the controller, brought Bell to the brink of union activism. “I saw what happened to my friend and colleague, Steve Kelley, who had to go to the NTSB himself,” says Bell. When he didn't get help from the FAA, I and many other inspectors knew it was wrong. We must organize so that this never happens again. Bell was well prepared for the task. From his father, a non-denominational Christian preacher, he inherited a sense of leadership and a gifted language. Bell soon took over as president of a local New York company, O Brien TRACON, whose long travels all too often kept him away from his wife and two young children. More than a few controllers heard of Bell's conversion and quickly joined the cause. Steve had a gift, and his gift was the ability to speak, says New York Center controller Michael McNally, who saw the light after a two-hour session with Bell. When I came out of that sermon, I said, this is something I want to do. He put everything into perspective for me.

8076 Against the Wind Guy Molinari: New York Republican congressman advocated rehiring some of the laid-off strikers to ease the workforce shortage in the 1980s. / Stan Barough *Despite 145 co-sponsors, H.R. never finish the vote request. Molinari tried again at the next convention. Although the House passed his bill, the Senate never voted on it. ** The selection of the Salt Lake Center served as an important litmus test in the competition between AFGE and MEBA. Local president Gary Molen supported NATCA, while vice president Jim Edmunds preferred to stick with AFGE (he was elected national vice president of the AATCC in a separate election the group held in April). informed Congress of ongoing staff shortages to garner support for a bill that would allow the reassignment of at least 1,000 PATCO strikers. Reflecting the polar differences among its members, NATCA walked a fine line on emotional reassignment. While Gilbert and Thornton acknowledged that the relationship between air traffic controllers and overall performance levels had begun to exceed a prudent and acceptable level, NAT-CA avoided formal acceptance of the bill. Rep. However, Molinari, the bill's sponsor, met privately with Thornton and Gilbert after the hearing and pledged his support to the NATCA organization. * The following month, NATCA appeared before a Senate committee to support the creation of an Aviation Safety Commission. The proposed panel would be tasked with making recommendations to President Reagan to improve aviation safety. All four events highlighted a key difference between AFGE and MEBA. While AFGE preferred to focus on organizing and ignored controllers' desire to pressure Congress, MEBA immediately connected them to Capitol Hill. It was really necessary, says Thornton. MEBA not only invested money, but also part of its political capital. The Home Stretch Meanwhile, the campaign to collect 3,750 signatures for election petitions was in full swing. Some drivers have complained about joining a regional association for the third time, the national AATCC for the second time, and now the NATCA. But sign that they are. In February 1986, Salt Lake Center controllers voted 22 to 0 to join NATCA. ** The Professional Drivers Association in downtown Indianapolis joined in March. The Cleveland Center held its first organizational meeting in April, and 140 drivers signed up in two weeks. When the Minneapolis Center got involved, organizers could see a national movement emerge. NATCA amassed more than 3,000 names as AFGE and MEBA argued their case at an Article 20 hearing in June. After two years of false starts and stagnation, numbers continued to grow. Almost constant travel to endless encounters with controllers, answering familiar questions and allaying common fears gave Thornton, Candaele, Thomas and a group of former AATCC activists a sense of déjà vu. During this second national campaign, they were joined by new NATCA activists and another MEBA march. MEBA organizer Kelly Candaele is coordinating the Western Pacific NATCA conference in San Francisco, with more than 30 controllers from all regions except Alaska. Representative Norman Mineta, chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation of the House of Representatives, is also present.

81Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 77 Lack of signature Ed Mullin took the FAA entrance exam in 1974, but never heard from the agency. At the time, he was working at Philadelphia International Airport in passenger services and flight operations for Eastern Airlines, which also had a contract with British Airways to operate its flights. A few years later, Mullin planned to use his pass privileges to enjoy a trip to Ireland with his mother. Unfortunately, British Airways went on strike the day before it was due to take off. Mullin told his mother that his vacation should be limited to the United States and asked her to choose another destination as an alternative. Soon they were flying first class to Denver to see the Rockies. They rented a car at the airport and slept in a motel in nearby Aurora. Mullin noted the FAA's regional office in the city (later moved to a suburb of Seattle after regional consolidation). Curious, he decided to ask about his long-lost job application the next day. The receptionist referred Mullin to the manager down the hall and was shown the NATCA files. The man smiled broadly, opened the bottom drawer of his desk and took out Mulla's file. We were looking for a medical degree, he said. The form required a signature. Mullin shook his head at the detour his application made from Philadelphia and signed the document. The manager then reviewed some other documents and announced that Mullin could start work in Lewistown, Montana, in two weeks. April 14. The FAA reports 758 near misses in 1985, compared to 589 in 1984, a 29 percent increase. FAA Administrator Donald Engen attributes the higher percentage to improved reporting. Last fall, NTSB Chairman James Burnett told Congress that the board was deeply concerned. Subsequently, the FAA reports 840 near misses in 1986 and 1,058 in 1987, followed by a steady downward trend to 293 in 1993.

82Ed Mullin C u r i t e ATC Facilities: P r e v i o s : DAL FAY Misc Tower Tower Flight Ser. Stations Past NATCA Positions/Achievements Southwest Regional Representative; reclassification committee; member of the Board of Directors of NMI; Vice President Emeritus of the Southwest Region. Hired October Retired NATCA Archives Operative Initials: EM Hometown: Philadelphia Kids: Jennifer Aileen Other Trivia: Former Parachutist Interests: 2002 Present Arkansas Ozarks, Philadelphia Eagles, NCAA Basketball, Rolling Rock Beer Ed Mullin got into aviation while in college while worked for Eastern Airlines and later British Airways in passenger services and flight operations. The experience gave him a solid foundation for air traffic control, but his formal training proved just as valuable as he helped organize NATCA. After growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs and attending a Jesuit prep school, Mullin earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania, West Chester, with a focus on Eastern studies. All that philosophy helped me a lot and enabled me to formulate clear opinions, he says. I needed all available resources. He was hired by the FAA in 1977 as a gas station specialist in Lewistown, Montana. But when Mullin joined the NATCA movement in early 1986, he was working on the Dallas Love Field Tower. Unionism in Texas and the Southwest is practically non-existent, a world away from Philadelphia, where he was a member of the United Steelworkers of America as a teenager. Dealing with a post-strike workforce largely made up of Pepsi generation controllers, who were often ambivalent about organized workers, posed another challenge. Just getting certified was literally against everyone's expectations, he says. However, Mullin and his fellow organizers prevailed and began to form their own union. During his six years on the State Executive Board, he approached many issues with a long-term view, including his successful campaign to set aside a portion of dues for an emergency fund, a program that continues. He also stood up for professional standards. Mullin admits it's a sensitive issue, but believes the union should fend for itself, just like lawyers and doctors. If NATCA can handle it, it will really mature, he says. Back in the region, Mullin relied on good communication to build membership and launch NATCA. His detailed bulletins did not escape the attention of FAA management. When Mullin discovered that an employee had been tasked with collecting all of his materials, he chided the agency for wasting taxpayers' money and quickly added the regional office to its mailing list. Mullin retired as a comptroller in January 2002, and his daughter, Jennifer, graduated that year from Texas A&M University veterinary school. He still serves on the NMI board of directors and hopes to move into aviation research on air traffic services and health issues. Mullin notes that three controllers in the same facility suffered heart attacks last summer and says, We're getting effects that no one has studied.

83Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 79 organizer. Doc Cullison, a former marine engineer, ran the central and southwestern regions. Although his family included a long line of ship captains, the allure of the bridge eluded him. After sailing for several years, Cullison became a MEBA representative organizing workers and negotiating contracts while PATCO was still a subsidiary. His knowledge of driver issues led MEBA President Gene DeFries to assign him to the project. Cullison worked out of his Houston mansion and had to deal with 24-hour employees. Right to work states throughout the Southwest region and many new hires who were ambivalent about unions posed a difficult challenge. But Cullison found that independent controllers, a Marvel Man mentality, and a series of broken FAA promises made a reunion inevitable. The FAA thought eliminating PATCO solved their problems, he says. They refused to accept any responsibility for his problems at work. * His Southwest right-hand man was a thoughtful and dedicated controller of Love Field in Dallas, who studied philosophy with an emphasis on Eastern studies. Ed Mullin joined the agency in 1977 as an airline service station specialist in Lewistown, Montana, on the eastern tip of the continental shelf. At the time, Mullin and his estranged wife were involved in a custody dispute over their infant daughter. Mullin's sister and brother-in-law took care of young Jennifer in Columbia, Maryland, prompting him to seek several transfers in an effort to get closer to his family. In order not to jeopardize his chances of custody and reveal the political realities, Mullin decided not to attack. It was a difficult decision because I believed in the legitimacy of several issues. But meeting Jennifer was the most important thing. For now, her daughter and her foster parents lived in Dallas. Around Christmas 1981, Mullin finally arrived at Love Field. He was no stranger to working conditions within the FAA, but it took a pivotal event to join the new union. As FAB president, Mullin pushed to add a second person to the midnight shift at the busy airport. Despite his arguments about increased fatigue (he noted that the Three Mile Island and Exxon Valdez disasters occurred during midnight shifts), his proposal got nowhere. One night in late 1985, an elderly private pilot suffered a heart attack. His wife, who had only a few hours of flight time, struggled to maintain control. in June, NATCA National Organizer John Thornton and Chicago Center Controller Fred Gilbert testified before Congress. They say the relationship between air traffic and official controllers is beginning to exceed acceptable and prudent levels. The hearing comes along with an ill-fated attempt to pass a bill introduced last fall by Rep. Guy Molinari, R-N.Y., which would have authorized the re-employment of at least 1,000 laid-off PATCO drivers.

8480 Against the Wind Dan Brandt: When Omaha Controller TRACON organized in the American heartland, he had to counter the perception that unions were violent. / Courtesy of Howie Barte's plane. The only controller on duty at Love Field tried to talk her out of it while she directed the rest of the traffic. But the plane flew through some clouds, crashed near Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, and the couple were killed. After the accident, the FAA assigned two people to the midnight shift to keep the tower working properly. However, when the media attention waned a month later, the schedule was changed back to one. The experience so embittered Mullin that he resigned from the FAB and attended a NATCA meeting a few months later with ten other controllers. When the call went out for someone to lead the effort, Mullin remembered the accident and thought, why not? I thought the best thing for this agency would be a sustainable internal voice, he says. In an instant, he was the de facto representative of the Southwest region. At first, the mild-mannered Mullin spoke reluctantly to the controllers. The public, already hard to win over in a country where the right to work is a euphemism for union fraud, sensed his embarrassment and received him coldly. The answering machine at his home recorded several threats of violence and a scripture. The cultural difference from his teenage summers as a union worker in Philadelphia was enormous. So Mullin avoided the word union. Instead, he used metaphors such as the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving to describe the new organization and what it could do. The fear factor was exaggerated, he recalls. Omaha TRACON controller Dan Brandt encountered similar feelings when he helped organize America's Granary. Many equated unions with Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters. The meatpackers went on strike when Brandt showed up in Sioux City, Iowa, and a union member had just been killed. The murder made the controllers nervous. People kill each other, they said in fear. You're not a pack of meat. You're an air traffic controller, Brandt replied. That's a big difference. It all depends on how you run the union. Cullison coached Mullin (and others) on the phone every night, smiling as his spokesman matured to the audience. You could look people in the eye and see if they accept it, says Cullison. Did they trust you and how credible did they find it? Mullin covered thousands of miles in June. The AFL-CIO is holding an Article 20 hearing to determine whether AFGE or MEBA should host NATCA. MEBA, which had organized PATCO drivers, prevails in the end.

85Chapter 3: A year-old Honda Civic hatchback on a long and winding road as the spring and summer of 1986 passed in a blur. He met with controllers, taped flyers to cars, and tried other less traditional organizational methods, such as renting a bus to transport controllers to a horse racetrack in Shreveport, Louisiana. One afternoon in Corpus Christi, Texas, Cullison came across a softballing crowd. He rented a van, filled the bed with ice and beer, and parked at the starting gate when the race ended. Thirsty players gladly accepted refreshments and union leaflets. During a meeting at a hotel near the Kansas City airport, a gangly-smiling controller named John Carr sat in the audience. After Cullison's presentation, Carr asked, Why should we have a union in the end? I'll tell you a story, Cullison replied. It's a neighborhood. All the houses in the neighborhood were just beautiful, except for this vacant lot. It was covered in weeds, garbage and rats. One of the neighbors decided we could turn it into a park if we put in a few dollars each. Everyone could share. He went from door to door and everyone helped. They took out the trash. They exterminated the vermin. They mow the grass. They took refrigerators and old tires. They installed children's playgrounds and a basket for basketball and several benches for the elderly. Everyone said: This is the most beautiful park we've ever seen. Then some neighbors moved and the couple moved. About a year later, the same neighbor decides he needs to pick up another collection of NATCA records. The Neighborhood: Doc Cullison's Tale of Homeowners Who Improved a Local Park, Then Let It Decay captured the essence of care perfectly. September 23. Seventy-two delegates attend NATCA's inaugural convention at the Chicago-O Hare Ramada Hotel, including temporary representatives from each of NATCA's nine regions. John Thornton announces that NATCA has gathered more than 4,200 signatures to call a union election. However, the group plans to collect more signatures before submitting it to the FLRA to ensure a big win.

86John F. Thornton Acting Director of the Free Flight Program 2001 Current Job Initials: JT Hometown: Atlantic City, NJ Spouse/Children: Ginny/Michelle (married to Shawn Daniels); Granddaughter: Amanda Other Highlights: Peter Cutts John, Ginny and Michelle starred in the 1976 PATCO film about a day in the life of an air traffic controller Current ATC Facility: FAA Watched: Free Flight Tower DCA/TRACON Former Union Positions/Acts DCA; National NATCA I. Organizer; NATCA MSc. conduct legislative business; helped prevent the Russian ATC attack as a special envoy to AFL-CIO. John F. Thornton enlisted in the Air Force in June 1973 in 1965 with no intention of becoming an air traffic controller. Computers were the new wave, which led him to bother his career advisor with training. But the school's waiting list meant he would have to endure a year of menial duties such as KP duty and roadside garbage collection. When Thornton learned of the alternatives, he quickly chose ATC as his profession. The novelty of it all worried him until the intricacies of the job crystallized one sunny day at Little Rock Air Force Base and he realized he was what he was. His eight years in the military also include service at McGuire and Dover AFB, as well as Phan Rang Air Force Base in Vietnam. While Congress held its Watergate hearings in the summer of 1973, Thornton began his career as a civilian controller at the Washington National Tower/TRACON. He was still in training when he was elected as a facilities representative, and also served as a voting representative at several PATCO conventions. He retired in 1981, hoping for a better pension and a shorter work week in a profession where many of his colleagues had retired due to disability. Among the handful of controllers jailed for his actions, Thornton credits his family with helping him survive his ordeal. His wife Ginny was a real rock, and his daughter loyally supported him in public. Concerned that her classmates might say something offensive, Thornton advised Michelle not to wear the gaudy PATCO T-shirt to school in a neighborhood where many traffic controllers crossed the line. I don't feel bad, she replied. They feel bad. Despite the pain and damage of the strike, his relationship with the Controllers was far from over. Two years later, they sought Thornton's help in his new role as a labor organizer for the American Federation of Government Employees. Realizing that his needs were legitimate, he quietly healed his personal wounds and threw himself into a national effort that culminated in a new commitment. After certification, Thornton managed NATCA's legislative affairs for seven years. “My job at NATCA is one of the most rewarding I've ever had,” said Thornton, who is justifiably proud of the successor he helped create. NATCA is a very smart organization. They believe that anything is possible and go for it. Thornton left the union in 1995 but continued to represent controller interests. For the past five years, he has participated in the FAA's Free Flight program, a suite of computer tools designed to automate certain ATC functions. At the end of 2001, the agency promoted him to acting program director. Interests: Sports in Philadelphia, reading, the beach

87Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 83 to paint the playground equipment and make sure the grass is mowed and the rubbish is collected. Well, some of the new neighbors said why should I contribute? That park was here when I moved. I don't have to pay for it. It's always been a part of my life. So they didn't kick the money. Little by little, more and more people move and decide that the park has always been a part of my life and that it is something that I am waiting for. Soon it seems that they have found it for the first time. That's why you need a union, John. I'm asking you ten dollars to fix the playground, okay? Do you want to fix it or not? Where do I sign? Carr said. As soon as he got back to Kansas City Tower/TRACON, Carr sat at the cafeteria table handing out commitment cards. Managers followed a typical pattern and viewed their involvement with suspicion. You know that if that attempt fails, you'll be fired. You really can't underestimate that first step they took because they rebelled against a government that had just fired 11,000 people doing the same job as them. they would say. They'll find a reason to fire you like they fired the others. Carr wasn't intimidated, nor did the others seek support for NATCA, even when they were just fighting to get into a few facilities. Managers generally relented as soon as auditors reminded them of the Civil Service Reform Act, which guaranteed the right of John Thornton workers to organize. O Hare TRACON comptroller Joseph Bellino, using the experience he gained while serving in the military in Vietnam and as a police officer in McHenry, Illinois, relied on another trick. At facilities that used keypads for door locks, Bellino put powdered deodorant on the keys and waited for someone to key in the code to open the door. The missing powder on certain keys made it easier to determine the correct numbers. A lot of great people showed up, says Thornton. You can't underestimate the fact that on Jan. 1, NATCA is submitting a vote request to the FLRA to be the sole negotiating agent for all GS-2152 operational air traffic controllers. The proposed union needed 3,750 signatures, 30 percent of workers, and 5,800 or 46 percent filed.

8884 Headwind 19xx Regional Representatives from the 1986 Founding Convention Participants in NATCA's founding convention in September 1986 included nine temporary regional representatives who had been elected or appointed in the previous two years: Alaska: Joe Dunigan Anchorage Tower/TRACON served as Anchorage Regional Center representative and controller, Will Faville Jr., assisted him as his deputy. However, Faville, who registered as an FPL just three weeks before the convention, was the only Alaskan controller present. As a result, he signed the MEBA membership agreement and represented the region in the vote on provisional formation and initial membership fees. He officially took over when Dunigan stepped down shortly after the union was certified at Central: Like many others in the region, Cedar Rapids Tower/TRACON's Jim Poole didn't get involved with the organization until the spring and summer, but he still visited all installations in the region, often accompanied by Doc Cullison. Poole was elected as regional representative at the August meeting. However, he knew he would be traded to the Chicago Center in October, so Omaha TRACON's Dan Brandt was selected as the first replacement and Kansas City Center controller Ray Spickler as the second replacement. This: New York TRACON's Joe O Brien served as the original regional representative during the AATCC organizing campaign, but resigned due to family pressure. At a pre-convention meeting in August 1986, controllers elected Steve Bell, also of New York TRACON, as their regional representative and Dave Pearson of Harrisburg Tower/TRACON, Pennsylvania as his deputy. Great Lakes: Fred Gilbert, an early AATCC-era activist in downtown Chicago, served as regional representative. His backup was Cleveland Center controller Scott Lawless. New England: Howie Barte, now in Providence Tower, was elected regional representative in November. Dave Landry, another PATCO member who fought off the strike at New Hampshire's Lebanon Tower (believed to be the only facility in the region where no one walked out), served as Barte's deputy. Northwest Mountain: Salt Lake Center's Gary Molen served as regional representative since Seattle Center comptroller David Brown became his replacement (until he resigned from the FAA in June 1987 to publish his biography of rodeo cowboy Chris LeDoux, titled Gold Buckle Dreams). The FAA rehired Brown in the South: Dennis Delaney of Pensacola Tower/TRACON served as regional representative after Lee Riley nominated him for the post. Riley, who helped launch the movement in Atlanta Center, took over as regional representative from Comptroller Dan Keeney in Daytona Beach. When Delaney got the part, Riley became his understudy. Southwest: Ed Mullin of Love Field, Dallas, was named regional representative at an earlier meeting in downtown Houston. Comptroller Dennis O Brien served as Mull's deputy. Western Pacific: Jim McCann of Chino Tower, California, served as the original de facto regional representative. At the March 1986 national NATCA meeting, attended by a Mineta representative, the controllers selected Los Angeles TRACON controller Karl Grundmann as regional representative and Richard Bamberger of Lindbergh Field, San Diego as his deputy.

89Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 85 They started because they were against a government that had just laid off 11,000 people doing the same job as them. Founding Convention In the ballroom at the Chicago-O Hare Ramada Inn on September 23, 1986, Thornton stood behind the podium and greeted the seventy-two auditor delegates and various dignitaries at the founding convention of Chicago.NATCA. Almost immediately, he woke up the crowd by informing them that 4,200 controllers had signed a national union petition — about 33 percent of the workforce. In less than nine months, the new campaign has achieved its goal and NATCA will soon run for election to the FLRA. Thornton then expressed what many in the audience believed about his organization. The FAA playbook is clear that controllers should be seen, not heard, he said. NATCA is a new union. It is not a reincarnation of the past. Our goals and methods are different, and despite what our critics say, we are not doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. 8 Determined to chart a different course from its more militant predecessor, the preamble to NATCA's proposed constitution specifically pledged to adhere to legal means to carry out its mission. The clause formalized the non-strike commitment the union had adopted two months earlier. The constitution contained two other important differences. First, each controller would get a vote in national elections. And each institution had the right to send an equal number of delegates to congresses to vote on constitutional amendments and participate in other matters. * PATCO elected voting representatives to speak for large groups of members in electing officials and amending the constitution. There was a group of makers who could really play politics and force the union to do things it might not have done, Thornton says now. This has been partly curbed with the direct election of officials by the members. Second, NATCA conventions would be held every two years. In this way, the new union would reduce the amount of political fallout that influenced the founding convention's program: Delegates at the September 1986 NATCA meeting in Chicago passed an interim constitution. The preamble states the union's intention to comply with legal remedies. * The formula provided for a delegate for each institution with a maximum of 100 sites. Larger facilities were entitled to one additional delegate for every fifty additional members. Jan NATCA Southern Regional Representative Dennis Delaney, New England Regional Representative Howie Barte and National Organizer John Thornton testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation. They call on Congress to restore immunity to regulators who report operational errors. They also call on Congress to release funds into the Airports and Airways Foundation to hire more controllers and replace outdated equipment and software.

9086 Against the Wind June 11, 1987 This Day in History: The culmination of NATCA's campaign to represent air traffic controllers caught the attention of journalists around the world. After the Federal Labor Relations Administration counted the votes, the vote passed by a margin of 70 percent. The news was announced at MEBA's Washington headquarters. Right: Confident of victory, regional representatives filled out NATCA membership requirements and FAA Form 1187 authorizing payroll deductions for union dues the morning before the vote was counted. / NATCA Archives February About thirty-five auditors from the eastern region discuss NATCA's election and certification strategy. Former PATCO President John Leyden tells the group that controllers need an organization to speak for them on Capitol Hill. He says Congress wants to listen to the grassroots, not just executives. Howard Johannssen, president of Professional Airways Systems Specialists, is urging the group not to relax its campaign.

91Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 87 PATCO several months before and after their annual meetings. Later that morning, a bespectacled Gene DeFries offered encouragement that satisfied the independent auditors. MEBA will fill your tank with gas and get you on your way, and we'll follow you with a crane for a while if you break down, he said. But we want you to run your own organization. 9 NATCA took two formal actions that afternoon. The delegates unanimously approved the temporary constitution and approved the initial dues of 1 percent of base salary. Unknown to many of the delegates, MEBA had already tried to exert some influence by appointing Thornton as NATCA's Chief Executive Officer in the draft constitution. Thornton had high hopes for running NATCA, but the misstep embarrassed him. When MEBA attorneys drafted the constitution at headquarters before the convention, Thornton, Beth Thomas and John Leyden objected to having their names included, telling DeFries the move was difficult. If they don't want you, maybe we don't want them, DeFries replied. March 24. The FLRA has scheduled an election from May 6 to June 10 to decide whether NATCA will represent national auditors. The move comes after a consent meeting with NATCA, the FAA and the FLRA.

9288 Against the Wind For the record: John Thornton, left, and MEBA President Gene DeFries announce the vote for the new union. At a reception that night, the congressman put the event into perspective: You have no idea what you've done. They [the FAA] never saw this coming. / NATCA Archives After Thornton explained the background to Chicago board members, several engaged in a private conversation with DeFries. Some felt that MEBA was presumptuous. Others feared that Thornton's PATCO record would send the wrong message to the FAA and other organizations. There was also a strong feeling that there was an active controller at the helm of the new union. D e F r i s agreed to remove Thornton's name from the charter as director. Instead, the board added a clause that keeps Thornton as national coordinator until NATCA holds official officer elections. On the second day of the convention, NATCA legally cemented its relationship with MEBA, but not without surprises. After lunch, board members had to report to the meeting room. Thornton, DeFries, and another person stood next to the table where the documents were scattered. Before we go any further, we need to take a moment so you can sign these affiliation agreements, DeFries said. As he explained the resources MEBA had to offer, the controllers read the newspaper and their eyes widened. The promissory note required the union to reimburse MEBA for the costs of the organization when finances permit. At that time, the loan was worth $500,000 (which will rise to $1.5 million in the next year). Another agreement called for a quarterly dues that were as much as 15 percent of the dues collected by NATCA from each member, twice the industry average. Most board members were under the impression that NATCA did not have to pay back the money. They were also surprised that the dues were so high, although they were assured by MEBA that the 15 percent would drop as NATCA membership increased. The provisions so enraged East Region Representative Steve Bell that he stormed out of the room. May FAA begins using aircraft status display in central power control center. The equipment provides a real-time view of all aircraft flying IFR in the country. On May 29, the FAA will deploy the first Host computer system at the Seattle Center. The new equipment replaces IBM's aging 9020 mainframe computers.

93Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 89 Shaking his head, Gary Molen signed the papers and remarked, Well, it's his money. What's the problem? said Dan Brandt with a shrug. One by one, they stepped forward and wrote their names, including Bell after she calmed down and returned to the room a few minutes later. But the incident left some auditors with a lingering distrust of MEBA and Thornton. Even as NATCA held its convention, FAA Administrator Engen was adamant that few controllers were dissatisfied. "I've been to every airline ... and I haven't found strong support for the union," he told USA Today. This is a very vocal minority that probably comes from PATCO. 10 Still, the signatures kept pouring in. When NATCA submitted its national petition to the FLRA on January 5, 1987, the total number was 5,800, far exceeding the required 3,750. The final number represented 46 percent of the workforce. New England led all other regions with signatures of more than 71 percent of its auditors. Due to strong anti-union sentiment in the region, only 18 percent signed petitions in the Southwest. The strong performance in the Northeast was largely due to Howie Barte's efforts to gather his contacts on the ground. Barte was so relentless in his search for a new union that he once called another controller on Thanksgiving Day, forgetting it was a holiday. When the controller reminded him, Barte quickly apologized and hung up. The FLRA approved the petition in March and scheduled a mail-in vote for all drivers in May and early June. This time, the FAA did not appeal the decision. Union in Latest NATCA Files Washington, D.C., awoke to warm, sunny skies on Thursday, June 11. The pleasant, albeit damp, weather matched the upbeat mood of NATCA regional representatives as they joked around MEBA headquarters. A pair of bloodshot eyes betrayed the first revelers who had started partying the night before. John Thornton told a reporter he estimated that 70 percent of auditors would vote for a union. The correctness of his prediction will soon be tested when the vote count begins. Confident of victory, nine board members filled out a NATCA membership application and an FAA Form 1187 to approve wage deductions for union dues. They got into taxis and headed for the FLRA leader. June 11 More than 80 percent of all drivers vote in NATCA certification elections. Seventy percent agree with the union as the sole negotiator. MEBA President Gene DeFries characterized the results as a victory for all air traffic controllers who have carried the nation's air traffic system on their backs for nearly six years with excessive overtime and stress. Founding members begin signing membership and dues forms.

9490 Headwind Special Recognition: NATCA awarded gold cards and charter member badges to more than 3,000 inspectors who participated in the first year of union certification. neighborhoods not far from the city and met with FAA officials in a large conference room. Numerous large bags of ballots were clustered around several tables at which FLRA employees sat. When the tabulation began, bureau and union volunteers removed the ballots from their envelopes using electric letter openers supplied by MEBA to speed up the process. A steady murmur of yes and no began to bounce around the room. After counting, workers packed the ballots into bundles of fifty and placed them on two tables at one end of the room. Gary Molen watched from the sidelines as he nervously smoked a cigarette. A comment from his factory manager, speaking to Molen just before he flew to Washington, came to mind: If they lose control, I want to make sure we all meet and shake hands. . No hard feelings and we'll try to work things out. But Molen knew it was an empty gesture and feared a difficult relationship if the union vote failed. He listened to the FLRA employees at the nearest table and cringed when they repeated only yes. This doesn't look good, he said. Mill went on and lit another cigarette. Oh my god this doesn't look good. Standing nearby, Karl Grundmann finally blurted out: Can you shut up? You drive Me crazy. Ed Mullin had similar thoughts. An anonymous phone call told him so before he left for D.C. that it would be a long drive home if this didn't work out. Mullin replied: You're wrong every step of the way. I bet you are wrong now. However, he felt uneasy as he watched the count progress. The morning turned into an afternoon without an official lunch break and the piles at the table gradually grew. Over time, they surpassed those at the table. Controllers smiled and nudged each other as FAA executives got bolder. Eighty-four percent of the working population voted. After adding up the final tally, the result was 7,494 to 3,275 by a margin of 70 percent, just as Thornton predicted. Thornton and board members shook hands, hugged, and tried to keep quiet about the victory as they pushed through a crowd of reporters outside the building. The official announcement will be made at MEBA headquarters. But they couldn't help smiling and Barte discreetly gave the journalist a thumbs up. June FLRA officially certifies NATCA as a union. July 2 FAA Administrator Donald Engen retires after serving April 10, 1984.

95Chapter 3: The Long and Winding Road 91 Back at the MEBA office, they joined the other inspectors eagerly awaiting the results. DeFries and Thornton each spoke into a barrage of microphones to announce the historic news to a crowd of reporters and television cameras. Later, controllers, FAA officials, other dignitaries, and reporters crowded the second-floor reception area. FAA executives wore gold NATCA badges as a sign of respect, but were personally surprised that the union had received so much support. During the celebration, an exhausted Mullin was approached by a congressman who was sipping a drink in the corner. You have no idea what you have done, said the politician. They never saw this coming. Mullin now reflects on the achievement and agrees. To do it after an apocalyptic event, but before Reagan left the White House, and during a decade of union abuse involving people of the Pepsi generation was pretty amazing, he says. The FLRA certified the results of the June 19 elections. Donald Engen, who chaired the FAA during NATCA's creation, announced last March that he intended to return to the private sector. He left the office two weeks after certification. President Reagan and his administration would occupy the White House for another nineteen months. Less than six years after they overthrew their predecessor, they once again faced the air traffic controllers' union. 1. Hockstader, Lee Controllers seek new union in downtown Leesburg. The Washington Post. May 30, last edition. 2. Smith, Philip Three at PATCO with a delivery time of 10 days. The Washington Post. December 12, last edition. 3. Ditto. 4. Shifrin, Carole Union launches driver organizing program. Aviation and Space Technology Week. July 9. 5. Ditto. 6. Witkin, Richard Pilots plan to establish controller union. The New York Times. April 29. 7. MEBA files. 8. NATCA files. Transcript of the Founding Convention. 9. Ditto. 10. Adams, Marilyn and Spahn, Holly Air controllers look to see if the union renaissance continues. USA today. September 23. July 8 NTSB Chairman Jim Burnett tells the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation Appropriations that the FAA should implement an enhanced controller feedback program. He says operational errors for April and May 1987 were 10 percent higher than reports of mid-air collisions for the first five months of 1987 were 39 percent higher.

96Imagine walking into an empty office space. That's where they started. Former MEBA President Alexander Doc Cullison Labor of Love: Adell Humphreys, NAT-CA Administrative Director, collected sixty-two logos to create a wall-sized quilt, which hangs in the local union office in Oakland Center. /Steve Tuttle

97Chapter 4 A House Built by NATCA Nearly 300 delegates gathered in the Phoenix Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Hotel, divided into nine regional groups. Among those on stage at NATCA's second national convention in late January 1988 was John Thornton. Once again he found himself in the middle of a debate about his role in the union. Hoping to save Thornton's seat, New England Regional Representative Howie Barte introduced a constitutional amendment to create the position of executive director. Barte argued that hiring a professionally qualified executive director would remove the specter of national politics that had already permeated the convention. PATCO's CEO began a similar business-type structure that would be accountable to the National Executive Committee, ensuring that controllers set the goals and policies of the union. Thornton was a natural candidate for the position. He has held the position of national organizer since MEBA hired him in December 1985 and has been involved with the organization since the early days of AFGE. Thornton also gained sixteen years of experience as an aviation and FAA inspector before being fired during the strike. But many delegates believed that NATCA would have more credibility if its members led their union. We want organization by and for air traffic controllers, said Karl Grundmann, Regional Representative for the Western Pacific, a sentiment that struck a chord in the ballroom. Those who applauded Grundmann's position wanted to distance themselves completely from PATCO. Many feared that NAT-CA would become a radical organization again and strongly opposed Thornton leading his new union. Determine their fate: Karl Grundmann spoke for many in his argument that the controllers should run the new union. /NATCA archive

9894 Headwind NATCA Archives Legacy of the Strike: John Thornton, left, talks with MEBA President Gene De-Fries, right, and NATCA General Counsel Bill Osborne, at the Atlanta union convention in Thornton. PATCO's background dashed his hopes of becoming president. . * NATCA hired a professional lawmaker to oversee its actions in Atlanta. Central Regional Representative Dan Brandt acted at the 1990 convention and Howie Barte served as an MP at all subsequent meetings. John's dedication and contributions to NATCA were unparalleled. No one can deny that, says Steve Bell, then the representative of the eastern region. But there was no way, there was no way to campaign and build the union by electing someone from PAT-CO as the new president. There was also a healthy dose of caution surrounding Thornton's relationship with MEBA. For the New York contingent, parochialism also played a role. Bell has become one of the leading candidates for president in the upcoming national election. After delegates voted against CEO Barte's proposal, Barry Krasner introduced two constitutional amendments designed to exclude Thornton from the presidency he sought. A resolution defined an active member as a certified or developing controller in a training program. Another limited the right to vote or hold office to active members. Krasner, who took over as local president of Bell's New York TRACON, was well acquainted with Robert's rules of procedure and would later develop a reputation for running conventions with a deft hand. * But he got confused when he tried to write and publish one of the resolutions. Wait, wait, wait, he stuttered, trying diplomatically. What I'm trying to do Thornton leaned into the microphone and remarked, Barry, we all know what you're trying to do. The measures passed, but some felt bad for Thornton. Northwest Mountain Regional Representative Gary Molen dismissed the anti-Patco sentiment as malice and nearly burst into tears as he watched the drama unfold. He is the one who founded us and we owe him something, says Molen now. To this end, delegates from Atlanta awarded Thornton the first honorary lifetime membership in recognition of his contributions. Thornton was moved by his admission and understood the comptroller's desire to administer NATCA. But the contempt for the presidency still hurts. During the four-day convention, delegates grappled with various organizational issues as well as politics. One proposal would establish a weighted ranking for members of the National Executive Council, with two votes each assigned to the four largest regions and July The Air Safety Commission, created by Congress in 1986 to make recommendations to improve aviation safety to improve, celebrates its first day of hearings . NATCA National Organizer John Thornton presents a six point improvement plan. Key elements include immunity for drivers who report operational errors, increasing the number of FPL drivers, addressing equipment problems, and ending the FAA's contractor program.

99Chapter 4: The House NATCA Built 95 One for the remaining five. In a fiery address to delegates, Kansas City Center Comptroller Ray Spickler of the Central Region argued with four states that the divisive measure would pit large facilities and regions against small ones. The deputies rejected the measure. They also considered a resolution for the Southern Region that would consolidate NATCA's nine regions, which mirrored those of the FAA, into seven, as PATCO had done. * We were really looking for an efficient organization. It made no sense to have nine regions and there still aren't, Krasner says now. Today, many agree that NATCA and the FAA would be better off with just three or four overlapping regions or even a single national entity to reduce overall costs and encourage greater unity. We've honed the FAA model to an art form, and we really need to stop doing that, says Carol Branaman, who was elected vice president of the Northwest Mountain Region in If I had my way, we wouldn't do much regional stuff. It would be different. But in Atlanta in 1988, some delegates saw the move as a power play between larger regions. Representatives from Alaska, Central and New England, loosely known as the Coalition of Small Regions, sent letters opposing the proposal to all institutions. “We believe that limiting NATCA to just a few regions will not give all controllers the proper representation they deserve and that there will be certain internal power structures that contributed to the destruction of PATCO,” wrote Will Faville Jr. , Alaska Regional Representative. is a pullout, but not before Barte threatened to evict New England delegates from the convention. First National Choice Honorary Life Members Strong lobbying in hotel bars and regional war rooms followed, and they made their first appearance at a NATCA function. Minor Region FYI John F. Thornton 1988 NATCA nat l. the organiser, Mr. Leg. Director of Affairs John F. Leyden 1992 PATCO President James Breen 1994 New England Regional Representative Robert D. Taylor 1994 Director of Labor Relations Richard Swauger 1996 National Technology Coordinator Cathy Meachum 2000 Co-founder NATCA Charitable Foundation Members Emeritus Gary Molen 1994 Vice President Northwest Highland Region Ed Mullin 1994 Southwest Region Vice President Barry Krasner 1996 National President Emeritus Michael McNally 2000 National President Emeritus * The proposal would consolidate the New England region to the east. The Central and renamed Western Regions would absorb the Northwestern Mountain States, and several other rearrangements would occur west of the Mississippi River. The new Pacific region would include Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. South Pacific territories. July 22 T. Allan McArtor replaces Donald Engen, who stepped down 20 days earlier, as FAA administrator. McArtor logged 200 combat missions in Vietnam, earning him the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also flew for two years with the Air Force Thunderbirds. McArtor worked for the Federal Express Corporation for eight years until his appointment as manager.

100Coalition 96 Against the Wind Sep. co-hosted a combined catering suite with Northwest Mountain. A fully stocked bar topped a dresser that ran along one wall. After the convention, Midwest paid Rep. Dan Brands a hefty room and bar bill with a credit card. Thornton, approving the expense reports, gulped before paying Brandt back. The upcoming national elections dominated the conversations in the war chambers. Nominations will be open next week, voting will take place in the spring, and the results will be tallied in July. Steve Bell was seen by many union members as the presidential successor. Seven months earlier, on the day the FLRA counted NATCA's certification votes, he announced his candidacy to the other board members. The 35-year-old pastor's son was an inspirational speaker, who became visible during the formation of NATCA and had a powerful political base rooted in New York's TRACON. Karl Grundmann of Los Angeles TRACON has been seen as a candidate for political office since NATCA's founding convention. Tall, witty and comfortable with an audience, Grundmann, 34, became Kelly Candaela's main spokesperson during the West Coast organization. He was seen as a natural candidate for executive vice president. Fred Gilbert, an early NATCA member from downtown Chicago, and East Kansas City Regional Representative Ray Spickler, Steve Bell, and other New York area controllers appear on behalf of NATCA in the city's traditional National Day parade. Karl Grundmann, a resident of Bell/Grundmann Ticket Maryland, dropped out of high school before being asked to leave and participate in the Navy year. He served as a flight petty officer at Lemoore Naval Air Station, south of Fresno, where he befriended the tower crew and later trained as an air traffic controller. After being hired by the FAA two years later, he briefly worked at Sacramento Tower and was providing certifications at Burbank Tower/TRACON as the countdown to the strike began. Fortunately, Lemoore needed radar controllers. Grundmann's old commanding officer called him to offer him a civilian transfer to the Ministry of Defense, a five-step salary increase if he accepted the job. Grundmann accepted the offer and subsequently avoided the difficult decision to strike. Three weeks after the strike, he was rehired by the FAA in Burbank. It was very uncomfortable for a while to pass the motorcade, says Grundmann. But I trusted the FAA. I just heard that we will take care of you. However, the ten-hour, six-day weeks soon began to creak. Grundmann also referred to the FAA's public statements that the air traffic system is returning to normal. It would only take one major accident, driver

101Chapter 4: A House Built by NATCA 97 Courtesy of Howie Barte Bicoastal Rivals: Steve Bell, right, never officially confirmed his unofficial ticket with Karl Grundmann. I screwed up and everything would collapse. It was a house of cards. Despite these problems, Grundmann did not seriously consider organizing because unions in the federal sector were not allowed to strike. But when he transferred to TRACON in Los Angeles in 1984, another controller named George Stevens convinced him to take a closer look. Kelly Candaele still remembers her first meeting with Grundmann at an organizational meeting in Anaheim. It was a man with long hair covered in urine and vinegar, says Candaele. He reminded me of a not-so-cycling man. I walked through the door and he said, Who are you? He wore a tie so you knew he wasn't an inspector. Grundmann listened as Candaele explained that controllers should consider organizing because the stakes are high for their jobs. If a mistake occurred, the union would define a hierarchy of responsibilities to protect workers. However, Candaele was quick to point out that this is a decision for the controllers to make themselves. He knew he was so sensitive in the first period that he couldn't come in and just say we're going to protect you, says Candaele. His words convinced Grundmann. Not long after, NATCA held its March 1986 national meeting in San Francisco. Although Grundmann had recently joined the NATCA campaign, the controllers selected him as the Western Pacific Regional Representative over Chino Tower's Jim McCann, who was the de facto representative. Under Candaele's gentle tutelage, Grundmann cut off his shoulder-length hair, swapped his jeans for a jacket and tie, and soon showed a natural ability to allay controllers' concerns about the new union. Before NATCA certification, Grundmann and Bell became friends and formed an alliance. MEBA assigned an employee named Walter Browne to care for the young branch. Everyone felt he was there as a killer for MEBA, recalls Barry Krasner. After the misunderstanding of the MEBA bond and its high dues, Browne's actions further weakened the auditor's confidence in their funding organization. That lack of confidence came to the fore when Browne asked the temporary regional representatives if they could guarantee a union vote and if anyone was willing to resign from the FAA and join MEBA as a full-time organizer. Bell and Grundmann discussed it, decided to offer their services and met Gene DeFries. When word of the meeting reached other NATCA board members, they exchanged heated phone calls full of political accusations. Soon Bell and Grundmann gave up on that idea. With Grundmann launching his campaign for Executive Vice President, he and Bell are widely considered candidates. However, the New Yorker has never formally recognized its West Coast counterpart as a running mate.

10298 Against the Wind 19xx Fine Gilbert/Spikler Fred Gilbert joined the FAA in 1969 and encountered his first major desk lie during orientation at the Chicago Center. He was told that the Oklahoma City academy would teach Gilbert and the other new recruits to think, speak, and act exactly the same way. In Gilbert's first class, however, he watched with disbelief and trepidation as the two instructors nearly got into a fight over phraseology. After seven years as a controller, he was promoted to the Great Lakes Regional Office and soon became the Associate Administrator of the National Airway and Facilities Task Force. Gilbert returned to the boards after the strike, where his suspicion of unions faded as he weathered his failed attempt to convene a national FAB conference and realized the boards were an FAA ploy to congress and to appease the controllers. Seeing that little had changed, he joined the movement, was elected Great Lakes Regional Representative, and traveled extensively during the organization. Hoping to steer NATCA toward a more professional orientation than a traditional corporation, Gilbert became involved in the presidential election. His fellow midwesterner Ray Spickler, who considered Gilbert reasonable, decent and likeable, supported his candidacy. The youngest of the top four contenders, Spickler, 29, grew up in Kansas City, attended Catholic schools and briefly studied chemistry at Rockhurst University, a Jesuit institution. But the chosen specialty did not inspire him, and the strike turned his attention to air traffic control. Spickler had no problem running for FAA for a few days after the strike. He believed the Protestants had broken the law and their jobs would not be returned. In the summer of 1986, Kansas City Center controllers discussed unionization, but only Spickler attended an organizing meeting near the airport. Jim Poole and Dan Brandt were among the few in attendance. The group elected Poole as regional representative and Brandt as his deputy. Poole moved from Cedar Rapids Tower/TRACON to Chicago Center that fall, but Spickler was named Gilbert's second replacement/Courtesy of Howie Bart Spickler/NATCA Archives to prepare for the upcoming opening. After certification, the talk turned to NATCA's first national election. Spickler was inherently suspicious of Bell and Grundmann. Two men from the coast just beat me up, Spickler says now, but adds, I came to watch New Yorkers with a lot of love and respect. They provide the union with a lot of energy. He has since also resolved his differences with Grundmann. But others at the time shared Spickler's misgivings and were particularly concerned about the influence of the eastern region. Spickler's thoughts on running for executive vice president grew stronger in Atlanta after his speech against weighted voting on the National Executive Committee caught the attention of delegates. Looking for a vice presidential candidate who would give the Midwest and smaller regions a bigger voice, they encouraged him to run. A week later, Spickler and Gilbert agreed to make a map.

103Chapter 4: The House Built by NATCA 99 The opposition was joined by the center's controller, who provoked a sharp speech about inter-regional competition. They hoped their Midwestern roots would appeal to members as a more balanced card. However, Gilbert's ties to PATCO, his emphasis on professional issues over labor issues, and possibly his age of 42, all worked against his candidacy for president. Another factor may have been the joint campaign. To save money, Spickler relied on third-class mail, and the literature did not arrive in time for the vote. When the results were announced on July 18, 1988, Bell outvoted Gilbert by nearly two to one out of more than 3,200 votes. Likewise, Spickler trailed Grundmann in the running for executive vice president by about 200 votes. However, none of them received a majority because of the candidacies of the other two auditors. Spickler campaigned fiercely in the second round, while Grundmann was hampered by a serious cycling accident that knocked his teeth out. He was also embarrassed, if not by voters, over a letter affirming Bell's support from an overzealous campaign executive. Bell quickly rejected the endorsement, and Spickler won 63 percent of the second round. First Steps Even before the Atlanta convention, NATCA was beginning to assert itself publicly as a labor organization. Shortly after certification, the union joined AFGE in a lawsuit to prevent the Department of Transportation from conducting arbitrary drug testing. Both unions argued that the program violated Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Meanwhile, newly appointed Attorney General William Osborne demanded talks with the FAA to negotiate NATCA's rights-based rules under federal labor laws. Although the U.S. District Court rejected the drug testing ban sought by the unions, NATCA immediately signed its first memorandum of understanding with the agency in October. It was agreed. By the time Steve Bell arrived at NATCA headquarters in August 1988, the union was lobbying Congress on a key issue fueling organizational efforts. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.'s FYI NATCA bill retained William W. Osborne Jr. as the first general counsel in August. Osborne was in private practice for eleven years, representing unions. He has also taught labor law at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., as well as at the George Meany Center for Labor Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. I am very proud to have been a member of the union negotiation team that negotiated the first post-patco agreement with the FAA in 1989 and was one of the signatories, says Osborne. Ray Spickler: The Kansas City Center delegate drew attention at the Atlanta convention by speaking out against cross-regional competition. / NATCA Archives September The Senate Subcommittee on Aviation begins the first of at least four hearings on the ill-fated bill that would remove the FAA from the Department of Transportation. October 1. Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole resigned after serving February 7, 1983.

104100 Against the Wind 1988 First National Executive Board Although several interim regional representatives retained their seats, the 1988 election brought five new faces to the board: Alaska: Current Anchorage Center chairman Will Faville Jr. defeated Kodiak Tower's Gordon Jones easily. Middle: Omaha TRACON starter Dan Brandt easily beats Larry Clementz of St. Louis TRACON. East: Steve Bell's presidential candidacy has left an open field in the region. New York TRACON controller Barry Krasner won a runoff election against Steve Van Houten of the New York Center after winning first-round support from voters who supported Harrisburg Tower/TRACON's Dave Pearson. Great Lakes: Joseph Bellino, first developer at O ​​Hare Tower/TRACON to join PATCO and NATCA for long term NATCA Archives Band of Brothers: NATCA's first elected board takes office in September Two chief executives and nine regional representatives including, from left to right: Will Faville Jr., of Alaska; chairman Steve Bell; Jim Breen, New England; Joseph Bellino, Great Lakes; Barry Krasner, from the East; Dan Brandt, Center; executive vice president Ray Spickler; Lee Riley, Southerner; Ed Mullin, southwest; Gary Mill, Northwest Mt. Not pictured: Richard Bamberger, Western Pacific Regional Representative. organizer, took over as replacement representative for Cleveland Center's Scott Lawless before the election. He defeated Mark Ward of Indianapolis Center and David Shuler of O Hare Tower with 61 percent of the vote. New England: Providence tower controller Howie Barte, who had been the regional representative for nearly four years, lost to Bradley/TRACON tower's Jim Breen. Breen, a former state police officer who helped found the Connecticut State Police Union, led Barte by 17 votes. October. NATCA and FAA representatives signed an agreement on random drug testing. The Memorandum of Understanding establishes an appeal and arbitration process for controllers forced to submit to testing. The signing follows a U.S. District Court decision denying a warrant of evidence sought by NATCA and AFGE.

105Chapter 4: The House NATCA built 101 with the strong support of Boston Center, the largest facility in the region. Northwest Mountain: Salt Lake Center starter Gary Molen easily held off Robert Fletcher's challenge from Denver Center. South: Pensacola Tower/TRACON Comptroller Dennis Delaney failed to secure a majority against challengers Lee Riley of Atlanta Center and Tim Leonard of Miami Center. Riley, who served as Delaney's deputy on the interim board, was victorious in the second round with strong support for his position. Southwest: Dallas Love Field incumbent Ed Mullin ran unopposed. Western Pacific: Karl Grundmann's replacement, Richard Bamberger of the San Diego Lindbergh Tower, fended off challenges from three other candidates. immediately replaced the government with federal employees as defendants in civil lawsuits. For years, relatives of accident victims sued the drivers on a regular basis, costing them thousands of dollars in legal fees and hindering their ability to buy and sell real estate and obtain loans until the government intervened. Many air traffic controllers signed petitions for NATCA after five of their colleagues at TRACON in New York were named in a lawsuit that stemmed from a mid-air collision over Cliffside Park, New Jersey, in In a joint lobbying campaign, John Thornton spoke several times with the staff of Frank and received support from MEBA, which appropriated money from the political action committee. by the bill on the reform of civil liability. NATCA appreciated the financial support. Although the union formed committees for constitution, finance and security, the PAC did not yet exist. NATCA also joined a coalition of federal sector unions formed by the AFL-CIO Public Service Division NATCA Archives Lead PAC: NATCA retained John Thornton as senior director of legislative affairs and, in 1989, director of the new Political Action Committee. November 18. December NATCA Interim Executive Committee votes to hold national elections. February 1, 1988 is the opening date for nominations for President, Vice President and Regional Representatives. 3 James H. Burnley takes over as Secretary of Transportation. Burnley, a former assistant attorney general, also served as general counsel and deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice.

106102 Upwind 1988 Election Results President Votes Percentage Steve Bell East New York TRACON 1, Fred Gilbert Great Lakes Chicago Center 1, Joseph Perrone New England Bradley Twr./TRACON John Saludin East Albany Twr./TRACON Executive Vice President Runoff Votes Runoff Percentage Interim Executive Incumbent directors Ray L. Spickler Central Kansas City Center 1, Karl Grundmann Western-Pacific L.A. TRACON 1, Richard Bolton Southwest Oklahoma. City Twr./TRA Timothy Stinson New England Regional Representatives Boston Center Alaska Will Faville Jr. / incumbent Anchorage Center Gordon P. Jones Kodiak Tower Central Dan Brandt / incumbent Omaha TRACON Larry Clementz St. Louis TRACON East Barry Krasner New York TRACON Steve Van Houten Center New York Dave Pearson Harrisburg Twr./TRA Dec Union representatives from all fifty-three locations in the Southwest region meet in Dallas to share experiences and launch a regional self-training modality. Also in attendance are representatives from the FAA's Division of Aviation, Labor Relations and Human Resources.

107Chapter 4: The House Built by NATCA 103 votes Percent Great Lakes Joseph M. Bellino Chicago TRACON Mark Ward Indianapolis Center David A. Shuler Chicago O Hare Tower New England James Breen Bradley Tower/TRACON Howie Barte / current Providence Tower Northwest Mountain Gary Mill / starter Salt Lake Center Robert Fletcher Denver Center Southern F. Lee Riley Atlanta Center Dennis Delaney / starter Pensacola Tower Tim Leonard Miami Center Southwest Ed Mullin / starter Dallas Love Field Tower Briefs Miscellaneous Western Pacific Richard Bamberger San Diego Tower Owen Bridgeman Phoenix TRACON Kenneth Moen Reno Toren/TRACON Benjamin Pappa Jr. Downtown Los Angeles Second Round of Voting Second Round Percentage of January Nearly 300 delegates attend NATCA's second biennial convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta. The main issues approved include: the establishment of Constitutional, Finance and Security Committees, consisting of one member from each region; define an active member as a controller who has been certified or has completed a training program within the last two years; limiting the right to vote or hold office for active members.

108R. Steve Bell Training Specialist ATC Facilities Current: ATCSCC Previous: P50, N90 OFF ON Command Ctr. TRACON Tower TRACON/TRACON Previous Positions/Accomplishments in NATCA National President; Temporary Regional Representative for the East; Western Pacific QTP Coordinator; Local TRACON New York President. Employed April Current Agent Initials: SB, RB, BS Hometown: Baltimore Spouse/Children: Carrie/Jeff, Randy, Tim, Colleen, Christin, Shawn Other Interesting Facts: Lives in house built circa 1765 Interests: History, sailing Stan Barough Steve Bell's NATCA vision was always on the horizon. This vision is the creation of a 21st century work organization, he says. A union that understands systemic approaches, understands the complexities of the system and really works together as much as possible to reach consensus with management. That's why we organized this union. Even as Bell preached the need for NATCA in the early days, he advocated cooperation with the FAA and embraced the Partnership Through Quality during his presidency. Since moving to the command center in October 1998, he has traveled extensively to get people thinking outside the box and to show the relationship between labor and management in a new light. The problem was never the people at the FAA. The problem has always been the structure, he says. The paramilitary structure comes to us from Rome and has built-in primary dysfunctions that prevent the people at the bottom of the pyramid from blowing good ideas into the organization. Part of Bell's perception of the agency stems from his diverse experience at ATC. After nine years as an Air Force controller, he worked on a private tower in Mesa, Arizona before being hired by the FAA at Ontario Tower/TRACON. He then worked in radar rooms in Omaha and New York before the election. as president, and in Phoenix from 1991 until Bell discovered a new world in the Command Center. Admittedly he used to think little of aircraft beyond his reach, he now sees traffic management as the wave of the future. While Bell continues to look forward to the profession, he is also fascinated by the past. A Civil War history buff, he walks the battlefields of Antietam and Gettysburg with the same familiarity as General Grant and Robert E. Lee. He and his wife, Carrie, live in the hills outside Charles Town, West Virginia, in a Colonial-style home built around the time the British Parliament passed the Postage Stamp Act of 1765, much to the anger of the colonists. Several animals live in the shed behind her house and elsewhere on the property, including eleven sheep, a donkey, a golden retriever, a miniature schnauzer and two cats. The couple also owns a sailboat that they hope to one day sail through the Panama Canal and up the west coast. Meanwhile, Bell remains passionate about his vision for NATCA. How else are we going to get there? he says. Until I die or leave the FAA or leave the union, I will continue to do so.

109Chapter 4: The House of NATCA built 105 to campaign for the bill. In the fall, the Senate passed a companion measure that President Reagan signed into law a month later. NATCA's first major legislative victory came when Bell and Spickler joined an exhausted national office staff on the eighth floor of MEBA's headquarters at 444 North Capitol Street in Washington. Along with Thornton and Osborne, Richard Gordon Jr. he was the director of labor relations and Tony Dresden was in charge of public affairs. They had to create a new space where no one was that far away to develop the entire organization. Their space at MEBA headquarters grew as they grew, says Doc Cullison. But it was a thankless job Steve and Ray did to lighten the mood. Things you take for granted. Such as hiring bookkeepers, receptionists, secretaries and other personnel, renting and purchasing office equipment, establishing lines of communication with union members and the FAA, and negotiating with the agency. In fact, Bell and Spickler were forced to spend a lot of time and energy on infrastructure during their three-year reign. With Chairman Bell in place, Thornton's CEO title posed a dilemma for outsiders who might be confused by the group's leadership. Joe Kilgallon, a consultant regularly hired by NATCA and PATCO, came up with a solution. Thornton has been appointed to the newly created position of Senior Director of Legislative Affairs. Among the new faces at the national office was a cheerful, smartly dressed woman named Frances Alsop, whom Spickler had hired as a union controller in May. NATCA had seen two previous accountants come and go, but Alsop would remain with the union for 12 years until his death in August. NATCA staff and members were largely unaware of Alsop's protracted illness until his death, which took away a vibrant personality and a goldmine of institutional history. A year after Alsop joined NATCA, Adell Humphreys joined, a tall woman with wavy blonde hair and an easy smile. More than a decade earlier, Humphreys was PATCO's chief operating officer secretary until she moved when the company lost its challenge. Humphreys knew Thornton during his PATCO days and they kept in touch throughout the 1980s. In April 1990 he called her to tell her about Frances Alsop: The union controller was a lively presence at NATCA headquarters for a long time until she passed away in August. in Troubleshooting starts. Three-day sessions are held in the regions in the spring and summer.

110Adell Humphreys Director of Administration Nickname: Adelli 1992 Current Residence: Quantico, Virginia Other Interests: Attended more National Executive Committee meetings than anyone else in NATCA Interests: Peter Cutts Quilting, sewing, gourmet cooking, music NATCA cur e n t Facilities: NOT OLD: National Office Although the National Executive Council changes every three years and has evolved through five governments, one of the few permanent people at headquarters is Adell Humphreys. Officially known as the union's president of the board, her professional approach graces everything from the mundane to the strategic. Humphreys learned about the nuances of being an air traffic controller while working for PATCO's director of operations. More than a decade later, NATCA has astutely recorded the benefits of its skills and knowledge. Adele's grades were outstanding, says former executive vice president Ray Spickler. With lightning-fast fingers, Humphreys has been documenting discussions at monthly NEB meetings since this year. As the union grew, so did its responsibilities. Initially secretarial in nature, earning the nickname Adelli for faithfully ordering lunch at NEB meetings, Humphreys ably displayed his ability to handle executive matters. He has coordinated the agendas of every NATCA president, from the Day-Timer era to the latest PalmPilot. Convention delegates vote every two years on which cities hold union meetings, but Humphreys oversees the selection of hotels and meeting locations. And inherited title upon the purchase of the Krasner Building in 2000, overseeing initial renovations and previous NATCA/Achievement orders. In May 1990, received the Barry Krasner Award for Distinguished Service, given by New York TRACON, for contract service. Juggling moving to a new location in preparation for the Anchorage convention made the first three months of 2000 chaotic for Humphreys. However, he handled the extra workload like an experienced air traffic controller who expertly staggered the plane during the incoming flight. Perhaps it is not surprising given that he has devoted much of his life to NATCA. He considers the community his family, and he also loves his two nieces, Ashley and Kendall. The enduring companionship contrasts with a childhood marked by short-lived friendships as Humphreys moved between various naval bases across the country, a time when playing the flute and fiddle fueled an early love of music. Today, his taste favors Bruce Springsteen, who he believes is truly the king of all music. The union even capitalized on his main recreational passion. In 1998, he lovingly embroidered an attractive combination of sixty-two NAT-CA logos from various T-shirts. The controllers contributed several thousand dollars to the Political Action Fund raffle for the privilege of owning the quilt, which now hangs in the local union office in Oakland Center. Other wall-sized quilts adorn Humphreys' headquarters office, along with the Barry Krasner Distinguished Service Award. It meant a lot to me to be honored by the men and women I work for, she says.

111Chapter 4: The House That NATCA Built 107 work at NATCA. She then enjoyed working as an administrative manager in the data processing department of a bank in Alexandria, Virginia. But the position of executive assistant to the president also sounded attractive. Sitting back in the old PATCO offices, adorned with the same flashy metallic wallpaper and lavish red carpet, she felt comfortable enough to advise Bell and Spickler not to run the feature. You're going to get a lot of requests, Humphreys warned. Then she unleashed her powers. I know what kind of people they are. I worked with air traffic controllers. I know what I'm getting into. He later spoke to a friend about his interview. Humphreys displayed a characteristic sense of fairness, pointing out that it is bad business practice to hire the first person to start a job without interviewing multiple candidates. If they offer me that, I'll tell them to consider other candidates, she told her friend. You're crazy? - he exclaimed. If they call you and offer you a job, take it! Don't tell them to interview more people. An hour later the phone rang and Humphreys took her friend's advice and NATCA's offer. Three months later, a colleague left to give birth, and Humphreys added office manager and assistant executive vice president to her responsibilities. Today, her title is board director, a generic description that masks the extent of her involvement in everything from answering the phone for distraught members to booking hundreds of hotel rooms for conventions and other union functions. Regardless of her title, union members and other national office workers simply view her as the all-knowing, ever-capable Adell. Barry Krasner describes Humphreys as the beginning and end of NATCA. She is the only constant. She holds everything together. Krasner continues to marvel at his many talents, not least of which is his ability to walk. Adell types faster than you can talk. We were going to end a five day board meeting and as I said this meeting was adjourned she would give me the minutes. Finalized. Including, this meeting is over. By the end of 1990, NATCA headquarters staff numbered about a dozen, including two full-time attorneys who helped Bill Osborne handle an increasing number of complaints and other legal matters. James Morin, Controller of LaGuardia Tower PATCO, was right. Tool of the trade (above): Adell Humphreys's fifth birthday plaque was framed as a gift from President Barry Krasner when he left office. / Japphire James Morin (left): Former LaGuardia Tower controller, who was hired in 1989, served as general counsel to NATCA in the 1990s. / Courtesy of Howie Barta June John Thornton, NATCA's senior director of legislative affairs, testifies before the FAA's independent House Subcommittee on Aviation. While Thornton credits the agency for progress under Administrator T. Allan McArtor, he says: There is no reason for the FAA to wear the bureaucratic anchor of the Department of Transportation around its neck forever.

112108 Against the Wind Susan Tsui Grundmann (right): When NATCA's current general counsel joined the union workforce in 1990, she remembers that we were like a little family. / NATCA Archives Cheryl Cannon (far right): She ran the growing union headquarters as she watched the national office staff triple in the past decade. / After the strike, Peter Cutts graduated from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York and worked for a private firm specializing in aviation law until joining NATCA in 2007. He will serve as general counsel to the union for ten years. Georgetown University Law Center graduate Susan Tsui joined the union in December 1990 from the National Metalworkers' Benefit Fund. In early 1991, NATCA hired a part-time receptionist named Cheryl Cannon. She eventually moved on to a full-time position and remains the first NATCA employee most visitors see when they enter the space. Among the growing workforce was NATCA's first Director of Safety and Technology. Joel Hicks, who worked with TRACON in New York, Chicago and Oakland, California, was one of several activists involved in organizing NATCA in the mid-1980s. It has tripled in size in response to the changing needs of the union. While Tony Dresden once handled monthly newsletters and media enquiries, communications director Courtney Portner and three others now do that job and more. Richard Gordon, the first director of labor relations union relations, enjoyed the help of assistants. But with the rapid growth of negotiating units, the Labor Relations Department grew to nine people, plus a full-time liaison, led by Bob Taylor. (Gordon left NATCA in 1996 to form a consulting firm, working with the FAA, The MITER Corporation, and other clients.) Like Humphreys, Tsui grew personally and professionally with the union. She married Karl Grundmann in 1994 and was promoted to General Counsel at Tsui. Grundmann remembers that we were like a small family in those early days. and the web were not yet in the public domain and there were several committees. As a result, members in need often flocked to headquarters, where the phones rang almost nonstop. You had to do everything. It was exhausting, this June the FAA commissions the 20th Host computer system at the Salt Lake Center. August 15. President Steve Bell announces the creation of a 10-member union negotiation team.

113Chapter 4: The house built by NATCA 109 says. But the employees were happy to do everything for the boy to survive. While the lack of staff made each day difficult, it created a close-knit atmosphere with moments of fantasy. A favorite activity was visiting Wilma Gisala in the members' area. Gisala was a palm reader and had the ability to make accurate predictions, including a premonition that a syndicate member would win the car and Tsui's impending marriage to the driver. Some die-hards have called for daily measurements. In the field, regional and local union representatives faced the same daunting task of starting from scratch. Watching the entire system develop was like watching a tree come to life, says Christine Neumeier, who worked with Ed Mullin during NATCA's organizational days and was the administrative assistant for the Southwest Region office. Since Neumeier arrived, the office has been a small windowless space in one of the nearly empty terminals at Dallas Love Field. It was only later that NATCA expanded its facilities with a much-needed restroom and storage area. We were so full of filing cabinets, says Neumeier, adding that the furniture was a step up from garage sales. As with headquarters, the telephone served as the primary communications link in the field. There were no pagers, cell phones, etc., says Terri Jeffries, who also joined NATCA in 1992 as an administrative assistant for the Southern Region office. Simply getting a bulletin board to post union materials at FAA facilities has often been a struggle. Many auditors set up offices in their homes because managers refused to give them space at work. The Atlanta Center's first union office consisted of a small desk and wall telephone in the men's locker room. Files from the New York Center location were in the trunk of Michael McNally's red Toyota Corolla. Members met in their living rooms and basements until the administration gave up a second guard house downtown, spacious enough for three people. They gave it to me because it leaked like a sieve, McNally recalls. But it had a bathroom, so I was excited. For several years before and after certification, TRACON's New York location used a room in the Hauppauge, Long Island branch of the Public Service Alliance. The generosity came through Michael Sheedy's father, union member Richard Gordon: NATCA's first labor director left the union in 1996 to start a consulting firm. / NATCA Archives September September September 12 NATCA's new National Executive Board meets for the first time since being elected in its offices on the eighth floor of MEBA headquarters in Washington, D.C. 29 NATCA submits first union contract proposal to FAA. The proposed agreement contains about eighty articles.

114110 Official Downwind FYI. When TRACON NATCA management finally allowed an office on site, they installed a rickety desk behind the radar in the control room with a telephone shared by all controllers. Local President Joe Fruscella had to buy a lamp and light bulbs. Today, NATCA has two offices: one for members and one for the ten-member Executive Committee. Almost every other store in the country also has an office and at least one computer. As the local population settled, membership increased. About 6,000 auditors, 44 percent of the workforce, were unionized when the first National Executive Committee took office. By early 1989, membership was over 50 percent. David C. Abbott of Billings Tower/TRACON in Montana put NATCA at the center of the road by becoming the 6,859th member. 14 October 19 600 14 Nearly 2,000 joined in the summer of 1990, thanks to the concerted efforts of an organizing committee led by Rick Woolbright of the Atlanta Center, before the union instituted an initiation fee. A fee equal to the annual dues, or 1 percent of the comptroller's base salary, was temporarily phased out during some other organizing campaigns in the 1990s. Membership broke the 10,000 mark within three years of joining, gradually rising to 82 percent. In its quest to attract new recruits, NATCA early stumbled upon a program designed to reimburse a member's lifetime dues at retirement. Trish Gilbert, the newly hired center controller in Houston, had no union experience, but joined NATCA because an innovative program called O.N.E. She was attracted to the Dues Back Trust. Board member Ed Mullin, always looking for ways to increase membership in his struggling Southwest region, proposed the plan after learning that seven other unions were participating. Skeptical because it sounded too good to be true, he sought Jan's advice. NATCA and the FAA reach a preliminary agreement on their first contract. The three-year alliance comprises seventy-seven articles. February 2. Tower Controller David C. Abbott in Billings, Montana becomes the union's 6,859th member. Membership is above 50 percent for the first time since NATCA certification.

115Chapter 4: The House Built by NATCA 111 from several contributors who stated that trust is good. Other board members were suspicious. Some thought it sounded like a pyramid scheme. But in the fall of 2010, they approved it as a member benefit. A year later, their fears turned out to be justified. The plan's promoters said NATCA's initial contribution would be 5.35 percent of fees and never exceed 10 percent. However, consultant Joe Kilgallon revealed that the union would have to pay at least 20 percent to make the plan financially viable. Ashamed sued NATCA and was successful in recovering all contributions, as well as most of the legal and actuarial costs. Another suggestion from Mulla has lived a long and useful life. Initially, he successfully convinced the board to set aside 6 percent of the income as an emergency fund. Mulla's budget forecast, known as the Southwest Rule, proved invaluable in. By then, the fund had grown to $800,000 and NATCA was able to avoid going into debt as it spent a lot of money to complete a plant reclassification project and complete its third contract with the agency. The same year, the Southwest rule was reduced to 4 percent of income. Although dues revenue increased as membership increased, NATCA's first two years were awash in red ink, forcing the union to borrow another $400,000 from MEBA in July. Regional representatives using a regular credit card occasionally had to search other NATCA files. Paying off debt: In its early years with little money, NATCA's finances improved rapidly. In October 1995, President Barry Krasner, right, and Executive Vice President Michael McNally presented MEBA's final loan disbursement. currency when traders refused trade union plastic. Spickler, who was in charge of finance, was so concerned about costs that he finally told Bell, No one can buy a clipboard in this office unless I agree. Bell introduced mini-minute summaries of National Executive Committee meetings that reduced the size of the copier to save paper. Those with less than perfect vision could barely read them. In addition to the additional loan, MEBA agreed to halve its 15 percent dues for six months shortly after the first national executive meeting was held on Feb. 6. Samuel Skinner takes over as Secretary of Transportation from James H. Burnley. Skinner, an Illinois attorney, served as chairman of the state's regional transportation authority. 17 FAA Administrator T. Allan McArtor Retires After Duty July 22, 1987

116Ray Spickler Air Traffic Control Specialist 1982 Current Nickname/Company Initials: Major Xang/SP Hometown: Kansas City Ex-Husband/Children: Jayne/Shannon, Stevie Other Interests: NATCA Records Owns a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Interests: Guitar, Minor League Baseball Coach, active church member CURRENT ATC Facility: ZKC Viewed: MCI IAD Center Tower Tower/TRACON Growing up in Kansas City, Ray Spickler dreamed of becoming a top pilot. When he was not accepted by the United States Naval Academy and unable to obtain an ROTC scholarship, he studied chemistry at university. Meanwhile, his interest in aviation simmers beneath the surface. Spickler applied to be a comptroller after the strike and took the opportunity to attend the academy for a year. He was assigned to the Kansas City Center, where working conditions were better than many other facilities. However, rumors of a new union blossomed as managers undertook a major reorganization with little input from workers. It was an eye-opening experience for Spickler, who was soon attending organizational meetings and serving as Deputy Representative for the Midwest. After certification, Spickler launched a successful campaign for executive vice president and then moved to Washington. His wife, Jayne, joined in and they quickly found an apartment, if a little hastily, backwards. Enchanted by the rural campus of Catholic University of America, the couple failed to notice the war zone just a few blocks away. Two Midwesterners were shocked that a neighborhood grocer was operating a cash register behind bulletproof glass. Not long after, they moved again. NATCA Past Titles/Accomplishments Executive Vice President; Temporary center alt. regional representative; Nat L. Member of the Board of Directors of QTP; The first local chairman of the ZKC. Spickler was hired in April 1982 and his new duties left him with little time. He and President Steve Bell had the important task of setting up NATCA's national office virtually from scratch while dealing with other pressing issues such as the union's first contract. They were also aware of PATCO's heritage. Spickler recalls walking on a tightrope to represent the members without appearing too sharp. We both really believed in working with the agency. Although Spickler lost re-election in 1991, his disappointment was short-lived. It's hard to turn around and walk away from it, he says. But the change allowed her to spend more time with her children. Shannon was born four months before he left for duty, and Stevie arrived in January. Spickler started at Dulles Tower/TRACON and moved to Kansas City Tower in 1994 before returning to Kansas City Center two years later. While he has remained involved in several local offices and the Section 87/88 task force, he also believes in balancing work and personal life. He is active in his church, coaches his son's little league team, and plays the guitar, which he taught himself. I'm proud to be a part of NATCA history and to have played a small part, says Spickler. Thanks to the members who gave me the opportunity.

117Chapter 4: The house built by NATCA 113 office. In March 1990, Bell and Spickler approached MEBA again and negotiated a permanent reduction in the fee to 7.5 percent, which would save NATCA $200,000 per year. MEBA also agreed to forgive about $250,000 in debt and consolidate eight other loans into a single note that will pay 6 percent interest instead of the previous average of 8.8 percent. The restructured debt represented an additional $50,000 in annual savings. They were good to us, says Spickler. They just wanted to see us organize again. They wanted to be able to say that they were the ones who did it again. MEBA's leniency continued with Spickler's successor, Joseph Bellin, renegotiating a $1.9 million three-year loan at 3 percent interest. In October 1995, NATCA wrote the final $34 check to clear the debt, saving nearly $1 million in interest and accelerated payments over a ten-year period. Spreading the word The strike ended seven years ago and the new union was led by a second generation of controllers. But it took NATCA time to break the ice with the agency's senior managers, some of whom were wary of the young group. The FAA people they dealt with were there when PATCO was there, explains Doc Cullison. So this wasn't exactly the most conducive environment for working relationships. As with all relationships, personalities took center stage. Bell preached cooperation. Spickler's philosophy was to believe in someone until they betray your trust. The agency's deputy associate administrator, Norbert Nobby Owens, also believed in collaboration and helped launch an innovative program called Success Through Partnership at the New York Center. Joseph Noonan, the FAA's director of labor and employee relations, may have been stern, but he preferred to work with a single entity rather than thousands of individual controllers. Collectively, these attitudes began to thaw the cold division of the conflict. But even as NATCA took its first tentative steps with the agency, union members fought over the direction of their organization. When NATCA formed a steering committee to develop a joint labor relations management cooperative with the FAA, this proved to be a key position for the group. This steering committee has brought up some major disagreements within NATCA about what our core questions should be for traditional MRLs or new initiatives, says South Bend Tower/TRACON board member Anthony Coiro in Indiana. The partnership was a hard sell in those early days. After the agency rejected NATCA's proposed memorandum to provide 100 percent official time, the strike ended seven years early and the new union was led by a second generation of controllers. But it took time for NATCA to break the ice with the agency's senior managers. Apr NATCA members ratified their first contract with the FAA by a vote of 3,920 to 748, up from 5 to 1 on April 19. According to NATCA's first financial report, on August 31, 1988, the union had assets of $319,772 and liabilities of $1,941,564, including principal and interest of $1.7 million owed to MEBA.

118114 Against the Wind Getting Yes: Director of Labor Relations Bob Taylor developed a different dispute resolution process that saved NATCA and the FAA money and reduced arbitration. / Japphire regional representatives to carry out their union duties, Bell urged the board not to give up work and become a strictly hostile union. When running for reelection in 1991, Bell and Spickler cited a request from regional representatives for $200,000 to clear the arbitration backlog, noting that some wanted to spend even more. They advocated for less emphasis on complaints and greater involvement of employees in management decisions and problem solving at the institutional level. They argued it was a way to save money that could be reinvested in studying facility reclassification, safety and technology issues, legislative action and member benefits. Such lofty goals rivaled the reality for the fledgling union. In the field, auditors were still adjusting to their new role as union representatives while dealing with facility managers who were not always receptive to the idea of ​​collaboration. In this sense, local representatives asked for help. Some were trained in employment law, but there was a clear need for formal training. Midwest Representative Dan Brandt approached FAA Division Chief Ed Newburn, who suggested attending a joint class being taught by the FLRA. At least two meetings were held, though some in the FAA feared it would set a precedent for contract negotiations to begin soon. Using instructional materials from the lecture, Brandt and Kansas City Center Controllers Mark Kutch and Michael Putzier conducted training sessions for other representatives. Joseph Bellino taught similar courses in the Great Lakes region as others did elsewhere. NATCA launched a formal contract program in October 1989 with the George Meany Center for Labor Studies in Silver Spring, Maryland. The week-long course included federal sector labor relations, management rights, unfair labor practices, disciplinary and adverse actions, grievance preparation and arbitration, and a signing briefing by NATCA's first president, Steve Bell, and Acting. FAA Administrator Robert E. Whittington. The first trade union collective agreement that takes effect immediately. On June 18, the FAA is launching a five-year demonstration payment project that provides discounts of up to 20 percent at eleven hard-to-staff facilities in the New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Oakland areas.

119Chapter 4: The House Built by NATCA 115 Troop Training The three dozen controllers sitting in a conference room in a Las Vegas hotel were ready to relax. They spent the past week studying a wealth of information about labor-management relationships and the union's contract with the FAA. Exhaustion from the intensive training competed with the desire to run back to his facilities and put this new knowledge into practice. Conversations buzzed at the tables in the room. Several attendees looked impatiently at the exit door, longing for a cocktail and another crack at the casinos. The old representative of the institution rose from his chair and announced with conviction: I am glad that you all heard about the contract. But I'm here to tell you that being an FAC representative will present you with moral choices. It's a moral issue. Everyone fell silent as they took in the importance of their hard-earned wisdom. A contract can be black or white, but the day-to-day process of executing its terms can leave you in the gray mire. Director of Labor Relations Bob Taylor, lead instructor of the one-week Greg Llafet/Peter Cutts training course for factory representatives and leadership, approached the dilemma with the philosophy he embraces at every seminar: Be Fair, Be Fair. , but firm. Good, bad, or indifferent, if you say you're going to do something, do it, no matter how politically incorrect it is. On the other hand, if the employer commits, let him do it. Plus, you can walk away knowing you did your best with respect and dignity. Always have the courage to stand up straight, do it right. The plant representative course, available to NATCA members up to eight times a year since 1989, is the foundation for training local union presidents and other activists. The curriculum covers the gamut of employer-employee relationships: worker rights under federal law; compensation for unfair labor practices; appeal procedures; behavior and discipline; medium term negotiation; leadership survival skills; and more. Taylor and a number of NATCA staffers and activists taught the course throughout the 1990s. When NATCA hired Greg Llafet as Training Coordinator (now Director of Education) in 1999, he assumed responsibility for programming, course materials, hotel arrangements, all on-site functions, and teaching leadership modules. Llafet held a similar position with the Aviation Safety Foundation of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and has experience in adult education and corporate training. Four people now join Taylor and Llafet to provide specialist knowledge in different areas of the curriculum. President John Carr provides a general overview and encourages the public to conduct themselves with the feelings of trust, honor and integrity codified in the preamble to the union's 1998 contract with the FAA. summarizing, he notes that without labor relations, all that remains is a club. Taylor covers the area with a smart, no-nonsense style that he took on in various capacities with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, including General President of the Southern Region, before joining NATCA to write chapters and verses of the United States Quote code. and decisions of labor authorities,

120116 Treaty against the wind adopted last May. The training also included mock negotiation sessions, an invaluable component for new union delegates, many of whom had little relevant experience beyond haggling over cars or houses. Classes were also held at the MEBA training facility in Easton, Maryland through the mid-1990s.Japphire Fac Representative Training: NATCA hosts up to eight one-week sessions per year to teach its basics about employment relations and leadership skills. The union also offers various follow-up courses and has started online training. when NATCA took over. Staff members initially taught the course, which expanded to include sections on local finance, organization, safety and technology, National Transportation Safety Board topics, and more. A year later, with the help of the national office, the regions started teaching the classroom. Meanwhile, Director of Labor Relations Bob Taylor and David Sandbach, a recent addition to his staff, worked with Cary R. Singletary, a Florida mediation attorney, to develop basic and advanced arbitration courses. To convey the concepts of arbitration law, they wrote and produced a 40-minute video that is still used today. A few years later, they launched an advanced Facility Representative course with another negotiation video. At the end of 1997, the industrial relations course was transferred back to the head office. Controllers James Ajax Kidd, Chris Sutherland, and Rodney Turner, with the help of other activists and Heather Timme at headquarters, developed a core curriculum for facility representatives using materials they had taught for years in the Eastern and Southern regions. Shortly after they launched a new national course in the spring of 1998, which was more comprehensive and consistent than the different classes taught by the regions, the Labor Relations Department took over and has been running it ever since. June Retired Naval Admiral James B. Busey IV takes over as FAA administrator from T. Allan McArtor, who resigned 4 1/2 months earlier. Busey earned the Military Cross for combat missions in Vietnam. During his 37-year military career, he also served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Commander in Chief of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, and Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Southern Europe.

121Chapter 4: The House Built by NATCA 117 Troop Training (continued) translates legalese into plain English, gives a generous dose of practical advice, and often exhorts students: Don't fear it, folks. Andy Cantwell, considered the guru of the 1998 contract, explains each article of the agreement. Dale Wright, chairman of the finance committee, handles monetary affairs and Mike Hull, the current Air Transport Resources (ATX) liaison, keeps the class abreast of ongoing negotiations, personnel issues and technical projects. They are real experts in their field, says Llafet. Nobody talks to my class if they don't have their shoes on. Since Llafet took over the training, NATCA has revived its advanced presentation course. The union also offers a one-day seminar for liaisons and technical representatives working with the FAA, training for new negotiating unit leaders who do not yet have an agency contract, and two arbitration advocacy courses. The overall curriculum represented a $300,000 investment in NATCA and also created an external program in partnership with the George Meany Center at National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland. Participants can earn a bachelor's degree by completing five courses that complement their labor and union experience, as well as technical and vocational training. In early 2002, Llafet launched an initiative to provide web-based instruction by posting a module for formal discussions on the NATCA site. Many parts of the basic course representative objects are also available online for reference. While the training provides a solid foundation for traditional labor management procedures, it also emphasizes working relationships with the FAA. This philosophy, along with a new process called alternative dispute resolution, has helped reduce complaint arbitrations significantly. During the 1998 contract negotiations, more than 900 complaints were still pending. Typically, most cases are settled before going to arbitration. Despite this, Taylor successfully pushed through an expedited arbitration process, which was included in the contract. He also sought to resolve disputes under less adversarial terms by inventing procedures for ADR. In addition to faster complaint handling, Taylor praises the program for significant cost savings. Arbitrations generally cost between $5,000 and $8,000 or more, depending on the length of the hearing. With ADR, a mediator can handle five to eight complaints per day for about $2,000. Savings are the result of the simplified and accelerated procedures of ADR. In traditional arbitration hearings, witnesses representing the union and management may testify for days. With ADR, each party has about fifteen minutes to plead his or her case. Based on the testimony, the mediator issues an opinion that both parties are encouraged to accept. If either party forces the case to arbitration, the ultimate loser will pay all costs arising from the dispute. Since NATCA and the agency officially approved ADR three years ago, the number of arbitrations has dropped 44 percent to just ten cases in 2001.

122118 With the Wind The Voice of NATCA When Bryan Thompson moved to Chicago TRACON around Thanksgiving 1993, he heard the standard order given to all newcomers: Don't talk to official traffic controllers. There's nothing you can say about what we're doing that will have any impact or that they want to hear, management told him. If it sounds like you could check out and stay here, they'll probably want to get to know you. You probably won't succeed in the meantime, so don't bother. Thompson, who spent more than 11 years as a comptroller in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, was outraged by the pariah treatment. And he rejected it. Thompson was involved in the union in Lafayette, where he was NATCA's facility representative, and he had no intention of sitting on the sidelines in Chicago. Instead, he approached Ray Gibbons and John Carr, the local president and vice president, respectively, to offer his photography and design skills. Coincidentally, the union revived the newsletter of the Intentionally Left Blank establishment. Articles from previous issues were put together with scissors and tape and copied on a copier. Gibbons and Carr, wanting a more professional performance, welcomed Thompson's help. For the next year, Thompson edited and published Intentionally Left Blank every two months. The issues contain an eclectic mix of newspaper articles, columnists, historical perspectives, cartoons, top ten lists and other odd tidbits. Thompson designed the pages using an Amiga computer and worked with a local store to duplicate and assemble them into a newsletter. If I had to move or if there was a big event, the announcement would take a little longer because there was no one to say it to, he says. The experience formed a solid foundation for Thompson's next venture. In the fall of 1994, Great Lakes vice president Jim Poole decided to start a regional newsletter. Veronica Green of Michigan's Flint Tower/TRACON volunteered to lead the effort, but had no print production experience and gratefully accepted Thompson's help. From the beginning, the co-publishers attempted to create a publication entirely written by controllers. His philosophy was embodied in the title of the first 32-page issue in March 1995: July NATCA Arbitrator Rules NATCA local presidents may leave the premises during office hours to perform representative duties. The decision stemmed from three instances where factory representatives were denied such permission.

123Chapter 4: The house built by NATCA 119 Voice. Thompson's engagement fulfilled an artistic desire (he also plays baritone and tenor sax). Air traffic control is an art, he says. But it's an art form that when you're done there's nothing left to see. I like the creativity of the other stuff. Each monthly issue is sent to all institutions in the country for the purpose of exchanging information on common issues. By August, Green had moved to Tamiami, Florida, leaving most of the editing to Thompson. Financing was also in jeopardy. Rather than let The NATCA Voice fail, Thompson Bryan Thompson/Frank Flavin proposed even wider national distribution to provide an alternative forum to the official headquarters newsletter. Executive Vice President Michael Mc-Nally saw the merit and secured the funds that enabled Thompson and his team to publish the first national citizen's edition in February. like the FAA. It gave members a place to voice their opinions, Thompson says. NATCA Voice has issues that matter to them. Plagued by years of budget struggles, The Voice enjoyed more financial support after delegates at the 1998 convention voted to allocate $44,000 a year to the newsletter. Even that number has become inadequate in the face of the growing family of union bargaining units. The print run is up to 7,500, with distribution to approximately 385 control facilities and other interested parties worldwide. Revenue is supplemented by advertising coordinated by longtime Voice employee Jeff Parrish. Money is also coming from The NATCA Shop, an online venture that grew out of some controllers' desire for quality jackets with the union logo. People loved them and loved them, says Thompson. Coming July 19. A United Airlines DC-10 suffered a complete hydraulic failure after one of its engine fans ruptured, damaging the aircraft's control system. Captain Al Haynes and his crew fly the plane to the airport in Sioux City, Iowa, where 110 of the 269 people on board die in an emergency landing. Canadian controllers help their American counterparts cope with traumatic stress, eventually leading to a formal program known as Critical Incident Stress Reporting.

124120 Against the Wind Voice of NATCA (continued) You know, we started selling a few polo shirts. Over time, the store's inventory expanded to include a variety of clothing and accessories. In the fall of 1996, The NAT-CA Voice launched a website to expand the print edition, and both efforts received several awards from the International Labor Communications Association. Glass also supported non-trade unions, such as raising thousands of dollars for workers who went on strike at two Detroit factories for five and a half years. The alternative publication began as a newsletter for the Great Lakes region in March 1995 (center). metropolitan newspaper. But at its core are articles and cartoons by Brian Fallon and Mike Iggy Irving that may go against conventional wisdom. Although a committee made up of three members of the National Executive Committee and the Union's General Council reviews each issue, Thompson was never told to remove the article. My job is to print things that no one else can see, he says. We are an alternative news source. In September, NATCA established a political action committee, which raised $21,163 in contributions during the first election cycle. October. The union is holding its first week-long factory representative training course at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies in Silver Spring, Maryland.

125Chapter 4: The House Built by NATCA 121 NATCA hired a training coordinator in 1999 and continued to refine and expand its education program. About 400 participants take advantage of seven different courses that are offered several times a year. It has much more advantages than other lectures held at the regional and local level with teaching materials from the headquarters. The union's commitment to continuing education has resulted in a cadre of activists so well-versed in labor law and bargaining tactics that the FAA is envious of the FAA, Kidd says. Managers at the local, regional and head office levels have told me directly that our training is much better than theirs. They would die to get ours. As NATCA took shape, getting it known to members proved another challenge. Most regions and some institutions published bulletins, but the pagers of local and regional representatives buzzed and beeped constantly. When he came home from dinner with his wife, Linda, Brandt walked straight to an answering machine full of late messages. He realized that a computer bulletin board would be of great help in reducing unnecessary communication. Brandt got in touch with the late Scott Davies, a San Diego controller who was a computer expert, and they were looking for a place to host their text messaging service. The late John Galipault, founder of the venerable Aviation Safety Institute, agreed to give them computer space on an obsolete 8088 computer. Eventually, they moved to CompuServe and formed a special aviation advocacy group for the union. A few years later, the controllers temporarily transferred their network operations to Genie before returning to CompuServe's AFL-CIO section in September. Doug Holland of the Chicago Center and Tim Kuhl of Springfield, Illinois, Tower/TRA-CON provided the first comprehensive online coverage of the treaty. Transcripts of the hearings, live online chats and photos were published throughout the Pittsburgh trial. As internet usage began to explode, Holland led the movement to create BBSs on the web. Other activists joined the effort, including Gordon Baker, Bryan Thompson and Ed Morris, an Omaha tower controller who founded another listserv. The group had no money, but New York Center controller Leo Kremer came to the rescue by providing space on the servers of his Internet hosting company. At the time, the online community of the Rodney Turner - Southern Regional Vice President union, known for sharing information with members, helped activists get NEB approval before the National Committee on Records Communications/NATCA on Oct. 17. An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck the Bay Area during a World Cup game. At San Francisco and San Jose airports, the windows of the tower cabins were smashed, but the controllers remained in place. Jan. Atlanta Center's Randy Schwitz replaces Lee Riley as regional representative for the South, who is resigning to continue his ATC duties and the trucking company he owns. .

126122 Upwind FYI Listen on the Air Controllers rarely know words and their humor can lead to interesting conversations on the radio. The following actual shows appeared in the mid-1990s as part of an occasional column in the Chicago TRACON Intentionally Left Blank newsletter: Controller: Nine o'clock traffic makes you a little Linda Ronstadt. Pilot: Linda Ronstadt? What is that? Controller: Well sir, they're going to Blue Bayou. Control leader: Of course you can stand eight miles behind the heavy one, there will be a United triet between you and him. Pilot: The copilot says he has you in sight. Administrator: Roger. The copilot has room for a visual approach to runways two-seven on the right. Continue on that 180 course and descend to 3000. Pilot: Focus, what [radio frequency] tower is that? Controller: A big, tall building with glass all around, but it doesn't matter now. it remained small compared to a membership of nearly 12,000 (although its activity exceeded that of the larger AFL-CIO unions). On a busy day, maybe twenty users would exchange messages on NATCAnet. One of those who signed up was Doug Laughter of the Salt Lake Center, who quickly joined the movement to expand the union's web presence. In the beginning, communication activists were held back by the lack of support from the national bureau. There was no financial support, although nearly 1,000 members eventually used the website and BBS, limited technical knowledge at the headquarters also hindered their plans. At the September convention, two computers were sent to Seattle to distribute information to controllers who could not attend. Unfortunately, the computers did not have modems. Laughter unwittingly saved the day by bringing his computer from home as a backup. Activists grew increasingly frustrated. All the people on the ground involved in the communication had no say in the communication, Thompson says. They found an influential ally in Rodney Turner, who served his first term as Vice President of the Southern Region and embraced open communication with members. His detailed weekly updates on union activities, which he called Rod-Jan. An Avianca 707 crashed into Long Island, New York, after running out of fuel while waiting to land at Kennedy Airport. 73 of the 158 people on the plane died in the accident. In its probable cause report, the NTSB states that the flight crew failed to refuel the aircraft and declared an emergency for air traffic controllers. The committee also notes that the lack of standardized terminology for fuel emergencies was a factor.

127Chapter 4: The house built by NATCA 123 ney Vision, was widely read by NATCA members and FAA administrators. I was always one of those who told my members that they will know what I know, he says. Communication is one of the most important things that we must continuously improve. With Turner's support, the activists now gained the attention of the executive committee and drafted a proposal to create a national communications committee. In February 1999, Thompson and Morris attended an NEB meeting to present their proposal. Board members agreed with his recommendation and authorized a new group to oversee most communications between the national office and members. * This included the merging of a web-based BBS and a highly active listserv, the blessing of bringing union members and leaders together on one consolidated online site, and the further development of the website, where union members, National Office staff collaborated with the help from an outside contractor. "We thought we could make a better product at no cost to NATCA," said Laughter, who now served as administrator for NAT-CAnet. Thompson, a Chicago-based TRACON controller who is also editor-in-chief of an alternative newsletter called The NATCA Voice, redesigned the website to create public areas for members. By early 2002, union information available on the web had grown exponentially, with approximately 2,200 members exchanging an average of 125 messages per day in more than 75 forums. It is also the intention to present the completely renovated location in the summer. * The former Permanent Communications Committee was disbanded in late 1997 after the union acted on most of its recommendations and transferred pending tasks to NATCA headquarters. March MEBA agrees to cut union dues from 15 percent to 7.5 percent of dues revenue, saving $200,000 annually. MEBA also cancels about $250,000 in debt and consolidates eight other debts into one bill that pays 6 percent interest instead of the previous average of 8.8 percent. The restructured debt saves the union about $4,200 a month in interest.

128Never leave anything on the table if you can get it now. Barry Krasner, negotiator Deal: President Steve Bell, right, and FAA chief negotiator Ray Thoman tentatively agreed to the first NATCA contract in January / Courtesy of Anthony Coir

129Chapter 5 The Art of Negotiation Sitting at a long table in a cramped conference room in a Washington D.C. hotel, Ray Thoman, the FAA's deputy director of labor and employee relations, took his proposed collective bargaining agreement by clean draft. - a blond, clean-shaven man with metal-rimmed glasses. NATCA President Steve Bell put the proposal on the table and looked Thoman in the eye. Standing next to Bell, Barry Krasner and Co-Chairman of the Union Contracts Team, Mark Kutch, watched and waited. This November 16, 1988 meeting represented the first negotiation negotiations between the comptroller's union and the agency in more than seven years. NATCA rehearsed this moment and Bell responded at the right time. Thank you very much, he said. We know how hard you worked on this. We like to work with ours. Bell then slid the thick document across the table. Broad-shouldered, with black hair and a gray beard, Thoman smiled politely. I appreciate your effort. It was clearly a lot of work, he said. But it is a second attempt due to his lack of experience in this field. 1 Thoman's comment was not entirely out of place. The NATCA representatives in the room, including Bell, were auditors, not businessmen. However, they clearly understood the historic nature of this meeting and their responsibility to help ensure the well-being of more than 13,000 families. They were preparing like this was the Super Bowl. The union's ten-person contracting team has been carefully selected to represent a balanced distribution of terminals and hubs across all regions. They followed a two-day seminar on negotiation skills from the American Arbitration Association. They also spent two intensive weeks at MEBA's sprawling colonial-style training facility in Easton, Maryland, creating proposals for fabrication. First NATCA Agreement: Building on the foundations of the last PATCO agreement, the 1989 pact was also groundbreaking.

130126 Against the Wind Courtesy of Anthony Coir (top left); NATCA Archives (bottom left, top) The Preparation: NATCA's first contract team spent two weeks at MEBA's training center in Easton, Maryland, preparing for negotiations. Kansas City Center Controller Mark Kutch, left, and President Steve Bell, above, co-chaired the 10-member team. Eight others served as resource specialists. April Nearly 500 delegates attend NATCA's third biennial convention at The Desert Inn in Las Vegas. After an emotional debate, the delegates overwhelmingly approve a resolution calling on President Bush to allow the fired controllers to apply for new jobs with the FAA, which Bush refuses to do. The decision to increase the union membership fee by half a percent is rejected.

131Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 127 While there, they listened to the advice of deposed PATCO President John Leyden. Unrealistic expectations of the latest contract proposal, which Robert Poli and company shared with members, caused widespread dissatisfaction, Leyden told them. Determined not to repeat history, the NATCA team solicited input from members but did not disclose its initial position. Assisted by eight resource specialists, the contracting team spent many nights examining PATCO records, Office of Personnel Management regulations, FAA warrants, appeals and arbitration transcripts, private sector and federal rights contracts for all negotiating units. His extensive research resulted in a comprehensive proposal with eighty-two articles. The team members then ranked them numerically by importance and plotted the items on the grid. Sitting at the negotiating table, Bell remained confident and calm. He ignored Thoman's comment and began to outline the union's proposal. Parts of the document trace their roots to the 1978 PATCO contract, including provisions for mandatory breaks after two hours on the job, reinstatement of immunity for auditors who report operational errors, and the official release of union representatives from operations. Other elements were new, such as the right of trade unions to mediate negotiations, significant improvements and guaranteed leave for antenatal care. The workplace articles related to prime-time licensing (during the summer and holidays) and the uniform dress code were designed to address inconsistent policies. * The agency banned tape recordings of the negotiations. As a result, team member Anthony Coiro filled a large stack of yellow notepads with scribbled notes to create a trading history. In the event of subsequent appellate arbitrations, the notes could prove invaluable in establishing the intent of the parties because they articulate the language of the contract. A notable victory for the union involved reporting immunity. In 1975, NASA created the Aviation Safety Reporting System to allow controllers, pilots, and others to document errors within ten days of an incident without fear of a fine (except in cases of gross negligence or criminal activity). The system is designed to document common mistakes, which can help land a tough win: Beth Thomas, who helped organize the controllers, rejoined the FAA after certification and was the team's liaison. / NATCA Archives * The final contract included all of these provisions. May 10 The FAA announces that Hampton University in Virginia has been awarded a contract to develop an air traffic controller training program. Graduates can apply to the FAA as development. 10 In a ruling on a lawsuit originally brought by NATCA, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upholds the FAA's arbitrary drug testing program for the aviation industry.

132128 Against the Wind Signed, Sealed, and Delivered: FAA and union representatives smile as contract is approved. The controllers operated without a formal agreement for nearly eight years until the first NATCA agreement went into effect on May 1. Union members on the team included: President Steve Bell; Co-Chairman Mark Kutch, Kansas City Center; NATCA Archives Richard Bamberger, San Diego Tower; Don Carlisle, Washington Center; Pablo Casio, Seattle TRACON; Anthony Coiro, South Bend/TRACON Tower; Art Joseph, Miami Center; Lonnie Kramer, Corpus Christi/TRACON Tower; Barry Krasner, New York TRACON; William Osborne Jr., General Counsel; and eight resource specialists. procedures to avoid them. Controllers, who could lose their jobs if they were involved in three deals over operational errors within two and a half years, saw the program as critical because different managers handled errors differently. NATCA and the agency had been working to reinstate the driver policy, which FAA administrator Langhorne Bond canceled in 1980, before negotiations began. However, Thoman stressed that the provision was non-negotiable and did not belong in the contract. Barry Krasner suggested recording it for educational purposes. Thoman eventually agreed, ensuring that the agency could not unilaterally change or withdraw the policy because the union could challenge the move by filing a complaint. In mid-January, both sides reached a preliminary agreement. NATCA members spent most of two grueling months of negotiations in the Washington area away from their families. However, the process was easier than expected. Coiro remembers that it was tentative and oddly predetermined. We all needed a good contract. No one managed to bring his side to confrontation and we knew it. NATCA's first attempt differed from the final PATCO contract in several respects. The agency negotiated the right to change the controller's schedule within a month of August. In the March for Safety, staff from NATCA's national office and more than 120 inspectors from across the country marched in downtown Washington to protest the ongoing staff shortage. September 1 A new DOT policy goes into effect prohibiting smoking on FAA property, although designated smoking areas are allowed.

133Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 129 week. They were under PATCO for three weeks. And the development had to pass at least two checkpoints before familiarization privileges were granted; PATCO interns immediately benefited. NATCA has made significant progress over PATCO. The FAA agreed to officially release regional representatives 50 percent to perform their duties. PATCO board members who took time off work to serve the union did so without brokerage fees. A contract is not a panacea. However, it goes far beyond the beginning, said Joseph Bellino, Regional Representative of the Great Lakes Region. 2. Half of the union contract team accompanied Bell and Spickler on several legs of the twenty-three city tour to sell the contract to the ranks. The group constantly defended a clause that appeared frequently in the document: if working conditions allow. Controllers were concerned that the phrase would dilute their rights. But without this in connection with guaranteed interruptions, for example, the arbitrator could decide that the article in question is unenforceable and therefore void. A contract is not a panacea. However, it goes much further than the beginning. Joseph Bellino, Great Lakes Regional Representative. An expensive information trip helped educate the members. But with little money available in the union, he drew criticism from some who accused top NATCA officials of wasting thousands of dollars on what they called Steve & Ray's Excellent Adventure, a paraphrase of the title of a popular Hollywood movie of the time. In any case, the union members overwhelmingly accepted the contract. The three-year pact came into effect on May 1, 1989 after being ratified by 3,920 votes to 748, an 84 percent margin. Subsequent contracts would strengthen and expand the data controller's rights. At this point, NATCA's founders and activists, who spent more than five years building their union and securing their first collective bargaining agreement, enjoy a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Power Struggle Steve and Ray's Great Adventure was one of the many money and control intrigues that plagued the first National Executive Committee. Chief negotiators: President Steve Bell, right, and Ray Thoman, FAA deputy director of labor and employee relations, clash during talks over the union's first contract. / Stan Barough Oct 19. The initiation fee takes effect after a major organizational drive that sees more than 2,000 drivers join NATCA. Membership is about 10,600 or more than 70 percent of the January workforce. The 8 percent pay increase, called a temporary geographic adjustment, was approved for 5,933 FAA employees at facilities in the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.

134130 Headwind New NATCA Logo (above): Steve Bell's decision to redesign the union's visual identity has angered regional members and representatives. Steve and Ray (right): Executive Vice President Ray Spickler, left, stood by Steve Bell when the president came under fire. Spickler's loyalty derailed his re-election bid. NATCA submitted its regions largely autonomously, board members now having to adapt to a different power structure. We were all new, says Gary Molen, Northwest Mountain Regional Representative. We wanted Bell and those guys to jump. Bell was criticized for having little or no influence over everything from hiring new employees to buying fax machines for each region (representatives couldn't do without them after a few months) to keeping an older woman as a council representative of Governing (one-time look that stems from Bell's impatience with Robert's Rules of Order). Bell, a history buff, argued that the most successful American presidents were those who led decisively. He defends his style by pointing out that he was chosen to start NATCA. The board's time could be better spent dealing with regional and national issues rather than focusing on infrastructure. If we had sat down and talked about it, he now says, we never would have gotten anywhere. Several board members gave Bell more freedom than others. But when they learned that NATCA had paid a PR firm about $20,000 to redesign the union's logo, everyone rioted. The new look, which appeared in promotional materials for the 1990 convention, consisted solely of the word NATCA in simplified script. The letter A was placed above the others and some observers called it an excited A. While some reviewers considered the original outdated, most considered each change a redesign of the American flag. The board and members in general felt that the logo was her identity and quickly called for its reinstatement. A later board also toyed with updating the logo and failed. The change was like the third track of NATCA politics, says now president John Carr. The original logo has survived to this day. Members of the National Executive Committee were also angry when Bell and Spickler borrowed another $400,000 from MEBA in February. The nighttime crash kills all twelve on the airliner and twenty-two on the USAir flight. Two weeks later, the FAA amends procedures to prohibit aircraft from waiting at runway and taxiway intersections at night or when the intersection is not visible from the tower.

135Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation July 131, 1989 to move the union forward. While they understood the financial need, the lack of consultation was a sore point. Nevertheless, the conflicts were little more than the inevitable by-product of a fledgling partnership setting foot. None of us had the experience or resources to do the job, says Bell. We all came from a controller background and were well versed in moving planes, not a baby organization in the throes of its evolution. Power struggles and politics were not Bell's only problems. Just as the Las Vegas convention began in April 1990, Karin Bell informed her husband that she wanted a divorce. He kicked his legs right out from under him, Spickler recalls. So much so that Bell didn't feel like presiding over the trial. Once the introductory session was over, he turned to a friend from TRACON in New York whom he experienced as a gifted negotiator and communicator, Barry Krasner. Bell spoke privately in Krasner's room, asking him to run the convention and avoid his deputy. Despite Krasner's position as regional representative of the East and his work on the contracting team, NATCA postpones the 1990 convention: President Bell bypassed Ray Spickler and asked Barry Krasner to direct most of the proceedings. Dan Brandt, right, was an MP. I was terrified of the stage. But he warmed to the task for the first two days before handing the game over to Spickler, who approached Bell and insisted that the executive vice president properly direct the proceedings. Krasner's skill came from a mix of smarts he learned growing up in Flushing, New York, taking out the biggest man first and a deep understanding of Robert's Rules of Order. He first read the book when New York's TRACON drafted the Constitution and continues to revise it before the FAA completes the transfer of more than 600,000 square miles of oceanic airspace from downtown Miami and Boston to downtown New York on May 4 . 1 Aviation safety inspectors voted to organize as a bargaining unit of professional airway system specialists. On May 10, PASS was certified for 1,913 FAA employees.

136Barry Krasner Air Traffic Control Specialist 1982 Current Business Initials: XO Hometown: New York City Spouse/Children: Sallie/Michael, Bryan Mindy; Grandson: Drew Other Interests: Owns an extensive collection of stuffed frogs Interests: Wine, trout fishing NATCA Archives ATC Facilities Current: N90 Views: TRACON After six years at the helm of NATCA, Barry Krasner horrified many members by returning to the Comptroller's boards regretting others to be the union president was the best they ever elected. Krasner shook his head and replied, If so, we can close our doors immediately. Everyone after me should be better than me. Otherwise we have learned nothing. His down-to-earth attitude comes from thinking about life at 35,000 feet. I sit on planes a lot, look out the window and see nothing but clouds, he says. You start thinking on a different level. Growing up with NATCA also shaped her perspective. While serving as the eastern regional representative in the late 1980s, Krasner often stretched a telephone cord from his cramped office space, donated by another union, to run down the hall during interviews. Then you really had to believe and fight. In those days, he says, there was no luxury. Today, NATCA's seven-story Washington D.C. headquarters bears his name. Like many union activists, Krasner's efforts involved considerable personal sacrifice. The charges were expanded to his new wife, Sallie Sullivan, a veteran bank manager who now works in NATCA's Eastern Regional Office. His presidency began just eight months after their marriage. Previous NATCA positions/achievements National President; Eastern Regional Representative; chief contract negotiator; chairman of NMI; wet l. chairman emeritus; President of NY TRACON. Hire d Jan During her tenure, she lived in New York to be close to her son and family as he travels home on weekends. At work, Krasner's shrewd negotiating skills were tempered by an unconventional sense of humor. A stuffed armadillo stared at visitors to his office from a curio cabinet. He relaxed his waiting behavior for a year and transformed the stocky creature into Papa-adillo. The following year the animal became Santa-dillo. The collection was completed by an exotic collection of more than twenty stuffed frogs. After leaving office in 1997, Krasner returned to the birthplace of his FAA career: TRACON's LaGuardia Sector in New York. Now he spends most nights at the couple's home on a quiet 2-acre lot in central Long Island, where a stuffed armadillo and frogs are quarantined in the rec room to maintain decency in other areas of the house. NATCA still benefits from Krasner's talents. As the union's chief negotiator, he has negotiated numerous contracts for a growing list of bargaining units in recent years. When asked which inscription he would most like to have on his tombstone, Krasner said simply, that was important. Though he is pleased with his performance at NATCA, he remains restless. If you jump over the last obstacle, your only two options are to find another obstacle or die.

137Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 133 conventions. His mastery of handling procedures brought him such fame that he began conducting seminars for delegates. Krasner was in his element on stage. I like to argue with a thousand people at once, he says with his trademark laugh. There were many opportunities. Convention delegates considered about 100 constitutional amendments and resolutions. Despite the support of the majority of the State Executive Committee, they refused to increase the dues by half a percent. However, the delegates agreed to impose an entry fee equal to one year's dues on new members, which took effect the following October. Newly hired interns are given a six-month break. After hearing a heartfelt speech from John Leyden, delegates also voted more than three to one to urge the Bush administration to allow auditors fired during the 1981 strike to reapply for new jobs at the FAA. Krasner came to Las Vegas with the intention of announcing his candidacy for executive vice president. He and his campaign manager, Bernie Reed of Bay TRACON, made printed badges and flyers to hang under the doors of the House of Representatives. However, after Bell approached him, Krasner hid the kit under the bed in his room, fearing it would look like a trap. As it turned out, his stage presence was perhaps Krasner's most effective campaign tool. Odds are Barry would never have become president of this union if it hadn't happened, Spickler claims. When Krasner launched his campaign in January while honeymooning in Las Vegas with his second wife, Sallie, he was seeking the presidency. A changing of the guard seemed likely. Meanwhile, the board's frustration had been exacerbated by Bell's long absence last summer as he attempted to reconcile with Karin. For Krasner, the decision to compete against his friend was a difficult one. The change of heart was the result of a separate financial issue arising from a dinner with Bell and Leyden that took place in Las Vegas prior to the convention. At a meeting prior to the Eastern Region Convention in Atlantic City, Bell invited Barry NATCA files Friends and Foes: Barry Krasner, left, and Steve Bell formed a personal bond at TRACON in New York in the mid-1980s. , dissatisfaction with Bell's leadership led Krasner to campaign for president in the 1991 election and defeat Bell. Have NATCA and the FAA agree on alternate work schedules, allowing inspectors to complete an 80-hour shift in less than 10 days.

138134 Against the Wind Counting Votes: Auditors vote by mail in national NATCA elections held every three years. The union pays her and Sallie Krasner for an informal meeting with the former PATCO president, who was the speaker at today's event. The Krasners had another engagement and stopped by long enough for a drink. NATCA later reports that the president and executive vice president, who work on FAA, are on unpaid leave. Regional Vice Presidents perform their duties during official hours. When the National Executive Committee questioned Bell's expensive bill, he claimed the meeting related to NAT-CA matters and asked Krasner for confirmation. Put it in place, Krasner agreed. When I realized I was blindly supporting him so he could answer to the Executive Committee, I couldn't live with myself anymore, says Krasner, adding that when I decided to run against him, it was a turning point. Executive Vice President Spickler sympathized with some of Bell's misadventures, but remained loyal to his partner. I just felt that Steve really was the best man for the job and that I would continue what I believed in regardless of the political cost, he says now. The two formed a slate, which many say hurt Spickler's re-election chances against a challenge from Joseph Bellin, a Great Lakes regional representative. Bellino became controller at O ​​Hare Tower in October. Construction of TRACON in Southern California begins in San Diego, which will consolidate five access control facilities including Los Angeles, San Diego, Burbank, Ontario and Coast (covering the Pacific coast north of San Luis). Bishop). The new plant will be the third consolidated TRACON in the country. Two other New York TRACONs at Long Island and the Bay TRACON at Oakland Airport have been in operation for years.

139When John Leyden visited O Hare looking for members for the newly formed PATCO, Bellino was the first intern to sign up. But a few years before the disability strike, he was forced to retire. He believed the agency acted without just cause and fought alone for seven years for his return to work. When he wasn't working as a police officer in McHenry, Illinois, or at other jobs, he spent hours at the library researching workers' rights laws. Bellino made his breakthrough in his case when he wrote to the American Medical Association to prepare for an FAA hearing and found that the doctor who issued his medical disqualification had no administrative authority at the time. After Bellino notified the agency, he was quickly allowed back to work full-time in 1984. He soon joined a petition campaign and made an effort to raise additional funds for the understaffed O Hare Tower/TRACON, culminating in the Everybody Wanted a World Pay demonstration. You don't get that in two and a half years. We didn't even have an office staff. [Bell] started this and got it all going. A 1989 project that included seven air traffic control facilities. He also served as Deputy Great Lakes Regional Representative under Jim Poole before being named National Executive of the Year. In the 1991 election, seven board members supported Krasner, defeating Bell with 60 percent of the vote. Bellino defeated Spickler for former incumbent Michael McNally by an equally large margin. Bell then transferred to Phoenix TRA-CON, where he attracted attention by leaving the union for several weeks over a dispute over travel vouchers. He later moved to the FAA Command Center in Herndon, Virginia, as a traffic management specialist and trainer. His leadership skills were strong-willed, says former New England regional representative Jim Breen. He was what the union needed to begin with. After the first mandate, we had to move from an organizational to an operational way of working. Spickler went to Dulles Tower/TRACON, then transferred to Kansas City Tower as a supervisor (the only way the agency would pay for his move). Chapter 5: The Art of the Deal 135 Nov. NATCA and FAA officially agreed to implement quality through friendship. This program is designed for a collaborative relationship between employees and management that creates an environment where employees are empowered to participate in decisions that impact their work lives. QTP National Coordinator Michael McNally initially oversees the NATCA program, followed by Kansas City Center's Bill Murphy.

140136 Against the Wind Job and Management Training: FAA and union members initially took classes that evolved into an ongoing program known as the Quality Association. Live close to your extended family. But he became disillusioned with management and returned to the Kansas City Center about a year and a half later. Michael McNally, who later served as executive vice president and president, believes NATCA's first two top executives were doomed. They are always first out of the box. Expectations are too high. They are green. They are new. It's just too fast for them. Everyone wanted the world. You don't get that in two and a half years. We were hardly a union. We didn't even have office workers. Steve built the office staff. He hired talent. He arranged an office for us. He started this and started it all. The Age of Collaboration Even before Bell became president, he and other NATCA members advocated collaboration with the agency, eschewing traditional and controversial labor management relationships in favor of the partnership philosophy permeating many organizations at the time. Despite the FAA's narrow-minded reputation, a significant portion of the agency hoped to avoid a repeat of 1981 and also agreed to cooperate. Aided by T. Allan McArtor, who took over as FAA administrator in place of Donald Engen, these views were brought together in March 1988 in a training called Labor and Management: Partners in Problem Solving. The curriculum is designed to collectively teach facility managers and union representatives their rights and responsibilities, as well as communication and dispute resolution techniques. During the three-day course, controllers and managers switched roles to better understand the issues and perspectives of the other side. Controllers learned what it was like to defend policies they didn't personally support, while managers found reasons to complain. In the spring and summer, some 1,000 facility managers and representatives followed the course. The one-off sessions paved the way for a more formal permanent program that began at the New York Center. Like several others, local president Michael McNally was concerned about PATCO II. I didn't want to join a union if I wanted to be radical, he says. He also saw the need to stop fighting and cultivate more harmonious relationships. McNally approached the facility's assistant superintendent, Jim Buckles, and the two developed a trust-focused partnership program called Success Through Partnership. Initially, both sides resisted. Management hated him, McNally recalls. For them, it was a violation of their authority. They thought everything was going downhill. Let the monkeys run the zoo. FAA Administrator James B. Busey IV is stepping down after completing his tour of duty on June 30 December. Secretary of Transportation Samuel Skinner resigns after serving since February 6, 1989.

141Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation Second National Board of Directors As with the first elections, five new members joined the board in 1991: Alaska: Sam Rich defeated incumbent Will Faville Jr. (both were from Anchorage Center). Faville became NATCA's third director of security and technology. Center: Incumbent Dan Brandt of Omaha TRACON failed to win a majority, dropping a runoff against Kansas City Center's Michael Putzier. East: Incumbent Barry Krasner's race for president has left the field wide open. Although the New York Center's Michael McNally defeated Pittsburgh Tower's Tim Haines, neither received a majority. Haines defeated McNally in the second round. Great Lakes: In the absence of incumbent Joseph Bellino, who won the election for executive vice president, Chicago Center's Jim Poole defeated Chuck Owens of North Dakota's Bismarck Tower/TRACON. Poole briefly served as the central regional representative on the interim administration. New England: Bradley Tower/TRACON incumbent Jim Breen held off a second challenge from Providence Tower's Howie Barte to keep his job for another term. Northwest Mountain: Salt Lake Center incumbent Gary Molen held his position for a second term against challenges from contract team member Paul Cascio of Seattle TRACON and James Brawner of Denver TRACON. South: Incumbent Randy Schwitz ran unopposed. Schwitz, of Atlanta Center, replaced Central Controller Lee Riley when he resigned in January 1990 to focus more attention on the transportation company he co-owned with his brother Bill. Southwest: Dallas Love Field incumbent Ed Mullin ran unopposed for a second term. Western Pacific: Rick Bamberger of Lindbergh Field in San Diego lost his re-election bid. Karl Grundmann of TRACON of Los Angeles, defeated by Ray Spickler for executive vice president in the 1988 union election, Owen Bridgeman of Phoenix defeated TRACON in a runoff election in February. President Barry Krasner, Contracts Committee Co-Chair Bernie Reed and Director of Labor Relations Richard Gordon present the FAA with the union's second contract proposal. February 24. Andrew H. Card Jr. replaces Samuel Skinner as Secretary of Transportation. Card, who served in the Massachusetts legislature, was President Bush's deputy chief of staff.

142138 Upwind 1991 Election Results President Votes Percentage Barry Krasner Eastern Regional Representative 3, Steve Bell / Seated Eastern New York TRACON 2, Executive Vice President Joseph M. Bellino Great Lakes Regional Representative 3, Runoff Votes Runoff Percentage Ray L. Spickler / Seated Central Kansas City Center 2, Regional Representatives *Brandt dropped the drain to Putzier. ** Schwitz joined the NEB in January 1990 after Lee Riley resigned. Alaska Sam Rich Anchorage Center Will Faville Jr. / start Anchorage Center Central Michael Putzier Kansas City Center Dan Brandt * / start Omaha TRACON Mark Kutch Kansas City Center Eastern Tim Haines Pittsburgh Tower Michael McNally New York Center Deborah Ann Katz Washington Center May NATCA with four biennial conventions at the Hilton Palacio del Río in San Antonio. Delegates vote to amend Article IX, Section 7, of the union's bylaws to allow a majority of convention participants to change dues, rather than a majority of members; then they approve the quota increase to 1.5 percent. Delegates also grant honorary life membership to former PATCO President John F. Leyden.

143Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 139 votes Great Lakes Percentage Jim Poole Chicago Center Chuck Owens Bismarck TRACAB New England Jim Breen / current Bradley Tower/TRACON Howie Barte Providence Tower Northwest Mountain Gary Mill / current Salt Lake Center Paul Cascio Seattle TRACON James Brawner Denver TRACON South Randy Schwitz / stream. **Atlanta Center 1 Southwest Ed Mullin / current Dallas Love Field Tower Western Pacific Karl Grundmann Los Angeles TRACON Owen Bridgeman Phoenix TRACON Rick Bamberger / current San Diego Tower Runoff Vote Runoff Percent June 27 August Thomas C. Richards takes over FAA administrator. Richards served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He later served on the Presidential Committee on Air Safety and Terrorism. 24 Hurricane Andrew passes through South Florida, forcing the temporary closure of Miami International, Fort Lauderdale Executive, West Palm Beach, Tamiami and Key West airports.

144Joseph M. Bellino Air Traffic Control Specialist 1968 Current Operating Initials: MB, NC Location: Chicago; McHenry, IL Children: Anna; granddaughter: Marissa Other interests: Vietnamese interpreter and former sign language interpreter Interests: Stan Barough Blue-green water, white sand beaches, internet business, rental properties ATC facilities C r i t e n t : C90 P r e v i o s : ORD RFD TRACON Tower Former NATCA Tower Title/Accomplishments Executive Vice President; regional representative for the Great Lakes; Or Hare Tower and local TRACON president (multiple terms). Rent d ruj. Joseph M. Bellino has always lived at the front. Prior to joining O Hare Tower as a controller in 1968, he served with the Army's 125th ATC Company in Vietnam. He was also assigned to the 101st Airborne and 1st Infantry units establishing landing and disembarkation zones. He cunningly bought a monkey named Johnny to take care of him. If you sleep in the jungle with a monkey on your wrist, not even an invisible man can sneak up on you, says Bellino. Johnny did have a mischievous streak, though, like when he rummaged in General William Westmoreland's pocket. Bellin's tenacity and ethical nature characterize his involvement in organized labor for more than three decades. During a seven-year battle to reverse his forced disability pension, he learned enough about the law to become a shrewd negotiator, citing federal regulations with the same fluency that sports fans use to sift through the stats for their favorite team. . Whether testifying before Congress, negotiating with the FAA, or filing an insurance claim for a driver injured in a car accident, Bellino always relied on reams of documentation and strong verbal arguments. He is driven by an eternal distrust of the government. After the birth of his daughter Anna, Bellino discovered that he was infected with Agent Orange in Vietnam. Medical problems from the toxic defoliant prevented her from having more children. The government was aware of the dangers of dioxin. We are not, he says. My continued lack of confidence in government activities has never been without merit. After the FAA reinstated him in 1984 for never leaving the agency, Bellino had no intention of rejoining the labor movement. I was so happy to get my job back, he says. But the agency has become even more than before. I couldn't stand it. An activist's life consists of long bar talks, but Bellino doesn't drink alcohol. Instead, he prefers to read or research things online, often into the small hours. Despite the fact that he prefers such modest activities, those who know him most often use the word colorful. Colleagues teased Bellino about his height — he's only five feet tall — but an equally strong opponent at the FAA measured him differently. Joseph Noonan, the agency's director of labor and employee relations when Bellino was executive vice president, once introduced him to a group of executives, prompting comments about his status. Do you think Bellino is short? replied Noonan. The more he talks, the taller he is.

145Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 141 members felt that the program weakened their power as a labor organization. But over time, people saw the benefits of STP and it eventually caught the attention of senior managers at headquarters. The experiment moved to TRACON in New York and in 1991 became the Partnership for Quality, which McNally led as the union's national QTP coordinator. Under the program, groups of managers and union members had to agree on issues before they could be implemented. Decisions were binding; neither side cooperated: NATCA and the FAA received periodic quality training through the partnership. This class included the four regional vice presidents of the NATCA Archives, from left to right: Michael Putzier, Central; Jim Poole, Great Lakes; Rich Phillips, southwest; and Joe Fruscella, from the East. can appeal to the FLRA. The agency created a video training to introduce QTP and has allocated a significant amount of money for sessions in all of its facilities. Acceptance came slowly for some, and not at all for others, who were uncomfortable with this new way of thinking. Referring to QTP as drinking the Kool-Aid, participants on both sides felt it undermined their authority. I always saw the agency as an enemy, not a friend. I haven't seen that collaborative thing work, says Bill Otto, controller of St. Louis TRACON, who first met in October 1992 with NATCA's newly formed reclassification committee, chaired by East Region Vice President Tim Haines, to discuss ways to discuss change. classification system of air traffic facilities. The union hired former PATCO member Dick Swauger and consultant Joe Kilgallon to work on the project. Both participated in PATCO's reclassification effort in the mid-1970s, which resulted in higher wages for occupied facilities.

146142 Against the Wind later became Vice President of the Central Region. QTP gave us the facade of working together, but we never worked together on difficult problems. Paul Williams, a former Washington Center facility representative, says QTP captured one of our most important weapons. Williams recognizes that collaborative relationships are possible. But he also believes that consensus destroys leadership. Under the structure of the QTP board, one person in management or the union could undermine a decision that everyone thought was right. It led to a lot of weak decisions, watered down decisions, half-hearted language. Others saw the collaboration differently. Carol Branaman, who held leadership positions at PATCO and was elected vice president of NATCA's Northwest Mountain Region in 2000, says the program opened doors for the union. Everyone criticizes QTP, but it was a giant leap forward for the FAA, she says. In many ways it gave everyone the maligned QTP, but it was a giant leap forward for the FAA. In many ways, this gave the union an enormous influence it had never had before. a huge influence the union had never had before. It was the first time they acknowledged that the union played a role in everything related to the facility. Barry Krasner points out that the law allows either party to engage in lengthy tort disputes that can take years to resolve. QTP provided a way to liquidate them faster. Bill Carol Branaman Murphy, vice president of the Kansas City Center's Northwest Mountain Region, who succeeded McNally as QTP's national coordinator in 1994, says it's just common sense. When you hit someone, what do you get in return? You will be beaten up. With the aid of subsequent training, the tenor of labor relations at the FAA gradually improved, though not universally. But in 1996, QTP was one of nine agency programs to receive a total of $29 million in cuts by the Republican-controlled Congress as part of its budget-balancing agreement with the United States. QTP was not a failure. It has left its mark, says Howie Barte, who still believes in collaboration. Where it was successful, it remains successful. 1992/93 November T. Craig Lasker of the Boston Center takes over as vice president of the New England region from Jim Breen, who retired as controller after suffering a minor stroke and loss of vision. January 20. FAA Administrator Thomas C. Richards is leaving after taking office on June 27, Secretary of Transportation Andrew H. Card Jr. resigns after term of office on February 24, 1992.

147Chapter 5: The Art of Trading 143 Where you failed, you never had a chance. In some facilities, the program is implemented in practice. Second contract When QTP gained momentum and Krasner and Bellino were appointed in Washington in September 1991 as the union's second president and executive vice president, preparations were already underway to negotiate a second contract. Before leaving the position, Bell named Bay TRACON's Bernie Reed team president (he served as resource person on the first contract). Paul Williams of Washington Center and Rodney Turner of Nashville Metro Tower/TRACON, who aided Bell in his failed campaign, were also on the team. After the election, members gathered at Airlie Center, an eastern Virginia retreat, to brief the new administration. Reed, Turner, and Williams assumed Krasner would ask them to stand down so he could name his men. Turner offered to resign. But in a move that shows Krasner's sense of collaboration and political acumen, he asked everyone to stay. Reed was particularly impressed. Due to a miscommunication, he stopped supporting Krasner during the campaign and joined Bell's camp. Kras-NATCA Archive 1993 Contract Team: Presidents Bell and Krasner, both select members, including, bottom row from left to right: Bruce Means; Mike Motta; Jay Keeling; Robert Stephenson; co-chair Bernie Reed; and Ken Brissenden. Top row from left: Lonnie Kramer; Joe Fruscella; kutch brand; chairman Barry Krasner; Paul Williams; Rodney Turner; Director of Labor Relations Richard Gordon; and Duane Dupont. Jan Apr 21 Federico F. Peña takes over as Secretary of Transportation. A driving force behind Denver's new airport, Peña served as the city's mayor and was also elected to the Colorado legislature. 5 The union moves from Suite 845 at MEBA headquarters, 444 North Capitol Street, to its own rented offices at Suite 701 th Street NW, both in Washington D.C.

148144 Against All Odds Team Building: President Krasner favored exercises that helped contract teams and national executive committees bond and learn to work together. / NATCA Archives then set the tone for collaboration by organizing team-building exercises at the Airlie Center to help the group bond before negotiations began, a particularly effective way to get Bell and Krasner supporters up and running. Like their counterparts three years earlier, the contract team knew full well how much depended on their efforts and understood the enormity of the task ahead. Their engagement played out in stark contrast to the FAA's negotiators. While union members worked 16-hour days and were on the road two weeks a month during bargaining negotiations, agency representatives saw the process largely as a 9-to-5 job. As the two teams met, the walls of NATCA's clubroom were plastered. paper with shopping lists and contract proposals, divided into must-haves, nice-to-haves and freebies. Paul Williams regularly picked up trash and took it home to keep the FAA team from looking for clues to his strategy. The agency rarely used its conference room. We're volunteers, says Krasner. It's a lot easier to work on planes than that union thing. We do it because we believe. And if you believe, you will not leave at five. Negotiations began in March 1992 and ended fourteen months later with an interim agreement. During the latter part of the year, as the FAA battled April, NATCA began notifying members of its interim four-year contract with the FAA. Article 83 of the new pact gives the local population the right to determine their seniority policy. August 1 NATCA's second contract with the FAA takes effect after approval by 92 percent of voting members.

149Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 145 budget congress, the negotiators told NATCA they were unsure when they would meet again to cut costs. Krasner took the opportunity to show some foresight from the unions, telling them, Look, we just got a half percent increase in dues. If you want, we can lend you money to continue the negotiations. Federal law prohibited the two parties from negotiating wages and benefits, but the second contract contained language guaranteeing a 5 percent operating margin. Congress instituted the bonus in 1982 to recognize the efforts of controllers who continued to work during a strike. Other provisions strengthened and expanded the first treaty, such as mandatory split urine samples. Contract Discussion: The walls of the hotel rooms where the NATCA team met during the negotiations were covered in forward-looking amenities. / Courtesy of Bernie Reed. August 10 David Hinson takes over as FAA administrator. Hinson, a Navy pilot, flew for Northwest Airlines and was an instructor for United Airlines. He was also one of the founders of Midway Airlines. 12 President Clinton announces that controllers fired for participating in the 1981 PATCO strike can reapply for jobs with the FAA.

150146 Against the Wind Second NATCA Agreement: Among other things, the 1993 agreement guaranteed a 5 percent operating margin to be paid to controllers, as desired by Congress. / NATCA Archives * While visiting Barnstable Tower in Hyannis, Massachusetts, a highly desirable area of ​​Cape Cod not far from the Kennedy family's summer home, Bellino found that housing costs forced inspectors to travel long distances to work. He also promised to get a paid demo for Hyannis, but the site was abandoned when Congress got involved. for drug testing to allow rechecking in case of false positives. A new paper outlines critical incident reporting procedures for controllers involved in a traumatic event. Collective bargaining has changed over the past twelve years. It's no longer a game of unions going to management, asking for more and getting it, Krasner said at the time. Trade unions today have to fight to maintain the rights they now have, but also to achieve success. 3 Members took that view to heart with 92 percent of the vote in favor of ratification. The four-year contract started on August 1. The U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have negotiated the payout with their federal unions, but otherwise, money negotiations are extremely rare. However, NATCA has successfully circumvented that limitation to some extent. In addition to the congressional-mandated 5 percent operating margin that the union had built into its latest contract, about 2,100 controllers enjoyed a 20 percent bonus as part of a five-year wage demonstration project. The bonus is designed to attract and retain drivers in the heavily staffed facilities known in the industry as the Magnificent Seven: Downtown Chicago; O Hazentoren/TRACON; New York Center and TRACON; Los Angeles Tower/TRACON; Costa TRACON in Santa Ana; and Bay TRACON in Northern California. Flight Standards' district offices in Los Angeles, Teterboro, New Jersey, and Farmingdale and Valley Stream, New York also received a bonus. 4 The pay show campaign, as it was commonly known, began in Chicago before NATCA was certified as a union. Joseph Bellino, who was reinstated to O'Hare in 1984 after being unfairly fired for health problems, returned to find only twenty-seven control officers. That was fewer than the 40 who worked at the factory in the late 1970s. His frustration with the working conditions soon set him on a mission for extra pay to compensate O Hare controllers for forced overtime and to hire others. * Bellino found a sympathetic ear in the office of Democratic Senator Paul Simon of Illinois. After a series of phone calls between Simon and FAA officials, a meeting was arranged in October 1985 between Jerry McDer-Sep. More than 250 members participate in Lobbying Week, the union's inaugural effort to educate ordinary members on how to work with Congress. As a result of the auditor's lobbying, the number of HR sponsors increases from ten to forty-one. The Air Traffic Controller Incentives and Retention Act includes extra pay for Sunday work and increases the controller's operating margin from 5 percent to 15 percent.

151Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 147 Follow the Money In the early 1990s, a complaint filed by Pat Forrey, a Cleveland Center facility representative, over weekly premium payments led to a settlement of more than $20 million, the largest with the FAA to date. now. The problem involved drivers arriving at work at 11:45 pm. Sunday before midnight service. The agency argued that the controllers decided to go to work early for their Monday shift under flex schedule rules and were not earning extra pay. However, the Comptroller General, head of the Court of Audit, concluded that the issue of flexible working hours was irrelevant. The employees worked part of the Sunday and were entitled to a difference of about $650,000 under the union contract. As the case developed, NATCA's complaint expanded to drivers who were denied premium payments due to annual sick and Sunday leave. The $19.5 million contract spanned nearly seven years from November 1986 (Congress later passed legislation to prohibit the additional payment). When the large FAA check arrived at union headquarters, it was issued to Executive Vice President Joseph Bellino instead of NATCA. The check also posed another problem: It was well above federal deposit insurance limits. Bellino and Chief Inspector Frances Alsop agreed that the money should be divided between different bank accounts around the country until NATCA calculated how much each Superintendent should receive. Showing his trademark sense of humor, Bellino created fictitious names for the bills: Grand Cayman Local 1, Grand Cayman Local 2, etc. An auditor who came across the wealthy Caribbean locale immediately approached Bellino. Are there drivers in Grand Cayman Islands? - he asked suspiciously. Unable to resist, Bellino said deadpanned: No, I don't think there are. But that's where we belong. The auditor seemed confused. Well, we have about $19.5 million in these halls in Grand Cayman. It's a pretty rich place, Bellino admitted. What do you think? Where did he come from? I don't know the NATCA documents by heart: When NATCA received a delinquent payment and deposited the money in the bank before paying it to the auditors, Joseph Bellino confused the auditor by creating a fictitious location in the Cayman Islands. The accountant insisted. Who's in this place? Barry Krasner is vice president. I'm the president, he's the union president. I am the president of the local. John Thornton is secretary-treasurer. We have a member, and that's Will Faville. Where did you get that money? I don't know if it matters? The accountant was not happy about this and insisted that Bellino take the money out of the account as soon as possible. Naturally, NATCA intended to do just that, sending the full $19.5 million to regulators a few months later.

152148 Against the Wind Joseph Bellino: Controller O Hare TRACON led a campaign that resulted in a 20 percent wage increase for controllers in seven hard-to-work factories. / Stan Barough Mott, who was on the senator's staff, and Ed Bears of agency headquarters. Bellino was invited to present the comptroller's proposal, which essentially amounted to a request for more money. For Bellin, that raised a critical question: how much? On the flight from Chicago to Washington, the numbers raced through his head. The auditors wanted 5 percent, so he's asking for 9 percent, hoping to split the difference? What about 7 or 8 percent? Uncertainty kept him awake that night at the hotel. At a meeting the next day, McDermott explained this to the Bears. What we're looking for here, Ed, is something for O Hare. If your inspectors wanted more money, you shouldn't have taken government jobs, Bears snapped irritably. He then turned to Bellin and asked for the final result. We want twenty percent more, Bellino snapped. Realizing he answered impulsively, Bellino swears he doesn't know where he got that number from and quickly puts on a poker face. The bears seemed surprised. You know it right? Bellino suppressed a confused look. I had no idea what the Bears were thinking. Instead, he was bluffing. Yes, of course we do, Ed. What do you think we're doing here? Just because you're at headquarters doesn't mean the rest of the country is dumb. McDermott intervened and asked what they were talking about. Bears went on to describe a relatively new Pay Demonstration Project that compensated scientists with a 20 percent bonus for work at the Naval Weapons Center on China Lake in the Mojave Desert, a facility where it's hard to recruit personnel, such as O I Congress supposed to bring the same difference to drivers by 1989. By this time, Michael McNally in New York, Bernie Reed on the West Coast, and others had stepped in to expand the list of facilities to the Magnificent Seven. Bay TRACON controllers especially appreciated the extra money due to the prohibitive cost of living in the area, and joined NATCA en masse. People saw that the union was doing something for them, Reed says. When he later resigned as a representative of the institution, the members presented him with what remained a prized possession, a gavel inscribed: Bernie Reed. You earned 100 plus 20 percent. While Magnificent Seven controllers were pleased, the payment demonstration irked many others and created an awkward dilemma for the union. The NATCA leadership cautiously welcomed the strong pre-FAA agreement to pay $19.5 million in back premiums to drivers who took annual leave and sick days on Sunday. The complaint lodged on November 20, 1992, covered a period of nearly seven years from November 20. Later, Congress passes a law prohibiting the extra payment.

153Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 149 mium, emphasizing its shortcomings. Then-Executive Vice President Ray Spickler testified at an Office of Personnel Management hearing before the FAA held a wage demonstration, he acknowledged that select facilities deserved the extra money. But it also raised the issue of division. Thousands of other controllers have been omitted. The perception among those facilities is that they weren't selected because they didn't have the visibility or political clout to put them on the FAA's A-list, he said. We believe that Congress and the American public will never believe for a moment that the Pay Demonstration Project is anything more than a bleeding band-aid. 5 Demo payment was expanded by Congress in 1994 and later replaced by a program known as Driver Incentive Pay, which offered variable differentials to establishments based on local cost of living. Searching for Gold Despite the importance of the payment demonstration, the program was far from complete and its longevity depended on the whims of Congress. The 5 percent operating gap also came under the spotlight when Capitol Hill tried to balance its budget in mid-1990.* These issues prompted NATCA more than ever to pursue a plan to negotiate wages with the agency. The target has eluded union leaders for a quarter of a century. But in the 1990s, several factors came into play that made the brass ring readily available. Subject to legislative action by Congress, the only way the union could change wages for all controllers was to appeal to the Office of Personnel Management, which had the authority to uniquely declare state occupations and remove them from the list. Standard general time or GS scale. But convincing the agency and OPM to accept Bay TRACON: Given the high cost of living in the Bay Area, Facility Representative Bernie Reed worked to include TRACON in the paid demo sites. / Japphire * In what became an annual ritual for years, strong lobbying by NATCA helped keep the 5 percent premium. On October 1, the US Patent and Trademark Office issues a full federal registration for the NATCA logo, with its distinctive control tower and radar scan. October 2nd. Longtime NATCA activist and vice president of the Northwest Mountain Region, Gary Molen, retires from the FAA. Salt Lake Center's James Ferguson replaces Mill on the executive committee.

154150 against the wind Tim Haines: He was hired by NATCA in 1990 to lead a comprehensive facility reclassification and payments project, which came into effect with the 1998 contract / Peter Cutts * Van Nuys at 15th largest control tower Busiest state during Controllers processed 483,000 more takeoffs and landings than San Francisco (23), LaGuardia (25) and Kennedy (35), among others. such a significant change would be difficult at best, and proposing an alternative payment system was a formidable task. The FAA has tied the GS scale to a five-level rating based solely on traffic volume. High-density TRACONs were classified as Tier V, while small VFR towers were considered Tier I. However, the system was plagued by several inequalities. Traffic controllers at route junctions, who used a separate three-tier scale, could not earn more than those at busier terminals. Most towers were limited to level IV regardless of the amount of traffic they worked on. Busy with general aviation traffic, the Van Nuys Tower in Southern California was confined to Level II and placed below some radar towers that were not as busy. * Some towers, such as those in San Francisco and New York's three airports, were upgraded to Level V due to political influence and staffing issues, even though their traffic did not warrant the higher rank. In the fall of 1990, President Steve Bell and Barry Krasner, then the East Region Representative, approached Tim Haines and asked him to create a rating standard that would eliminate the differences. However, there was no word that he would be paid in any way, said Haines, who was the Pittsburgh Tower facilities representative at the time and would win next year's Eastern Regional Representative election. Lack of money halted progress for a while, as did lack of interest. When the union called on the FAA to join them, the bureau chiefs refused. Even many auditors rejected the project, thinking the FAA would never agree to a new standard or find the money to pay for it. "Probably the biggest problem with this whole thing was the general feeling that it was never going to happen," Haines recalled. But in the fall of 1992, the National Executive Committee allowed Haines to appoint one person from each region and committed enough money to hire a consultant, Joe Kilgallon, and Dick Swauger, a comptroller fired during the strike. to take. Both worked on the PATCO reclassification project in 1970. The committee members were selected to create equal representation of large and small terminal centers and facilities. From the start, everyone agreed that the current standard was too simple. We wanted to make it more realistic, and in December, five years after its first financial report, NATCA reports assets of $2.5 million and liabilities of $1.6 million, including principal and interest of $747,765 owed to MEBA.

155company size, complexity, knowledge, skills and ability to get the job done, said board member Pat Forrey, who represented facilities at the Cleveland Center. For the next year and a half, the group traveled to more than 200 locations every three to four weeks to observe air traffic operations and collect mountains of information. They surveyed more than 1,000 air traffic controllers about runway configurations, the type of aircraft they fly and specific facility issues. They collected traffic counts, studied airline schedules, and discussed Letters of Agreement outlining procedures with other facilities. Notebooks with all the data filled several long shelves in the rural office. Following Kilgallon and Swauger's suggestion, the group deliberately waited to review PATCO's reclassification project to avoid being swayed by its conclusions. It was some of the best advice we received, says board member Mike Coulter, facilities representative at Denver Tower. We didn't fall into the trap of just making it more realistic and adding the volume, complexity, knowledge, skills and ability to get the job done. picking up where PATCO left off, although our findings were very similar. The problems have not changed. The painstaking process of gathering information was relatively simple compared to the challenge of designing a standard that involved a host of complex factors. After creating a document of more than 100 pages, the committee had to decide how to balance the factors in order to fairly classify the facilities for Pat Forrey, member of the reclassification committee. While Coulter taught himself how to use a spreadsheet program and enter numbers, Cam Maltby of Haines, Forrey and Nantucket Tower debated the formula for hours. We worked in a clean environment, says Maltby. We really didn't know what effect putting an object in a certain pool would have on his salary. Together we worked on the concept to have the right facilities. At the 1994 convention in Tampa, Florida, the board issued a proposal that placed facilities in one of seven categories and expanded the FAA's five-level scale to fourteen levels. The First Three Phases Chapter 5: The Art of the Deal December All aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats flying in US airspace must now be equipped with a traffic alert/traffic warning system. Initially, TCAS suffered from many false warnings leading to numerous near misses due to pilot ignorance and lack of controller involvement during product development. The number of incidents decreases as pilots become more familiar with TCAS and controllers help developers work on software updates.

156152 Against the Wind 1994 Third National Executive Council Along with Executive Vice President Michael McNally, four new regional vice presidents joined the council in 1994: Alaska: Jerry Whittaker of Anchorage defeated incumbent Sam Rich of Anchorage Center. Center: Kansas City Center incumbent Michael Putzier ran unopposed for a second term. This: Pittsburgh Tower incumbent Tim Haines, who now heads the Union Reclassification Board, has decided not to run for re-election. Joe Fruscella, president of local New York company TRACON for the past six years, was unopposed. Great Lakes: Chicago Center incumbent Jim Poole hit a challenge from Cleveland Center Rep. Pat Forrey to keep his seat for a second term. New England: Incumbent T. Craig Lasker ran unopposed. Lasker of the Boston Center replaced Jim Breen after he suffered a mild stroke in the fall of 1992 and subsequent loss of face, forcing him to step down as controller and leave the negotiating unit. Breen continued to work for the FAA as an automation specialist, a category of employees he helped establish a new NATCA negotiating unit for the Northwest Mountains: Cover NATCA file The New Regime: President Krasner's second administration, which opened the office in September 1994, including , first row from left: James Ferguson, Northwest Mountain; Joe Fruscella, from the East; Jim Poole, Great Lakes; Rich Phillips, southwest; and Randy Schwitz, a Southerner. Back row from left to right: Jerry Whittaker, of Alaska; Owen Bridgeman, Western Pacific; Krasner; Michael Putzier, Center; executive vice president Michael McNally; and Craig Lasker, New England. James Ferguson went unopposed. Ferguson, of Salt Lake Center, replaced Gary Molen when he retired in the fall. Mill's term of office lasted more than eight years and began in January. A magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Southern California briefly shut down Los Angeles International Airport. The cabin windows of the Van Nuys Tower were broken, but the airport will continue to operate until the temporary tower is activated.

157Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 153 AATCC Organization Days. South: Atlanta Center incumbent Randy Schwitz ran unopposed for his second full term. Southwest: Ed Mullin, who has been a board member since joining NATCA's organizing campaign in 1986, has decided not to run for re-election. Mullin's two delegates campaigned for his seat alongside Tulsa Tower Controller Dennis Hartney, who received just 9.5 percent of the vote. In the second ballot, Rich Phillips of the Houston Center won a narrow majority over Fort Worth Center President Bill Shedden. Western Pacific: Los Angeles TRACON incumbent Karl Grundmann has decided not to run for re-election. After losing the 1991 runoff to Grundmann, Owen Bridgeman of Phoenix TRACON campaigned again, defeating Bernie Reed of Bay TRACON. drivers in training. The facilities are rated from ATC-4 to -12, leaving two levels up for future air traffic growth. Shortly after the convention, several FAA executives joined to form a joint task force. While the two sides will refine the standard over the next two years, it remains essentially true to NATCA's original proposal. The agency's interest was piqued when the Clinton administration announced in May 1993 a plan to create a quasi-governmental entity, the United States Air Traffic Services Corporation. The nonprofit organization USATS, the latest in a series of FAA reform proposals, would derive its revenue from fees paid by airlines and other commercial users rather than relying on congressional funding. NATCA liked two elements of the USATS proposal. The union hoped that removing the Airports and Airways Foundation from the general budget would ease the FAA's financial constraints. That, in turn, could help accelerate long-awaited modernization projects and eliminate what has become an annual union battle in Congress to maintain the 5 percent operating margin. NATCA also liked the USATS provisions that allow for a wage and personnel system that is not tied to the GS scale. USATS was never launched. However, parts of the plan resurfaced two years later, as NATCA faced a historic opportunity and the most serious threat to its existence since Feb. 2. The FAA announces that twenty-five Level I VFR control towers will be contracted annually in 1994, 1995 and 1996, with several more subcontracted. By the end of 1993, thirty facilities were operated by private companies. In 1994, NATCA and the FAA agreed to implement the Direct Placement Program, which allows affected drivers to be transferred to a facility of their choosing.

158154 Upwind 1994 Election Results President Votes Percentage Barry Krasner / Incumbent East New York TRACON 4, F. Lee Riley South Central Atlanta 1, Write-In Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Executive Vice President Runoff Votes Runoff Percentage *Lasker joined the NEB in November In 1992, Jim Breen retired. ** Ferguson joined the NEB in October 1993 after Gary Molen retired. Michael McNally East New York Center 5, Clayton J. Hanninen Great Lakes DuPage Tower 1, writing Various Various Regional Vice Presidents Alaskan Jerry Whittaker Anchorage TRACON Sam Rich / Current Anchorage Center Richard H. Potzger Anchorage Center Central Michael Putzier / Current Kansas City Center Write-ins Miscellaneous Eastern Joe Fruscella New York TRACON 1, Write-ins Miscellaneous Apr. The Air Traffic Control System Command Center begins operations at a new facility in Herndon, Virginia. Technology and size limitations led to the relocation of the FAA's headquarters to Washington, D.C.

159Chapter 5: The Art of the Deal 155 votes Percent Great Lakes Jim Poole / current Chicago Center Pat Forrey Cleveland Center Miscellaneous Writing New England T. Craig Lasker / current. * Boston Center Miscellaneous Writings Northwest Mountain James Ferguson / owner. ** Salt Lake Center Miscellaneous Briefs South Randy Schwitz / Incumbent Atlanta Center 1, Miscellaneous Briefs Southwest Rich Phillips Houston Center Bill Shedden Fort Worth Center Dennis Hartney Tulsa Tower Miscellaneous Briefs Pacific West Owen Bridgeman Phoenix TRACON Bernie Reed Bay TRACON Write-in Votes Various Voices tiebreak Percentage of tiebreak April 19. More than 400 delegates attend NATCA's fifth biennial convention at the Hyatt Regency Westshore Hotel in Tampa. The proposal to create a national seniority system was rejected. The delegates approved the third and fourth honorary lifetime memberships in the union for former New England regional vice president Jim Breen and director of labor Robert D. Taylor.

160156 Against the Wind Fight for Your Life: NATCA has hired Ken Montoya as its second Director of Legislative Affairs. The fate of the union depended on its first mission: to lobby Congress to restore the rights of key workers. Stacy Trigler, left, later became his assistant. / NATCA file certification. A double-edged sword In mid-November 1995, Congress passed an annual appropriation bill for the FAA requiring the agency to implement a new personnel system and procurement procedures by April 1. To give the FAA the freedom to reinvent itself, Congress has exempted it from the vast majority of the requirements in Title 5 of the US Code. As a result, the agency was able to legally negotiate pay for the first time, among many other possible changes. The portion of the statute that disappeared, however, included Chapter 71 of Title 5, an important part that gave federal workers the right to union representation and collective bargaining. Chapter 71 is the heart and soul of workers' rights, says Bob Taylor, director of labor relations. Without it we wouldn't exist. In a double blow, Congress removed what the unions had left by ordering the FAA to work with them. This deceptively simple expression gave the agency the freedom to simply announce major changes before implementing them unilaterally, unfettered by the wishes of its employees. The split reflected conflicting agendas in Washington. The Democratic Clinton administration was pleased to salvage part of its USATS plan with FAA reform. Republicans, who had just won majorities in both houses of Congress, seized the opportunity to severely curtail the agency's union power. Republicans were looking for something and the government was looking for something, but they approached it from two different angles, says Ken Montoya, a former aide to Senator Paul Simon, who now joined NATCA in January as director of legislative affairs. If the unions don't convince Congress to reinstate Chapter 71 rights before the April 1 deadline for FAA reform, they would lose their raison d'être. Although FAA management assured NATCA that it would continue to negotiate in good faith, the union was not taking any chances. We don't exist because we are allowed to exist, says then-President Krasner. We exist because we have a right to exist. Just as NATCA was reaching its peak in the workplace and wider aviation community, its fate depended on the ability of Montoya and others to lobby Congress and the White House. May The Clinton administration announces a plan to create the United States Air Traffic Services Corporation to operate, maintain, and modernize the air traffic control system. The nonprofit company, which covers the FAA's 38,000 employees, would generate revenue by collecting commercial airline fees. NATCA supported the proposal, but it was never implemented.

161Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 157 While the citizens of Washington trembled in the early months of 1996, NATCA fought two battles. First, the union tried to include language restoring workers' rights in the current resolution, which was the only way to pass the legislation on time. Congress passed a series of bills to prevent the government from closing its doors as it struggles to balance the budget. Another front was to strengthen phraseology in negotiation negotiations. Even if the Chapter 71 rights were reinstated, the FAA could still develop procedures before negotiating with its unions to enforce them. The new language would force the agency to involve its employees in the whole process. To expand its lobbying efforts, NATCA joined forces with the FAA's two other major unions, the National Association of Air Transport Professionals and Professional Airway Professionals, to form the Aviation Workers Coalition. At the same time, we're scabies on some of your eyes, but by God, we're still a union. Good, bad or indifferent. And again they are about to kill us. Michael McNally, who won the 1994 election as executive vice president, launched another offensive to seek help from the AFL-CIO. Taking the MEBA seat at an Executive Council meeting in mid-February in Bal Harbour, Florida, McNally faced eighty members and their staff gathered around a long, rectangular table. Executive Vice President Michael McNally Technically, NATCA, as a subsidiary of MEBA, was not authorized to speak in the proceedings. He broke protocol, introduced himself, explained the threat to the FAA unions and asked for help. The councilors were shocked; this was not on the agenda. McNally was taken to interview Richard Trumko, the newly elected secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. As he walked down the hall, Trumka said, We need to find a room. They opened the door and entered the kitchen of the hotel. Over the clinking of pots and pans, McNally explained what was happening in Washington. Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson introduced herself and escorted McNally out. In a double blow, Congress stripped away what little bargaining power the unions still had. June 3 Citing long delays and cost overruns of approximately $1.5 billion, FAA Administrator David Hinson cancels most of Advanced Automation System project. However, this allows the project to replace the display system to make progress on all twenty-one route nodes across the country. The DSR consists of 20-inch square color monitors running IBM RISC-6000 computers, but offers no new features.

162158 Upwind Working on the Hill: Legislative activism from below helped save the Union during NATCA's fight to restore important rights stripped by Congress in /NATCA files during the session. President John Sweeney stopped the process and McNally laid it out again. We're scabs on some of your eyes. I understand we look like this to you, he said. But by God, we are a union again. Good, bad or indifferent. And again they are about to kill us. And if we get killed this time, with scabies or not, the others in this room will fall too. Sweeney said, We'll handle this, Mr. McNally. For the first time since the 1981 strike, a US president was embroiled in an air traffic control problem. At a White House meeting hosted by the Clinton administration, Montoya and Krasner presented their case to the cabinet secretary and representatives from the FAA, the Department of Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget. Although the Clinton administration agreed to push for the restoration of workers' rights, NATCA later ran into a problem with the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Oregon Republican Mark Hatfield refused to include the text of Chapter 71 in a standing resolution without the approval of Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who chairs the Commerce Committee. This posed another dilemma, as well as the possibility of victory on another NATCA front. McCain was drafting the FAA Reauthorization Act of 1996, which outlined the parameters for agency reform, and required union support for his bill before giving Hatfield the go-ahead. NATCA liked many provisions of the bill, with one important exception. It included the same in the consultation provision as the FAA reform measure passed by Congress last fall. After McCain staff verbally agreed to change the language to be negotiated, Montoya and the National Legislative Union Committee supported the new authorization bill. But as the April 1 deadline approached, McCain Hatfield had yet to give its approval to include the Chapter 71 rights in the pending resolution. In mid-March, Krasner decided his time was running out and turned up the heat. In a page sent to nine regional vice presidents, the June FAA orders two control towers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, making DFW the only airport in the world with three active towers. 26th September. More than 250 participants attend the second annual Union Lobbying Week.

163Chapter 5: The Art of the Deal 159 told them to make McCain feel the pain. Krasner listed McCain's phone and fax numbers. Board members sent information to hundreds of institutional representatives. Local union presidents, aided by an army of local activists organized by the National Legislative Committee, quickly tapped the senator's phone lines. McCain's office was closed due to incoming calls, Montoya recalls. At the last minute, McCain gave Hatfield the go-ahead. On the afternoon of Friday, March 29, the last business day before NATCA was lost, Congress passed a standing resolution that included three specific points: aid for Bosnia, flood relief in the Midwest, and restoration of Chapter 71 rights. Montoya waited off the outcome. as he walked through the teachers' lounge in the Hart Senate Office Building. As soon as she saw the fax with the approved resolution, she called Krasner. It's over, he said. Soon after, NATCA beepers went off all over the country. It was the most beautiful of all the wonderful events, says Ruth Marlin, who chaired the National Legislative Committee in 1996 and was later elected executive vice president. We have made effective use of legislation designed to prevent us from getting everything we ever wanted. McCain's FAA Reauthorization Act went into effect the following October. As his staffers had promised, it included the negotiating language. At the same time, during the four months that NATCA fought for survival on Capitol Hill, the union made another massive effort to reinvent the FAA in accordance with Congress-mandated reform. Along with NAATS and PASS, the other two Aviation Labor Coalition groups, NATCA and the agency, have established task forces to discuss nearly every aspect of personnel procedures, from pay and leave policies to training and disciplinary action. Information from these meetings at agency headquarters flowed to a command post at the end of a maze of hallways on the second floor of the Mayflower Hotel, two blocks from the state office. The back room was filled with desks, computers, a photocopier, and a team of NATCA members Carol Branaman, Jon Ramsden, Joe Trainor, and then Director of Labor Relations Richard Gordon. They consolidated data, researched employee practices at other companies, and prepared proposals for the new FAA. All of his material was collected in a thick black notebook known as a soccer ball, which was watched at all times. Football did not leave the room. The group submitted dozens of reform proposals to the union and disbanded on April 1. Krasner, McNally and Montoya spent the summer - NATCA members preparing proposals for the new FAA. All of his material was collected in a thick black notebook known as a soccer ball, which was watched at all times. October The FAA develops a structured system for handling critical stress incidents, which is provided for in Section 74 of the 1993 NATCA/FAA Agreement. October Former Vice President of the Western Pacific, Karl Grundmann, begins work as FAA Headquarters Liaison. With this new program, NATCA can better represent your interests with the agency.

164160 Against the Wind NATCA Archives Coincidental Link: President Michael McNally and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey took over the year. They developed a good relationship that resulted in an unprecedented wage agreement and better cooperation between employees and management. The stars agree with the agency on which proposals should be included in McCain's FAA Reauthorization Act. More than thirty were introduced, but the most significant allowed the FAA to abandon the standard GS pay scale, negotiate with NATCA, and implement its own pay system. Passing the GS scale was a big step forward, says John Leyden, who tried to achieve the same goal for PATCO two decades earlier. With the legal framework finally in place, NATCA and the FAA had to implement major reforms. Two people have just appeared who will prove to be the key to closing the deal of a lifetime. In 1994, Barry Krasner ran for re-election as president, easily deflecting a challenge from Lee Riley, a Southern representative who had served on the first National Executive Committee for about a year and a half before stepping down. During Krasner's second term, NATCA achieved several significant achievements. The union paid off its debt to MEBA, established full-time contacts at FAA headquarters to participate in safety and engineering projects, asserted its political influence to evade the Chapter 71 bullet, and maintained an operating margin of 5 percent, and now started contract negotiations. what payment means. Krasner was well respected in the ranks for his eloquence, intelligence, and shrewd negotiation skills. Many believed that he would run again. But after spending the first six years of his marriage to Sallie away from home, Krasner was ready to return to New York. He announced his decision in a moving speech at the 1996 convention in Pittsburgh, telling Phil Barbarello, representing TRACON's New York plant, to dust off my headphones and warning Sallie, who was in the audience. , to get his clothes out of my closet because I'm coming home The following spring, Washington Center's McNally, Riley, Joseph Bellino, and Bill Blackie Blackmer were looking for the top job. During his tenure as executive vice president, Bellino successfully lobbied for higher salaries for two top union officials, and so decided not to run again in 1994 to avoid allegations of wrongdoing. Now Bellino, McNally and Riley each received a third of the vote, with Blackmer trailing behind. In the second round of selection, McNally chose many of the Rileys. October 1994 At the request of the FAA, RTCA Inc. begins to study a concept known as Free Flight. Using new technologies and procedures, this concept would allow pilots to fly more directly to their destination at high altitudes rather than following established air routes. Controllers would only grant authorizations to ensure security and avoid congestion.

165Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 161 followers and won. A month before McNally took over from Krasner in September 1997, the FAA's 14th Administrator moved into her office at agency headquarters. The Senate ended the revolving door policy that has plagued the FAA's board of directors since its inception in 1958 and appointed Jane Garvey to an unprecedented five-year term. Garvey, the former director of Boston's Logan International Airport, came to the FAA after more than four years in two top positions with the Federal Highway Administration. Brilliant and honest, she was a firm believer in collaboration and quickly endeared herself to controllers by listening to their concerns and showing that the agency valued her input. The big difference with previous managers led to a reduction in the workforce, which Garvey saw as a relief. Houston Center Comptroller Trish Gilbert, who sits on the National Legislative Committee and is active in organizing new members and other negotiating units, echoes a widely held sentiment when she says Garvey understands he can win over more people if he respects them rather than of trying check them. them. Garvey credits his parents for instilling that attitude. My mother was an excellent teacher and she listened to people and provoked them by coaxing them rather than forcing them, she says. Garvey also understands his own limitations in technical knowledge and is not shy about asking others for advice. I always think I have something to learn. The new administrator and McNally first met that fall. Over the next several years they formed an enduring bond and an unparalleled number of fourteen trustees have led the FAA since its founding in Elwood R. Quesada November 1, 1958 January 20 Najeeb E. Halaby March 3, 1961 July 1 William F McKee July 1. July 31, 1965, John H. Shaffer March 24, 1969 March 14, Alexander P. Butterfield March 14, 1973 March 31, John L. McLucas November 24, 1975 April 1, Langhorne M. Bond May 4, 1977 January 20, J. Lynn Helms April 22, 1981 January 31, Donald D. Engen April 10, 1984 July 2 T. Allan McArtor July 22, 1987 February 17, 4, James B. Busey IV June 30, 1989 December 4 Thomas C. Richards June 27, 1992 January 20, David R. Hinson August 10, 1993 November 9 Jane F. Garvey August 4, 1997 August 4, 2002, November 28 annual term. U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aldrich dismisses NATCA's lawsuit to prevent outsourcing of 111 VFR Level I towers lawsuits against FAA and DOT. NATCA is appealing the decision.

166Michael McNally Air Traffic Control Specialist 1982 Operational Represents: XO City: New York City Children: Shannon, Erin NATCA Archives Current ATC Facilities: Previous: ZNY Center Michael McNally has always looked to the sky. He graduated from Air Force High School in Queens, New York, and joined the Air Force. He wanted to become a military controller, but the ten-month wait held him back. Instead, he learned electronics and applied to the FAA after leaving the service. McNally, who was hired in 1982, found academia exciting and looked forward to settling in New York Center with pleasure. The reality of the post-strike workplace soon disturbed his sleep. Training turned into an ordeal when a supervisor sexually harassed a married woman at the facility. McNally verified his allegations and endured harsh retaliation from the chief. He survived after another manager took McNally under his wing and certified him as a journeyman. Like his colleagues, however, McNally grew tired of working six days a week to keep up with fast-moving traffic. So he immediately heeded the call when former PATCO controller Ed Day, newcomer Steve Bell and others talked about another union. After NATCA was certified, McNally served as the first elected president of the New York Center for four years. His union perspective was based on a desire to cooperate with management. The manager in charge agreed with that philosophy, and the two laid the groundwork for what became a major labor management initiative at the beginning of NATCA. Previous titles/accomplishments National President; executive vice president; national QTP coordinator; emeritus national chairman; Local president of the New York Center. Hired Jan is known as Quality through Partnership. McNally's collaborative vision continued through his tenure as executive vice president. He encouraged the expansion of NATCA's fledgling roster of technical representatives and liaisons, increasing the auditor's influence on FAA projects and saving the agency time and money. His election as president in 1997 came shortly after NATCA won the right to legally negotiate wages. The union was also finalizing a major project to restructure facilities and wage classifications. Hoping to negotiate a compensation package that properly reflected the auditor's workload, McNally understood more than ever the need for collaboration. His successful talks with FAA Administrator Jane Garvey further cemented the partnership between labor and management in a contract that rewarded controllers with significantly higher wages. While some union members have accused McNally of not communicating enough, he defends his style as a necessary strategy. I would wave my hand, he says. I had to keep things close to the vest. After nine years away from home, McNally stepped back in 2000 to spend more time with his wife Maria and their two daughters. After a historic contract and direct ties to the AFL-CIO, he still longs to step down. It's the best job I've ever done, he says. The hardest job I've ever done.

167Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 163 level of respect and trust between the agency and the controller community. When President Krasner assembled a third contract team in early 1997, the chief negotiator again turned to Bernie Reed as chairman. Like the previous group, the ten members who joined Krasner, Reed and director of labor relations Bob Taylor participated in team-building exercises before delving into research and negotiation preparation. The pile of material they collected was about five feet high and ten feet wide and was carried to each rendezvous point. As in 1993, the walls of the NATCA hotel conference room were covered with lists of clearance contracts, proposed articles, and pledges. This time the tables were set with laptops. Team members took a mini fridge and brought ice. During the negotiation period, they survived on pizza from a nearby restaurant that offered a magnet with every delivery. When the inspectors left the hotel two weeks later, the magnets covered the refrigerator. While the lack of restrictions in Title 5 allowed the two sides to discuss payment, the existing law still prevented them from negotiating health and retirement benefits. The new FLRA memorandum also placed a significant burden primarily on the union. The parties were now subject to the FLRA doctrine, which established the validity of unfair labor practices on the basis of one of three points. A more far-reaching section provided that charges could not be brought if the parties should reasonably have considered the matter, even if it was not expressly stated in the contract. Given the wide range of problems in the workplace, this language made controllers cringe. Can you imagine having to think about things? says team member John Carr. We literally did the contract without a network. To protect the union, NAT-CA required the agency to abide by only one of three points: If the contract specifically addressed the issue at hand, charges of unfair labor practices could not be filed. For anything not specified in the bargaining agreement, the union can still sue. The agency's Ray Thoman, who opposed Steve Bell and the first negotiating team, initially refused to sign the MOU. But the FAA was interested in fine-tuning the union's national hiring policy, which was round three: Bernie Reed, left, served as president of the contracting team for a second time, while Barry Krasner took on the role of chief negotiator. / NATCA Archives Jan. The votes are counted in the election to organize traffic management coordinators, who vote 279 to 169 against participation in NAT-CA. In May 2000 they voted for union representation. February 28. Denver International Airport, which covers 53 square miles, starts operating during a snow storm. The last major airport to open in the United States was Dallas-Fort Worth in 1974.

168164 Against the Wind 1997 Fourth National Executive Committee While Michael McNally was running for president, several candidates ran to campaign for executive vice president in the 1997 election. Among them were: James R. Randy Schwitz, who was the South Region represented on the National Executive Authority Council since 1990; James Ajax Kidd, a longtime Washington Center facility representative who helped lead the fight for more staff at the center, wrote the strategic plan for the eastern region in the early 1990s and served on the reform task force of the FAA; Will Faville Jr., former regional representative for Alaska and director of security and technology at headquarters who returned to controllership at Muskegon Tower/TRACON in Michigan; and Larry Bubba Watson, controller of downtown Atlanta. Schwitz defeated Kidd by just eight votes. However, as in the presidential race, neither candidate won a majority due to significant support for Faville. In the second round, Schwitz went even further, winning nearly 53 percent of the vote. Among the regional vice presidents, six new faces joined the board: Alaskan: Anchorage TRACON Jerry Whittaker decided not to run for re-election. Ricky Thompson of Anchorage Center ran unopposed. Center: Bill Otto of St. Louisa TRACON defeats incumbent Michael NATCA Archives Changing of the Guard: In July 2000, the Fourth National Executive Council inaugurated NATCA's new headquarters in Washington. The plaque read from left to right: James Ferguson, Northwest Mountain; Gus Guerra, Western Pacific; Jim D Agati, Engineers and Architects; Ricky Thompson, from Alaska; Jim Poole, Great Lakes; executive vice president Randy Schwitz; President Michael McNally; Bill Otto, Center; Joe Fruscella, from the East; Mike Blake, New England; Mark Pallone, southwest; and Rodney Turner, a Southerner. Putzier of Kansas City Center. East: Incumbent Joe Fruscella of New York's TRACON ran unopposed for a second term. Great Lakes: Chicago Center incumbent Jim Poole held out until March. More than 400 attendees attend NATCA's third annual Lobby Week.

169Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 165 The center's facilities representative, Mark Scholl, was challenged and held his position for a third term. New England: Boston Center incumbent T. Craig Lasker has decided not to run for re-election. Center for Facilities representative Mike Blake walked unopposed. Northwest Mountain: Salt Lake Center incumbent James Ferguson dropped the Denver Tower remodeling board member Mike Coulter's bid to keep his job for a second full term. South: Nashville Metro Tower/TRACON's Rodney Turner defeated Miami Center's Tim Leonard. Southwest: Dallas-Fort Worth Mark Pallone of TRACON defeated incumbent Rich Phillips of Houston Center. Pacific West: Oakland Center's Gus Guerra defeated Phoenix TRACON starter Owen Bridgeman. adopted one year before the start of contract negotiations. To remove the hurdle and avoid the possibility of contract negotiations ad nauseam with the union, Thoman agreed to a one-time test after Krasner agreed to revisit the seniority issue at the 1998 NAT-CA convention. This was extremely damaging for the unions in their efforts to lead negotiations in the middle of the road, says Andy Cantwell, another team member who helps teach contract clauses at factory representative training sessions. I think this is one of the most important achievements of the 1998 contract. One of the union's proposals banned members of the contract team from leaving the bargaining unit and going into management for the duration of the contract. After the FAA rejected the article because it dealt with union issues, members decided to assert their loyalty in another way. Carr wrote the engagement on a cloth napkin one night at dinner. Then all the members scribbled their signatures on the canvas as they walked around the table. * Mark Hood of New York's TRACON, a Keeper of the Shroud, pointed out in 2000 that John Carr technically and unintentionally broke his rule when he was elected president. The union's two top officials are serving their terms while on unpaid leave from the FAA. On May 1, NATCA will begin a program to award five grants of $2,000 per year. May 1 is the deadline for children of active members to submit a 500-word essay. NATCA later announced that the first winners were: Karen Blittersdorf, Margaret L. Bullard, Melissa Lee Hambrick, Laura Caroline Hightower and Brandy L. Smith. Chalmer Detling was awarded for best essay.

170166 With the Wind Election Results 1997 President Voting Percentage Michael McNally Executive Vice President Eastern 2, , Joseph M. Bellino Great Lakes Chicago TRACON 1, , F. Lee Riley Southern Atlanta Center 1, Bill Blackie Blackmer Eastern Washington Center Writing Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Runoffs Voting Lay Off Rate Executive Vice President Randy Schwitz Regional Vice President Southern 2, , James Ajax Kidd Central Eastern Washington 2, , Will Faville Jr. Great Lakes Muskegon Twr./TRACON 1, Bubba Watson South Central Atlanta Write Various Various Alaska Regional Vice Presidents Ricky Thompson Anchorage Center Write Various Central Bill Otto St. Louis TRACON Michael Putzier / incumbent Kansas City Center Write Miscellaneous Eastern Joe Fruscella / Incumbent New York TRACON Writing Miscellaneous xx

171Chapter 5: The Art of the Deal 167 Votes Percentage Great Lakes Jim Poole / Starting Chicago Center Mark Scholl Chicago Center Jim Green Detroit TRACON Subs Various New England Mike Blake Boston Center Subs Various Northwest Mountain James Ferguson / Starting Salt Lake Center Mike Coulter Denver Tower Miscellaneous Writings Southern Rodney TurnerNashville Met. Twr./TRA Tim Leonard Miami Center Miscellaneous Briefs Southwest Mark Pallone DFW TRACON Rich Phillips / Zittend Houston Center Diverse Briefs Western-Pacific Gus Guerra Oakland Center Howie Raffles John Wayne Tower Owen Bridgeman / Zittend Phoenix TRACON Miscellaneous Briefs Second Round Vote Second Round Percentage

172168 Against the Wind Third Team Enlisted: NATCA spent a year negotiating with the FAA. Union members including, from left to right: Tim Kuhl; director of labor relations, Bob Taylor; Phil Barbarallo; bruce means; Eric Owens; Chris While the two sides produced 106 articles between the summer of 1997 and the summer of 1998, McNally worked on the payment portion of the contract, which NATCA and the agency handled separately. So far, the Reclassification Board has enlisted Ed Mullin's help in developing a business case for the increase. Mullin tracked airline stocks, knowing what every penny was worth, and gathered various other information about the economic impact of aviation. "Actually, that's the easiest argument I've ever made," he says. Although NATCA is one of the smallest unions in the federal sector, representing only 15,000 controllers and 1,200 engineers and NATCA Boughn Archives; President Michael McNally; Dan Fitas; FAA Administrator Jane Garvey; chief negotiator Barry Krasner; team president Bernie Reed; hood brand; carol branaman; John Carr; and Andy Cantwell. architects at a time when its members are spinning gold to support an industry that contributes $3.5 trillion to the global economy, or 12 percent of total gross output. Based on Mullin's research and other factors, the committee set a minimum increase of 5 percent. Armed with this information, McNally contacted staffers of major appropriations and credit committees in Congress to report on the union's final results. He and Ken Montoya, Director of Legislative Affairs, also lobbied the White House to push for reclassification. In the spring of 1998, McNally and Tony Herman, a lawyer hired by the FAA. July The FAA and Qantas complete the first test of a future satellite-based air navigation system designed to improve communications between air traffic controllers and pilots flying ocean routes. October 1. NATCA repays its loan to MEBA with a final check for $34. In all, the union saved about $982,000 in interest and accelerated repayment over ten years.

173Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 169 the prestigious firm of Covington & Burling, negotiated money. While some union members pushed for a blanket pay raise for all, McNally refused to back down on the Reclassification Commission's concept of pay for performance and years of service. There are many controllers in the system today that believe that a controller is a controller. No matter how hard we work, no matter how hard the work is, we should all earn the same, says McNally. I don't think so, I think there are logical steps of progression and difficulty that should separate the different levels of work we do, and the compensation should be accordingly. I also think there are different parts of the country with a higher cost of living that need to be recognized in order to bring people to those parts of the country. I don't have a magic answer. But I know that reclassification and CIP are a start in that direction. * Many support McNally's beliefs, including Haines, Forrey and John Leyden, who fought a similar battle with their PATCO brethren in the 1970s. I have always believed, and paid a high political price for it, that the controller is not a controller, but a controller, he says. When those who worked in smaller factories argued with him about it, Leyden told them to move to Chicago or New York, where they could make more money. No one took me up on my offer, he says, because they didn't want to go in the pressure cooker. Other money negotiations between NATCA and the FAA culminated one early July morning in a Montreal hotel. Sitting in a glass-walled conference room in the lobby, McNally and Herman answered as Krasner and Garvey watched in silence. Herman offered $140 million in new money to raise wages. The two union leaders said they could not accept this and left the room for a break. "I never in my life believed someone would offer me $140 million and tell them to take a ride," Krasner said as he entered the lobby. They entered a gift shop, where Krasner bought a Cuban cigar, before returning to the meeting. Herman asked about the cigar when Krasner placed it on the table. It's when a fat woman sings, he explained. NATCA's Third Contract: The 1998 agreement was the first time a union of controllers negotiated wages with its employer. The new system linked wages to operational complexity and traffic volumes. *CIP is a cost of living premium known as Controller Incentive Pay that is awarded to some facilities based on their ranking in surveys conducted by Runzheimer International. November 15. The bill on appropriations to finance the Department of Transportation for fiscal year 1996 becomes law. Two parts of the bill require the agency to implement new recruiting and staffing systems. To help the FAA enact these reforms, the bill exempts agency workers from key labor rights under Title 5 of the U.S. Code, effective April 1, 1996, which would deprive the unionized FAA of its powers as a union group.

174170 Headwind McNally and Herman continued to argue until the agency's offer rose to $190 million and McNally fell to $210 million. Look, that's $200 million, Herman said at the end. That's all there is. McNally finally agreed. After everyone shook hands, Krasner lit a cigar. The fat lady was singing, she said. In less than 20 minutes, the historic deal was completed, one that will add $1.6 billion over the life of the five-year deal. The amount of money has drawn some criticism in Congress, but Garvey is unapologetic. Noting that air traffic controllers work 24 hours a day in the most complicated air traffic system in the world, he says: I'm glad we pay them for it. More importantly, Garvey wanted to send a clear message to the controllers. Faced with Y2K bugs and an urgent issue, we wanted the union to fully cooperate with us. We wanted a common message that both parties could deliver to Congress each year that would allow budget predictability to avoid costs. Needing to speed up the FAA's long-delayed modernization program, he didn't want the contract negotiations to drag on as a distraction. We wanted the union to be our full partner, she says. We wanted a common message that both sides could deliver to Congress each year that would make the budget predictable and avoid costs. To help pay for the package, NATCA agreed to take on more roles that would allow the agency to reduce its supervisory ranks by earning an estimated $70 million in savings. The elimination of alternative work schedules, known as AWS, was expected to save an additional $60 million. Kansas City Center controllers campaigned for shorter work weeks and in 1991 won a court ruling allowing them. However, the agency argued that AWS costs more than regular programming, and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey Jan. NATCA begins putting $33,000 a month into the building fund. 29 March. President Clinton signs a bill to aid Bosnia, flood relief in the Midwest, and restore Chapter 71 rights to air traffic controllers.

175Chapter 5: The Art of Negotiation 171 NATCA agreed to supply it 24 hours a day. The two sides also agreed to a workforce of 15,000 controllers in the first three years of the contract, with growth of 2 percent in each of the last two years. Garvey viewed the historic treaty in terms of the partnership that created it. We had to change the relationship between management and work to meet the challenges, she says. It was so inconsistent and unproductive. Unlike the first two contracts, there were no trips to the regions to sell these. It was not necessary. The agreement entered into force on September 1, 1998, after it was ratified by 92 percent of the vote. Salary reclassification did not begin until the following summer due to the complexity of recalculating the salaries of 15,000 controllers. However, in the fall of 1998, NATCA published data on the increase, which was as high as 30 percent. While most auditors were very satisfied, a vocal minority manned dedicated telephone lines at headquarters for several weeks. McNally, Haines, Coulter, Forrey and others spent 12 to 14 hours a day explaining the new scales and appeasing controllers who felt they were not being paid fairly. “When we flipped the switch, I felt like I was the most hated person in the country,” says Haines. Everyone measured each other. McNally was also shocked by the response. But the complaints did not dampen their pride in the union's tremendous achievement. We shake his world, he says. And we did it in a way that I think everyone won. everyone won. 1. As told by Anthony Coiro during an interview in January. The Executive Board welcomes the interim agreement. NATCA Newsletter. February NATCA and FAA reach preliminary contract agreement. NATCA News. Can. 4. Schmidt, William Controllers at busy airports get a 20 percent bonus. The New York Times. June 19 NATCA testifies on the DoT/FAA payment demonstration project. NATCA Newsletter. December. Michael McNally: NATCA's third president closed the deal with a significant salary increase for controllers in the 1998 contract. We turned his world upside down, he says. / Steve Schneider 1 May July Twenty-four participants attend a mini week of lobbying. 30 NARI, the non-profit branch of NATCA, holds dedication ceremonies. This new group was established to ensure that human factors are taken into account in ATC research and development projects.

176The easy things are over. Now the union has to look within itself. Ed Mullin, former Vice President, Southwest Region. Voice of One: In the second half of the 1990s, NATCA expanded its presence on Capitol Hill with increased lobbying and an annual legislative session attended by several hundred activists. /NATCA archive

177Chapter 6 Spread Wings One day in the spring of 1989, a respiratory technician approached Mark Scholl and simply said, I want to show you this. Scholl, the Chicago Center regional representative, nodded and followed his colleague through the control room. A murmur of murmuring voices surrounded them as they passed the controllers sitting along the four rows of radar. The tumult died down as the two men climbed the ladder to the top of the two-story building. They opened the door to the darkened room and the technician pressed the switch. The fluorescent lights came on, casting an eerie glow over the maze of water pipes and ventilation ducts. The two men climbed more stairs and stepped onto the catwalk. Beneath it are gray piles of asbestos fibers twelve to eighteen centimeters high, parts of the switchboard and the carpeted ceiling of the control room. Above them, they could see bare parts of the metal roof where the toxic insulating material had come loose. Haunted by the sight, Scholl later returned to take photos and collect samples. When Scholl and facilities representative Jim Poole alerted management, they claimed the building was safe and refused to do anything. NATCA's first collective agreement would not be signed for several months and the fledgling union was still learning how best to solve its problems. Using tactics that had proven effective in the past, Scholl and Poole approached the media and Congress. The local newspaper published several articles about the health hazard. Senator Paul Simon, who helped launch the driver pays demonstration project, and Representative Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois, also got involved. We heard the agency was looking for NATCA files. Senator Paul Simon: The Illinois Democrat aided auditors on wage and health issues.

178174 Headwind Brian Fallon Drawing Perspective: New York TRACON Controller Brian Fallon pointed out many problems with his cartoons, which regularly appeared on The NATCA Voice. He also draws poster-sized illustrations for most conventions. Congress and the public and that we can take advantage of it, says Scholl. Even with congressional interest, it took the FAA another three years to officially approve the downsizing, an expensive and complicated project in a building where hundreds of employees worked around the clock on some 6,000 flights a day. Contractors built a steel superstructure to support the second drop ceiling in the control room. Crews also installed a plastic canopy to protect workers during construction and installed monitoring devices to provide warnings when air quality drops below safe levels. Controllers in position wore breathing apparatus several times while the second roof was being installed. Asbestos affected twenty-one centers on the agency's route, which were built three decades ago. Demonstrators outside the Boston Center in Nashua, New Hampshire, wore protective suits and masks to draw attention to the danger. In Boston, Chicago and other places, mold grew around vents. Drip trays from the air conditioners spilled water on the radars and supervisors' desks. NATCA and the agency signed a memorandum of understanding in 1992 mandating the removal of asbestos from all facilities. The 1993 Convention extended that same directive to terminal facilities. However, before work on the centers was completed, separate control rooms were created in other parts of the buildings to allow for the installation of new radar scopes in the second half of the 1990s. The asbestos incident proved to be a lesson to Chicago Center inspectors and others. They realized how much the media can do. September NATCA celebrates its sixth biennial convention at the Hilton and Towers in Pittsburgh. Delegates create a national seniority policy and vote to allow NATCA to expand representation to other employee groups. MEBA President Alex Shandrowsky is urging NATCA to stick with the union that helped organize controllers. However, delegates are voting to allow NATCA to consider joining another union.

179Chapter 6: Spread Your Wings 175 help the public understand this hidden world and that Capitol Hill has the power to solve their problems. A year after the asbestos find, regulators once again relied on the media to draw attention to a less serious but annoying problem: the lack of chairs. Ironically, the FAA recently replaced its old seats. But the new ones, which were not so durable, often broke. In downtown Atlanta, thirty-one of those needed for normal daytime service were missing. At the Chicago Center, Poole took a supervisor's chair to sit in front of the radar, sparking a heated argument with his boss. Other inspectors sat on boxes and upturned garbage cans. Warned by Poole, USA Today broke the story. In response, furniture manufacturers offered to donate several hundred chairs and a local radio station held a chair marathon. 1 CNN broadcast live from the Chicago Center on Thanksgiving Day a few years later, and weekly magazines began running stories about the equipment malfunction. Increasing coverage has pushed the union into single-player territory, says Scholl. Aside from these various efforts, the concept of formalized lobbying crystallized in 1992 when two visionary controllers, Dee Green and Debbie Cunningham, recognized that the ultimate boss of the union was Congress, not the FAA. At the convention in San Antonio, they spoke passionately about the need for broad participation in legislative matters. This created an extensive structure of representatives of legislative bodies, state coordinators and the National Legislative Commission with an elected representative from each region. Green and Cunningham were the first two chairmen of the board. It wasn't enough to have one or two people in Washington championing our cause, says Alan Clendenin, who served as president from 1997 to Indeed, a well-organized legion of activists responded immediately and overwhelmingly when Krasner issued his directive to expel McCain feel the pain… during the Chapter 71 battle Union Lobbying Week: The union launched an annual week-long program in 1993 to raise awareness of the legislation and give members the opportunity to speak to their representatives in Congress Meet. 16 September. The FAA awards a contract to Raytheon to develop and build a standard automation system for replacement terminals for approach control facilities. STARS consists of color radar monitors, similar to the DSR screens used in route centers, as well as replacement computers and updated software. The new equipment replaces the old automated radar terminal system that has been installed since 1965.

180176 Against the Wind FYI One of the most celebrated and long-running trinkets that permeate NATCA's biennial conventions has to do with the union's highest calling. Since Las Vegas in 1990, Alaska inspectors have stocked every meeting with condoms as a safety reminder. growing intelligence and legislative influence also helped secure a reclassification agreement. As we reached the tipping point, political pressure turned the tide in our favor, says Clendenin. In addition to creating an infantry army, Cunningham saw the need to teach them how the political system worked. In 1993, he helped launch the annual Lobby Week. This effective program informs citizens about the legislative process, introduces them to their local representatives and encourages ongoing activism. Face-to-face contact has proven extremely effective in cultivating relations with Congress and opening doors in districts across the country. Lobbying Week, which attracts up to 350 controllers, was renamed NATCA in Washington in 1997 when it became a lobbying and training opportunity and, significantly, a high-profile political event. Key members of the House and Senate appear as guest speakers, influential staffers attend convention receptions, and news organizations such as CNN and Aviation Daily cover events. The annual meeting also serves to introduce participants to the background of the Union's Political Action Committee. In the spring of 2002, nearly 5,000 members contributed approximately $1 million to the fund each election cycle. That shines as brightly as any of those specific legislative victories, says Clendenin. We built it from scratch into one of the most influential labor organizations in D.C. Putting Safety First As the decade progressed, NATCA expanded its influence into other areas. Since its inception, one of the union's missions has been to raise its voice on workplace issues, operating procedures and new equipment to ensure aviation safety. Controllers were expected to do a perfect job, but they often had little say in matters affecting their ability to meet such high standards. Many of those who joined NATCA saw it as both a professional association and a union and worked to push it in that direction. In the early 1990s, auditors pointed to staff shortages and equipment problems in numerous November agency, congress and media reports. FAA Administrator David Hinson steps down after serving since Dec. 10. The FAA installs the first replacement display system in downtown Seattle.

181Chapter 6: Spread your wings 177 times. In a year, the Dallas-Fort Worth Tower Safety Commission and TRACON have documented numerous problems with the ARTS software, which displays aircraft data on radar. A contract provision authorized union members to join other industry representatives in NTSB accident investigations. NATCA has also established audit committees to help monitor training standards and performance. But its role in research and development of new technologies remained small or non-existent. A classic example involved an onboard computer known as a traffic warning/collision avoidance system. TCAS monitors traffic and instructs pilots to climb or descend if it detects a potential collision. Before TCAS was implemented in the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, controllers had very little influence over its design and operation, although the computer added a third element to the critical equation: pilot-controller communication. With the advent of TCAS, cabin crew sometimes received conflicting instructions from the air traffic controller and the computer. Early versions of the software generated targets for non-existent aircraft on the radar. Other issues led to frequent false alerts. Some of these resulted in dangerous stalls when pilots deviated as much as 300 feet from their assigned altitude. In a four and a half month period in 1991, diversion occurred in 70 percent of the 590 reported incidents. 2 It's like a puppy running around a chess set and destroying the composition of the board, said executive vice president Joseph Bellino. Each controller executes the plan. When an aircraft strays from its assigned slot, it affects all aircraft in the controller's plan, causing the controller to try to develop another plan within seconds. 3 NATCA was unable to halt the installation of new equipment until the faults were corrected. But extensive field documentation from safety representatives helped TCAS manufacturers fine-tune the software, and the problems gradually subsided. The experience did not go unnoticed by the FAA. As frustrations over miscommunication grew, traffic alerts grew: NATCA's Director of Security and Technology Will Faville Jr., departed, and Chicago TRACON's Ray Gibbons testified at an international symposium in 1992 (and before Congress a year earlier) about the implementation of TCAS. Gibbons, the union's national TCAS representative for terminals, and Greg Meyer, its counterpart for hubs, led the effort to compile compelling statistics showing that early versions of the collision avoidance system had a negative impact on safety. / NATCA Archives February Secretary of Transportation Federico F. Peña steps down after serving since Jan. 21, Rodney E. Slater takes over. Slater, who formerly ran the Federal Highway Administration, also served as the assistant attorney general of Arkansas and as a member of the then-government. Bill Clinton's staff.

182178 Windward Hurricane Andrew After the Storm: The fierce hurricane that hit South Florida and Louisiana on August 24, 1992, with winds of 125 knots, caused 15 deaths and 250,000 homeless. NATCA members were quick to donate food, clothing, generators, financial aid and more to help the affected drivers and their families. /NATCA files have undergone significant changes, albeit slowly. In the fall of 1994, the FAA invited a union executive to work full-time at the agency's headquarters on a probationary basis to provide technology insight and equipment monitoring. Never before had a NATCA member occupied an office at 800 Independence Ave. Several technical representatives from the trade unions also participated full-time in the projects. Karl Grundmann, who decided not to run for re-election as Vice President of the Western Pacific, put up the first plaque as a link. Working with Neil Planzer in the agency's air traffic requirements division, Grundmann learned of important budget information and attended meetings with Administrator David Hinson and other high-level executives previously beyond the scope of NATCA. I've been to places where the FAA has never allowed a union, he says. February The National Labor Relations Board certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating agent for its first contracting tower. February 27. NATCA President Barry Krasner meets with MEBA President Alex Shandrowski and informs him of the union's intention to terminate membership.

183Chapter 6: Spreading the Wings 179 Both sides felt their way through the experiment. Grundmann essentially improved his work every day. The agency's longstanding, top-down culture garnered a cold reception, and the manager's conference room often drowned out Grundmann's objections during meetings. Attitudes did not change significantly until the summer of 1996, when Darrell Meachum began working as Planzer's liaison. We felt like a showcase, says Meachum, who was one of the original technical representatives in 1994 and is now a facilities representative at Fort Worth Center. We had to force ourselves to have dialogues and discussions within the FAA culture and it wasn't easy. Part of the difficulty stemmed from the lack of formal recognition. Neither the union contract nor the memorandum of understanding with the agency addressed the work of technical liaisons and representatives. As a face rep, you basically enforce the rules. As a relationship, there are no rules to follow, says Meachum. It was about trying to influence decisions that will affect us for the next ten or twelve years. Relations slowly improved as it became clear that involving unions during the development phase of projects could save time and money. Other managers at headquarters have expressed interest in technical liaisons and representatives. Despite initial difficulties and ongoing disagreements, Meachum credits Planzer for helping ensure NATCA's continued involvement. If Neil hadn't stepped up and committed to the union, the program not only wouldn't exist, it wouldn't have been successful, he says. The first major project in which NATCA members were centrally involved was called Display System Replacement. The DSR consisted of 20 square inch color radar screens and newer computers that replaced the aging main computers and sights on en-route hubs. The equipment was developed for the Advanced Automation System, an ambitious and highly complex undertaking the FAA embarked on in the early 1980s to overhaul its air traffic operations. Citing delays, multi-million dollar cost overruns and severely flawed software, administrator Hinson terminated most of the program in June. However, the outdated equipment was older than some of the people using it and was becoming less and less reliable. The agency hoped to save some of its investment and partially modernize its centers by introducing newer screens and computers. Karl Grundmann: As NATCA's first full-time contact for the FAA, he took the lead in providing union input on technology and equipment issues to agency management. / Archive NATCA Apr. On May 20, NATCA celebrates its annual Lobbying Week. The meeting, which became a lobbying and training opportunity and high-profile political event, was renamed NATCA in Washington. 28 The union is filing a lawsuit against MEBA to obtain the right to appear. The action follows a letter from MEBA objecting to the exclusion and threatening legal action against NATCA.

184180 Against the Wind Archives Involvement of NATCA controllers: Darrell Meachum of downtown Fort Worth worked with the FAA to ensure that implementing new radar screens at agency route centers was feasible. The displays were saved from an expensive project known as AAS. without software, which would make emergency lanes superfluous. This was a problem. The existing design of the new workstation, called the sector package, now had to accommodate racks to store the flystrips, also known as flystrips. That fall, when Grundmann began work as its first liaison, the agency invited two auditors to the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to evaluate a slightly modified industry meeting. When Meachum and Scott Hanley of Kansas City Center saw the cardboard mock-up, they realized the strip would obscure the controller's radar screen. Working with the center's engineers, Meachum and Hanley proposed redesigning the bay to reduce its size and curve like a ski slope to accommodate more slopes. They also recommended changing the position of the bay to avoid visual impediments. The changes were so minor that the basic sector package did not need to be radically redesigned. As engineers prepared for the changes, NATCA tried to convince the agency to include more controllers in this early development of the DSR. However, the FAA refused, and when DSR arrived at Seattle Center in late 1996, the union realized it was not yet ready for prime time. One notable glitch involved drop-down menus built into the screen. Menus contain target and aircraft data that controllers needed to see at all times. The 13-member Tiger Team, formed by NATCA, has compiled a list of points that need attention. Before DSR was installed in the agency's 20 other centers, most of the problems were resolved. The successful implementation of DSR provided significant impetus to the FAA, which has come under heavy criticism for its slow pace of modernization. The project showed what was possible when the agency and NATCA worked together. With the support of Michael McNally and Jane Garvey, who were willing to cooperate, the outreach program was well underway. Garvey's basic approach to deploying new equipment components, as opposed to the agency's traditional method of waiting years to deploy a massive system, also fueled the growth of technical representatives and liaisons. In the spring of 2002, twenty-eight people were involved full-time in some sixty-five projects. Their involvement ranged from strategic planning to detailed factors such as the location of the control knob or the height of the shelves, which can have a significant effect on controllers' ability to perform their jobs. June NATCA asks FLRA to withhold election over whether union can represent FAA engineers and architects. This would be the first NATCA negotiating unit without a director since its inception.

185Chapter 6: Spread Its Wings 181 From Sanskrit to Silicon The DSR gradually brought along new sights and PCs for support. However, the programming language that transmits information from radar locations and aircraft transponders to controllers remains etched in the stone age of computers. Ever since the FAA installed radar data processing computers at its centers in 1967, they have been used in the venerable but obscure language known as JOVIAL. Jules Schwartz, a programmer at the System Development Corporation, wrote the language for the United States Air Force. He called it Our Own Version of the International Algebra Language, but the nickname was a problem. In the late 1950s, society was not as free-thinking as it is today, Schwartz wrote years later. The name OVIAL seems to have a connotation related to the birthing process that some people found unacceptable. 6 A colleague from System Development Corporation suggested JOVIAL as an alternative in honor of its inventor, Jules, and the name stuck. In addition to FAA computers, JOVIAL is used in several weapon systems, including the B-52 Stratofortess, F/A-18 Hornet, UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, and Advanced Cruise Missile. Work was underway during the year to replace JOVIAL at FAA route centers. The ARTS system in TRACON works in another mysterious language called ULTRA. Programming is done minutely at the bit level, similar to using toothpicks to make every stroke of every letter in a sentence. ULTRA will go down in history when STARS is implemented on a Unix basis. On June 19, NATCA will celebrate its 10th anniversary, including a party at the United States Capitol. Florida Governor Lawton Chiles declares June 19 Air Traffic Control Day along with Manassas, Virginia, Miami, Milwaukee, New York, and Spokane, Washington. Many facilities have open days and other festivities.

186182 Against the Wind The workforce was very different from when Joel Hicks, Amy Kaufman, and Will Faville Jr., the first three union safety and technology directors, led dozens of projects. We found that with every rock we knocked over, we had a lot more trouble getting out of it, says Faville. Brian Fallon's Advanced Automation System: The FAA wasted about $1.5 billion on its ambitious ATC overhaul plan. During Faville's tenure in the early 1990s, NATCA hired longtime Washington Center Controller Jerry Tierney and former PATCO member Dick Swauger to help. Many representatives of the institution's insurance were involved. But it wasn't until the liaison and technical representation program became entrenched within the agency, accompanied by a collaborative spirit, that the union began to exert real influence over equipment matters. Garvey sees no other option. We have work to do that is so fundamentally important and critical to the economy and the American people that nothing short of our best efforts will help, she says. Garvey credits the union as a catalyst for keeping key projects on track, including its DSR counterpart known as the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System. Like its cousin in hubs, STARS includes a color screen bright enough to use in a bright room, and TRACON controllers offer over 200 digital maps (older browsers only include five). The equipment can also accept data from multiple radar locations, a boon for facilities plagued by blind spots in mountainous terrain. However, when reviewing the evolution of DSR, the drivers were only involved in the development. The union technical team for the STARS project had to push for changes that necessarily delayed implementation. Pop-up menus again hid critical information on the screen, among other issues. June Eighteen radar tower controllers from around the country meet in Chicago and form the NATCA Radar Tower Coalition to address common issues.

187In late 1999 and early 2000, STARS began live shows at TRACON in El Paso, Texas and Syracuse, New York. Unlike previous FAA projects, the controllers in the two radar test chambers worked closely with Raytheon and the union's human-computer interface task force to complete product development prior to installation. in some 185 others, NATCA took something that didn't work and brought equipment the average driver can use with just three days of training. TRACON. NATCA took something that didn't work and produced equipment the average driver can use with just three days of training, says El Paso project manager Doug Wicker. At the same time as air traffic controllers were gaining influence at FAA headquarters, they expanded their reach globally by joining the International Federation of Air Traffic Controller Associations in IFATCA, made up of members from a group of more than 100 countries, is the professional body representing air traffic controller issues for the International Civil Aviation Organization, which sets global policy. Union interest in joining the IF-ATCA grew over time. Executive Vice President Ray Spickler and Fernando Ospina of downtown Fort Worth attended the group's annual meeting in May. Doug Wicker, STARS project manager at El Paso TRACON, what surprised me most was the similarity of the problems faced by all controllers, Spickler wrote after the meeting in Frankfurt, Germany. We can learn as much from them as they can from us. 7 A few years later, Director of Security and Technology Will Faville Jr. attended the second IFATCA meeting and welcomed the group's philosophy on IT issues. While US and FAA controllers were busy with CHI, or human-computer interface issues, IFATCA turned the emphasis. They put a man in front of a computer, says Faville. It was clear to me that we need this international help and support. Chapter 6: Spread your wings. In August, Jane Garvey takes over as FAA administrator. For the first time, the Senate appoints the chief of agency for a five-year term, ending the revolving door policy in place since the PATCO strike. Garvey has served in a variety of public positions, including commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, director of Boston's Logan International Airport, and acting administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.

188184 Upwind Japphire Atlanta TRACON: The facility became operational in April 2001 and is one of six TRACONs consolidating operations from multiple radar rooms. Martin Cole, a Washington Center comptroller who served as IFATCA's executive technical vice president from 1997 to 1999, agrees. We handle the bulk of global air traffic, he says. Not having a voice in the global aviation scene wouldn't sit well. But the international association's per capita fee structure was too high for NATCA, which represented the largest group of controllers in the world. However, IFATCA was interested in participating in the United States and agreed to the union's request to review its dues. After the time limit was imposed, NATCA came on board and helped the group create a three-tier scale based on the United Nations model. Cole's involvement began after he was assigned to the FAA as one of NATCA's original technical representatives. His project included Data Link, which allows air traffic controllers and pilots to exchange text messages and other digital information. I had no idea what Data Link was, Cole recalls. When he arrived at FAA headquarters, his agency colleague showed him two filing cabinets and suggested he start reading. Over time, Cole became an expert and was the obvious choice to represent the United States on data links after the union joined IFATCA. The second meeting he attended almost convinced him that he was wrong. Poverty in Dakar, Senegal, was rife, and water and food hygiene problems plagued the two-week conference. After waking up one morning at the Ngor Diarama Hotel, he heard a commotion and looked out his bedroom window on the sixth floor. The votes of August NATCA members, who voted 5,984 to 60 to secede from MEBA, are counted. The effective date is May 30, 1997, based on an amicable settlement with MEBA. August 15. About fifty inspectors protest outside the Boston Center to draw attention to the facility's asbestos problems.

189Chapter 6: Spreading the Wings FYI: In 1996, NATCA established the National Aeronautics Research Institute as another way to ensure the union could influence the development of air traffic control technology. Mike Connor, the union's former director of external affairs, led the movement to create a private nonprofit to give drivers a voice before functionality and design considerations for new systems are set in stone. Former Representative Norman Mineta served on the board of directors. Within a year of its founding, five organizations awarded more than $1 million in grants to NARI, including NASA Ames Research Center, Lockheed Martin, The MITER Corporation, The Catholic University of America, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. NARI and these organizations focused on advanced air traffic control systems and Free Flight, an FAA project aimed at automating certain air traffic functions using computer aids. These days, controllers are given a kit and told: Make this work, Connor said at the time. NARI will change this way of thinking by putting human factors at the top of the priority list. 5 soldiers emerged from numerous trucks lined up in front of the building. Some ran into the lobby while others formed a perimeter around the hotel. Cole, whose pounding heart took some time to settle, later learned that the soldiers were securing a meeting of senior government officials. Towards the end of their stay, Cole and his colleague, Delta Air Lines Captain Terry Hanson, found that airlines operating in Dakar were even more overbooked than their American counterparts. A few painful days passed as they tried in vain to get home. When they heard that an Air France charter flight was arriving to pick up Club Med customers, the two hurried to the airport and claimed some seats. But everyone from the ticket seller to the airport manager shook their heads. Shortly before the scheduled start, Hanson noticed an attractive Senegalese woman standing at the cash register with a Club Med name tag that read Aby. Hanson walked over to her and smiled. Aren't you named after the fourth wife of the Prophet Muhammad, the youngest, the most beautiful, the one he loved the most? early. Global connections: Randy Schwitz, left, and Jim Poole attend IFATCA conference in Montevideo, Uruguay, with NATCA member James Ferguson Elected International Vice President at /NATCA Archives September 18 NATCA submits written application to AFL-CIO Direct Affiliation work organization. 10 The FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative of 1,150 FAA engineers and architects. In October, workers voted 498 to 141 to join NATCA.

190186 Headwind Martin Cole: Washington Center controller was the technical representative for Data Link, leading to his election as IFATCA technical vice president. / Courtesy of Martin Cole The woman smiled. Yes that's me. How can you know? I read the Quran, Hanson replied. He then explained his situation and Aby apologized to speak to the station manager. A few minutes later, Hanson and Cole sank into their seats during the flight and breathed a deep sigh of relief. The next trip to Taipei, Taiwan, where Cole was named Executive Technical Vice President, went much better. In his new role, he again went through a steep learning curve to absorb information about a number of projects other than Data Link. He also felt an additional obligation to represent NATCA in its heyday to pave the way for future American participation in the group. While some members from other countries were concerned that the United States would dominate decision-making, their fears were allayed by Cole's well-informed and impartial demeanor. In 2001, James Ferguson, former vice president of the Northwest Mountain Region, was elected IFATCA vice president. Two other union members serve on IFATCA committees. Barry Krasner is chairman of Standing Committee 6, which deals with constitutional and administrative policy. Mark Pallone, vice president of the Southwest region, is a member of Standing Committee 3 and is responsible for finance. NATCA sees its continued representation in the international organization as an important part of its mission to help shape aviation policy. If our voices are not heard in the world, we will have to bear the brunt of these ICAO rules when they come back through the FAA, says Cole. The US position on air traffic control should be made available. Split While the union's reputation and influence propelled it to new heights in the airline industry, at home NATCA felt the weight of the ball and chain around her ankles. The union became increasingly disillusioned with its affiliation with the well-meaning union of marine engineers. The union that had provided NATCA with manpower, political contacts and $1.9 million for organization and post-certification progress was now collapsing due to declining membership, severe financial problems and the fallout from extortion lawsuits. On February 5, Chairman Michael McNally, Executive Vice President Randy Schwitz and former General Counsel William Osborne Jr. appear before the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO to apply for direct membership. February 22 More than 250 participants attend NATCA in Washington.

191Chapter 6: Spread Its Wings 187 former top officers, including Gene DeFries and Doc Cullison, were charged with collecting more than $2 million in severance pay after MEBA merged with the National Maritime Union in *These simmering issues pushed NATCA into action, but independent Mind Controllers have long targeted those directly connected to the AFL-CIO. As MEBA members, they could not introduce resolutions at AFL-CIO conventions without permission from the parent union. Money was another matter. NATCA continued to pay 7.5 percent of its dues to MEBA and did not believe it would get much or nothing in return. NATCA always If our voice is not heard in the world, we will have to bear the brunt of these ICAO regulations when they come back through the FAA. The US position on air traffic control should be made available. Martin Cole, former IFATCA technical vice president, had an ego problem, and part of the ego problem is that we take care of ourselves, says Krasner. We always wanted to be directly associated with the AFL-CIO. Aware of NATCA's displeasure, MEBA president Alex Shandrowsky spoke at the September 1996 convention in Pittsburgh urging the union not to back down. But the delegates were undeterred and voted to allow NATCA to consider joining another union. Krasner and William Osborne, NATCA's outside consultant, last met with MEBA in late February 1997 to comply with the requirements of their affiliation agreement. Concerned that MEBA would retaliate by trusting the comptroller's union and seizing its assets, Osborne had already prepared a court order to prevent such actions. The meeting ended badly after Shandrowsky announced that MEBA had unilaterally changed its agreement with NATCA to make a closure nearly impossible and to ensure that the controllers' union would lose its assets in the event of a successful separation. Krasner responded that NATCA* DeFries, Cullison and two others were found guilty of racketeering in July. Cullison cooperated with authorities and was placed on unsupervised probation for a year. In January 1996, DeFries was sentenced to sixty-three months in prison and a $600,000 fine, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. 8 March. A U.S. district court reverses its 1994 decision allowing the FAA to outsource Tier I towers. The FAA will not appeal this decision. NATCA then seeks a court order requiring the agency to terminate its contracting program. The court denies the union's request, but directs the agency to determine whether ATC's services are inherently government or commercial activities, in which case they may be outsourced.

192188 Against the wind, he intended to do this with or without MEBA approval, and on leaving the meeting instructed Osborne to immediately implement the ban. Despite the protection afforded by the court order, the wary Krasner hired a 24-hour armed guard to protect the national office in case the MEBA decided to raid. He also told employees to take home critical files. I don't want anything in this office that you think you'll need if they really succeed, he said. This union must continue. About $3 million was transferred to various accounts to make it more difficult for MEBA to trace. Spending my last days in office with armed guards and money scattered all over the country was a little scary, Krasner says now. During this time, AFL-CIO General Counsel Jon Hiatt Osborne informed Osborne that the union would not be willing to grant direct membership to NATCA if the union split from MEBA. At Krasner's It was chilling to walk through my last days in an office with armed guards and money scattered all over the country. address, Osborne replied that NATCA wanted to achieve independence and believed that a direct affiliation with the AFL-CIO was in the best interest of both organizations. He added that the union is willing to live with that outcome if NATCA is rejected. However, the tense period passed without incident. As part of a court settlement in June 1997, NATCA asked its members to vote on the membership issue. Of the 6,044 ballots, 99 percent favored a break with MEBA. With independence, the NATCA faced the difficult task of persuading the powerful AFL-CIO, representing some thirteen million workers, to accept as a direct partner a union with fewer than 11,000 members. Since the merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955, only about two dozen unions have received that honor. In fact, AFL-CIO policies discouraged direct membership and there were only sixty-two of them at the time, former president Barry Krasner Mar. Since the merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955, it has accepted only twenty direct members.

193Chapter 6: Spread Wings 189 NATCA joined the organization early. The whole direction of the L-CIO council and the AF was to transform the existing organizations into larger organizations, so it was against all those resolutions that were passed. rather, says John Leyden, who was a director of the organization's Public Employees Division and a member of its Executive Council. The story provided NATCA with both an obstacle to overcome and a compelling case for its recognition. The AFL-CIO's three-member Special Committee on National Charters expressed concern over the PATCO strike and its effect on organized labor. They sought assurances from President McNally, Executive Vice President Randy Schwitz, and Osborne that NATCA was not about to repeat history. But the board was also aware of what NATCA had accomplished during his brief tenure. Arguably, the mass firing of PATCO strikers at the start of the Ronald Reagan administration was one of the most shameful acts of union destruction by our federal government in decades, the commission said in its report. The panel credited NATCA and MEBA for ensuring that the legacy of air traffic controllers is not quietly forgotten, that it remains a symbol of the labor movement's warning against complacency and against forgetting that an attack on a union is an attack on everyone. is. A month after NATCA appeared before the committee to present its case, the AFL-CIO's executive council agreed to accept the union as a direct affiliate. It was the right thing. I think [AFL-CIO President John] Sweeney saw the wisdom, says Leyden, who lobbied for NATCA. It will be a monumental step for them to stay home from work. Bob Taylor, a frequent visitor to the George Meany Center for Labor Studies when NATCA was training factory representatives there, often saw workers from other unions clash with controllers over disagreements over PATCO and its successor. With direct membership, NATCA's distinction as a standout union has faded, he says. At a meeting later that spring in Las Vegas, the AFL-CIO NATCA presented its esteemed independent charter. McNally took the stage to accept it and said to Sweeney, You understand how much this means to us. I understand, Sweeney replied. But I have a big schedule, Mike. Do it fast. McNally thanked the crowd and said, "I understand you have a lot of important work to do here." August 28. NATCA and the FAA signed an unprecedented five-year, $1.6 billion collective bargaining agreement after nearly a year of negotiations. The new pact includes a 10-fold wage reclassification system that was under development when members voted 8,219 to 747 in favor of the contract, a margin of 92 percent. The contract takes effect on September 15, 1998.

194James R. Schwitz Air Traffic Control Specialist 1982 Current Operating Initials: RV Hometown: Fayetteville, Georgia Spouse/Children: NATCA Records Pamela/Taylor, Sam, Chad, Nicole Grandchildren: Breanna, Michael Other Interests: Senior National Executive Committee Member Service ATC- facilities Current: ZTL Previous: Center Randy Schwitz developed an affinity for aviation when as a child he followed his father, an air traffic controller, to work and discovered the challenging variety of the job. At home, he sat on a swing watching the planes fly overhead after they took off from Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport. The family home was adjacent to the south side of the field, which led to another diversion as the planes started flying. Startled by the screaming turbine engines, the rats ran from the airport grounds to the yard, where Schwitz and his father shot them dead with .22 caliber rifles. As he got older, Schwitz planned to become an orthodontist. But his career plans went haywire when he temporarily quit his job at Georgia State University in the early 1970s to earn money at a local General Motors factory. Assembling Chevrolet trucks and Pontiac Grand Prix and Le Mans cars during the sultry summers of the South opened his eyes to the necessity and value of unions. Four months after his appointment, the factory installed ventilators after a wildcat strike, providing welcome relief for workers. Schwitz quickly joined the UAW and was soon elected manager of the coachbuilder. The plant closed a few years later and he was transferred to another GM plant, where he continued to work as a union representative. Foolish repetitive work eventually led to his FAA candidacy and previous position as NATCA/Achievement Exec. vice president; VP of the South region; Fact ZTL representative; agreed connections and positions of technical representatives; host of the shows STARS, DSR. Job d 1982 Entered the academy in 1982 before working at Atlanta Center. Until now, his father was an assistant manager at Hartsfield. They'll walk all over you if you don't start a new union, he advised his son. Schwitz heeded the warning, participated in the organization, and upon certification became the center's second institution representative. In late 1989, he was named Southern Regional Representative when his colleague Lee Riley resigned. Schwitz traveled extensively for two more terms, lived in Washington and served as executive vice president from 1997 to 2000, earning a reputation as a modest executive with an eye for finance. During his tenure under President Michael McNally, NATCA signed its landmark contract in 1998 and established a direct relationship with the AFL-CIO. The union also launched a PR campaign that included a television commercial in which controllers were at work. Schwitz and her young daughter Taylor appeared at the end of the ad, along with the tagline: We're taking you home. He rediscovered life at home after narrowly losing re-election. In addition to spending much more time with his wife Pamela and their children, Schwitz was able to play golf regularly with his father. Interests: golf, skiing, riding a Harley

195Chapter 6: Spread Your Wings 191 I want you to understand how important this is to us. To show how much you mean to us, I guarantee that your flight home after work will leave on time. Family Direct's growing membership came as NAT-CA began recruiting other FAA employees into the union. Interest in membership expansion dates back to 1990, when NATCA united controllers at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. It has also recently begun reorganizing towers operated by private contractors. In 1994, NATCA first emerged from the ranks of active air traffic controllers to seek the organization of traffic management coordinators. Although 62 percent of eligible TMCs rejected the measure, they later reconsidered and joined in May. * The formal decision to expand representation was made at the 1996 convention of engineers and aerospace workers, led to the increase in the union's bargaining units from two to twenty. / NATCA Archive AFL-CIO Letter: Labor organizations prefer to incorporate new unions as members of existing entities. Approved direct NATCA membership in /Japphire *Traffic Management Coordinators are controllers that work in hubs, TRACON, towers, and the FAA Command Center. Its mission is to minimize air delays by monitoring weather, runway capacity at major airports, and other factors. If necessary, coordinators adjust the traffic flows by, among other things, temporarily grounding aircraft at their point of departure, a so-called ground stop. September NATCA celebrates its seventh biennial convention at the Westin Hotel in Seattle. Deputies are considering a national seniority system. Previously, members moving into staff or management positions lost all seniority; now they just lose the time they spend outside the bargaining unit. The deputies also give engineers and architects a seat on the National Executive Committee and authorize the committee to purchase an office building.

196192 Against the Wind NATCA Archives Engineers and Architects: NATCA's second-largest negotiating unit joined the union in November. Activists involved, front row from left to right: Mike Martin; Mark McLauren; Short Howe; and Pete Hely. Back row from left to right: Controller/Organizer Kevin Christy; Jim D Agathi; Tom Bayone; Jim Frascone; and Doug Hintz. By then, the agency's engineers and architects had raised the issue of affiliation with NATCA and the Professional Airway Systems Specialists, who represent more than 11,000 FAA technicians, safety inspectors and other employees. The engineer's motivation sounded very familiar to NATCA. We feel left out of most of the decision-making process, says Doug Hintz, who spent a decade in the US Army Corps of Engineers before joining the FAA. Most of us were disappointed. Initial interest arose in the New England, Northwest Mountain, South and Southwest regions. Five engineers Floyd Majors of Seattle, Mark McLauren of Boston, Hintz of Atlanta, and James Frascone and Garlon Jordan of Fort Worth met with NATCA and PASS representatives during the summer of the year. Based on those meetings, the organizing group decided that NATCA was their union of choice. NATCA was much better organized, says Hintz. Engineers also believed that their problems were less likely to conflict with those of a group made up primarily of controllers. A year later, many other engineers began demanding union representation when the agency implemented the PASS proposal to reclassify those who did not want to transfer to a regional office. Named Engineering Technician GS-2101, this new job was a general engineering position rather than a technical specialty such as electronics or the environment. The new position was supposed to allow field engineers to move up to management. But it irked many who had served as technical managers in the past and now faced the possibility of losing their state licenses because they would no longer be practical. October President Michael McNally and Rick White, NATCA's technical representative in the STARS modernization program, testify before Congress. They say that until recently air traffic controllers were not consulted about the program and that the team is not adapting to the way TRACON controllers do their job. STARS consists of color monitors, similar to the DSR screens in route centers, which will replace the old radars.

197Chapter 6: Spread the wings of 193 technical engineers. With the help of NATCA Southwest Regional Vice President Rich Phillips, Great Lakes Regional Vice President Jim Poole, and Chicago Center Controller Kevin Christy, the engineers launched a nationwide organization. In November 1997, just over a decade after NATCA's certification, the FAA's 1,150 engineers and architects voted overwhelmingly to become the union's second strongest negotiating unit. His decision led to the first expansion of NATCA's National Executive Committee. Pete Healy was named first vice president of engineering and invited to join the board of directors as a non-voting member. After congressional delegates approved the seat in 1998, Jim D Agati, the local president of the Great Lakes region, won election to the NEB the following year. Some controllers feared that the growth in representation would dilute their organization, but most saw it as a necessary evolution. Look at China, says Phillips, who also helped organize traffic coordinators in a thousand years ago, that was the most advanced culture in the world. They built a big wall to keep everyone out. Look where they are now. They are still a thousand years ago and now they are trying to catch up. We could just do it as controllers, but then we'd get stuck. That was not the case after the landmark contract in 1998. Interest in joining NATCA skyrocketed, and the union became the representative of an additional 3,500 FAA employees over the next three years. Controllers continued to dominate the organization, followed by engineers and architects. The FAA's 950 support professionals voted to join NATCA in late 2001, making it the third-largest negotiating unit. As union membership and representation grew, so did the national office in Washington. For the first six years of NATCA's existence, it occupied the same suite used by PATCO at MEBA's headquarters on North Capitol Street near Union Station. To brighten up the offices, President Steve Bell brought in several brass lamps with shades of pink and dangling balls evoking the Civil War era. When Barry Krasner took office, the celebrities joined the AFL-CIO directly as NATCA began to unionize other employees. In 1997, NATCA first left the ranks of its controllers. December 15. DSR goes live at the Seattle Center. After the equipment was installed in 1996, the thirteen-person NATCA Tiger team determined that DSR could not be implemented in its current configuration. The union and FAA then corrected a list of outstanding issues before the system went live.

198194 Against the Wind FYI In addition to representing 15,300 air traffic controllers, NATCA's 20 negotiating units include approximately 4,700 FAA and Department of Defense employees and private air traffic controllers (as of June 2002). Negotiation Unit Employees Certification Date Air Traffic Control Specialists 15,300 June 19, 1987 Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point 30 September 6, 1990 Private Employees ATC Specialists 110 February 21, 1997 followed by Engineers and Architects 1,200 November 10, 1997 Notification to Airmen's Office March 10, 23, 1999 Budget and Financial Analysis 101 February 7, 2000 Logistics, finance, accounting, info. Utilities Department 518 Apr 26, 2000 Engineers (Oklahoma City/Atlantic City) 124 May 22/July 14/28. September 2000 Traffic Management Coordinators 605 May 25, 2000 Automation Specialists 175 June 1, 2000 Aerospace Medicine August 30 August 23, 2000 Airports Department 2000 263 August 31, 2000 Airworthiness Engineers 13 September 8, 2000. Aircraft Certification 532 September 12, 2000 Hawaii or Defense Department 1 October 26, 2000 Hawaii National Guard 10 October 26, 2000 Regional Council Office 50 January 4, 2001 Personnel Support Specialists 950 January 7, 2002 on the way to a large bearskin carpet strategically placed for visitors who enter the President's office to look straight into a mouth full of bared teeth. Krasner's motif also included a stuffed armadillo, which he haggled for forty-five minutes in Tijuana, Mexico, and an exotic collection of more than two dozen stuffed frogs in surprisingly authentic poses: playing pool, playing ukulele, serving bar. . A dancing frog atop a charred picnic table, a gift from Joseph Bellin, mimicked Krasner's party antics. In April 1993, employees of the headquarters clashed. Space was so limited that Richard Gordon, director of labor relations, worked from a converted cubicle in Krasner's office. To get some breathing space, NATCA moved into much larger rented offices at 17th and M Streets on the north side of downtown. While ten-year leases were the norm, Krasner looked to the future and pushed for a seven-year term. He and many others in the union wanted to own the building. Delegates to the 1994 Tampa convention took a step toward realizing their dream when they agreed to transfer MEBA payments to the building fund after the loan was paid off. As of January 1996, they were depositing about $33,000 a month into the fund. Just two and a half years later, congressional delegates in Seattle approved the release of funds to purchase the building. The challenge was to find an affordable structure that would provide enough space for December. Ten years after its first financial report, NATCA reported assets of $2.7 million and liabilities of $1.3 million.

199Chapter 6: Spread Your Wings 195 meet the needs of the union. Executive Vice President Randy Schwitz and the chairman of the finance committee, Dale Wright, worked with a real estate agent and scouted several locations. Given President Michael McNally's belief that NATCA files (left); Japphire (right) Menagerie of Wild Animals: President Krasner's office included an exotic menagerie of stuffed animals. An armadillo greeted visitors from a cabinet of curiosities. The dancing frog imitated Krasner's antics at the party. NATCA wouldn't be taken as seriously with an address outside of D.C., so they decided to focus their search inside the capital. However, a vacant lot on King Street and Diagonal Road in Alexandria, Virginia, first caught his eye because of its proximity to the subway, a nearby hotel, and Old Town. However, another buyer stepped in before NATCA could make the down payment. Several older buildings were available in DC, but were priced in the $15 million range outside the syndicate's range. While walking to lunch one day in the summer of 1999, Schwitz noticed a for sale sign outside the seven-story white brick building at 1325 Massachusetts Avenue. It was near Thomas Circle, just three blocks from today's union offices. The American Society for Microbiology owned a building that seemed perfect in size and location, and NATCA bought it for $8.1 million. In a sense, the controllers came home. AFGE owned the office in the mid-1980s while running the organizational plant in February. Pursuant to the court order, the FAA is notifying NATCA that it has determined that VFR control tower operations are a commercial activity that may be conducted by private companies. The union is filing a second lawsuit and the two sides agree that no more towers will be rented until the case is settled in court.

200196 Upwind for AATCC. Schwitz, who made many decisions about the purchase, says it was probably the scariest thing he's ever done. The union had to wait for another buyer's call option to expire before proceeding. Funding then became a problem. The three banks competing for NAT-CA's business repeatedly undermined each other's bids. With the deadline for the deal approaching, Schwitz finally gathered the bank's representatives in his office. You all sit here together and decide who wants our job, he told them. I go out, I light a cigarette and drink a Pepsi. When I come back, tell me which of you two wants to do business with us, because I don't want to go back and forth between you anymore. When Schwitz returned, the decision was made. The union is first, third, fourth and they all sit here together and decide who wants our job. I'm going out to get a cigarette. When I get back, tell me which of you wants to do business with us. on the fifth floor of the headquarters, and she rented all the remaining space. Before NATCA moved into the building in February 2000, it spent two grueling months and about $580,000 on renovations, including carpeting, suspended ceilings, telephones and office furniture. The new desks and other items for McNally and Schwitz didn't arrive until the day before executive vice president Randy Schwitz's open house in mid-July. The two camped out at the tables for several months, Adell Humphreys recalls. As Director of Administration, she has overall responsibility for the maintenance of the building constructed in the mid-1960s. It's a role, she says, that makes her feel like Bob Vila as she worries about replacing the roof and heating and ventilation system. , and listen to the wind blowing through the windows. To avoid liability issues, the union formed a separate company called NATCA Membership Investments Incorporated to act as the owner of the Mar Building. The FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating agent for ten FAA employees who issue notices to airmen.

201Chapter 6: Spread the Wings 197 Schwitz, McNally, and Walter J. Boyne, a retired Air Force colonel, former director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, and a prolific aviation writer, formed the first board of directors of NMI. Boyne soon resigned due to other commitments and Krasner was appointed in his place. After McNally and Schwitz left at the end of their terms in the fall of 2000, Krasner named Ed Mullin and James Ferguson to the board of directors. * A day after Krasner announced at a convention in Pittsburgh that he would not be seeking re-election, delegates voted to dedicate every building the union purchased to him. In April 2000, congressional delegates in Anchorage honored Michael McNally by naming the conference room on the first floor after him. Both were touched by the honor shown. I can't imagine a prouder moment than having a building named after you while you're still alive, says Krasner. That was amazing. The Home Front Although NATCA grew and expanded its external influence, in 1990 it faced several troubling internal problems. NATCA. not worth it * To ensure autonomy, Krasner, Mullin and Ferguson passed a resolution giving the NNI board sole authority to nominate new members. The National Board of Directors retains the power to confirm the appointment. April 29 NATCA and FAA agree revised policy on introductory trips. Article 23, which replaces it, provides for: six FAM trips per year, one of which is international (against eight domestic and one international); all FAMs at time of service; no more than two trips to the same airport (the previous limit was eight); FAM is used for annual skills training requirements. The new agreement will enter into force on 31 May 1999.

202198 Against the Wind MEBA Loan to Oct 1995, they are no longer overdrawn. But his annual income of about $7 million has been stretched to the limit. Arbitrations piled up, asbestos problems loomed, the 1993 contract would cost about $1 million to negotiate, and the union had outgrown the cramped space at MEBA's headquarters. NATCA announced the need for an increase in fees prior to the convention. But nearly half of controllers at home sent their delegates to San Antonio with clear instructions to oppose any increase. We were against it for the same reason we are against taxes. It wasn't clear enough what we were going to do with the money, says Bill Otto, a representative of the St. Louis Tower and TRACON at the time. The topic became a convention theme in bars and hotel elevators, at Dick's Last Resort along the famous San Antonio Riverwalk, everywhere. Apart from the vote of the members, there were several procedural hurdles. In Las Vegas, I can't imagine a prouder moment than having a building named after you while you're still alive. That was amazing. at the 1990 convention, when delegates first rejected an increase, they approved Karl Grundmann's constitutional amendment requiring all members to vote to change the dues structure. And the permanent rules of the convention stipulated that all decisions taken took effect after the conclusion of the convention. Both had to be changed before delegates could even consider an increase in dues. President Krasner always believed in an increase that would allow NATCA to grow as a union. I wanted to increase the odds once and never change them again. By skilfully applying Robert's Rules of Order and making sure that each step of the process was explained to the delegates, Krasner was the first to raise the issue of amending the standing convention's rules so that the changes would take effect immediately. This required a two-thirds majority. At almost every convention, auditors are taking advantage of an issue they say requires a roll call vote, otherwise known as a split in the House of Representatives. In San Antonio, former President Barry Krasner allowed nearly 300 attendees to attend NATCA in Washington. July 21 The union signs a purchase agreement with the American Society for Microbiology to purchase its office building at 1325 Massachusetts Avenue NW in Washington D.C. for $8.1 million.

203Chapter 6: Spread Your Wings 199 by changing the current rules. The doors on the convention floor were locked and no one could get in or out. One by one, the delegates approached the microphone and cast their votes. The procedure took about an hour. Krasner, who set the safety and protocol rules during the vote, says: I always made it so painful that they never do it again. After the delegates approved the procedural change, Krasner knew the dues increase was secured. They then passed, by an ordinary vote, an amendment allowing dues to be changed by a majority of the delegates attending the convention, not the entire membership. In the end, they increased the quota by half a percent. At the closing banquet of the convention, Richard Gordon announced that he had called the national office and told them that he wanted to give a lecture on representative facilities every month for the next four years. The hall echoed with applause. That's one of the main reasons we've been able to do what we've been doing for the past decade, says Pat Forrey, a delegate who returned to the Cleveland Center and wrote a detailed memo explaining why he voted against his wishes. . Some were upset by the process, but most accepted the justification. Not all objects were so understanding. Membership in downtown Fort Worth plummeted from 50 percent to 38 percent, the largest drop of any place in the country (although it has since recovered to 80 percent). Membership elsewhere also suffered, but the resentment soon faded. Brotherhood In addition to the dues increase, there is another emotional issue that has divided NATCA from day one: the union's stance on rehiring striking controllers. The motion to formally support relocation was passed by one vote. This topic was also discussed at other organizational meetings. NATCA's founders quickly learned to play down the issue to most prospective members, who announced the need for an increase in dues before the convention. But nearly half of controllers at home sent their delegates to San Antonio with clear instructions to oppose any increase. September 20. Jim D. Agati defeats Pete Healy 126 to 93 in a runoff for vice president of engineers and architects. Hurricane Floyd delays vote counting by four days. The December STARS early viewing array was installed in El Paso, Texas for testing and evaluation. A prototype was also installed in Syracuse, New York in January 2000.

204200 Against the Wind PATCO is hiring again: Valerie and Bob Butterworth were working in the Bay Area at the time of the strike. She was rehired in 1997 and is now a controller at the San Diego Tower while working at TRACON in Southern California. Both are members of NATCA. /Japphire *This changed when NATCA introduced a national seniority policy in 1981. nervous about another radical union. After NATCA was certified, John Leyden attended a convention in Las Vegas to speak on the subject. Its presence caused new concerns for a new generation of controllers. While Leyden stood by and listened, the delegates debated vigorously whether he should address them. Opponents had a lot of respect for Leiden, but did not want to give him a forum. It gave us an idea of ​​how open the wounds still were, recalls then-Southwest Regional Representative Ed Mullin, who left Las Vegas upset by the fragmentation and level of anger. In the end, Leyden was allowed to take the stage after an appeal. These individuals are just like you, he said in an impassioned speech. They wanted to change the system. In many cases, they lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Leyden described controllers who divorced and committed suicide. Some lost their homes and were still fighting for their lives. He explained that the FAA would not fire the new generation to rehire the strikers and they would not lose their seniority. * Encouraged NATCA members to give their former brothers a chance. During the question and answer period, the hardest questions came from former PAT CO members who did not go on strike. They discussed the workplace threats, anger and conflict that were common during the PATCO era. Leyden could not answer point by point, but said the former inspectors were with the union and the opportunity to return should not be denied. After an emotional debate, the delegates urged President Bush by a three-to-one majority to allow the fired controllers to apply for new FAA job openings. Like his Republican predecessor, Bush refused. But on August 12, 1993, Democratic President Clinton signed an executive order to lift the ban on strikers. That fall, the FAA sent out a questionnaire known as Sheet 93 to the last known addresses of the fired controllers. They have February. The FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for 280 employees in the budget and finance departments at FAA headquarters.

205limited time to reapply and about 5,000 did. The agency responded with purpose, but rehired about 800, most of them because recertification wasn't easy for everyone, who came back into the profession as young people and had to deal with revenues that had doubled since they started more than 15 years ago. left. I saw the PATCO brothers walk through that door and what it did to them was worse than what the strike did to them, says Bob Butterworth, who left the Oakland Center in 1981 and now works at TRACON in Southern California in San Diego. They were remembered as good at their job, but with all the extra traffic these days and the fact that they are much older now, it was devastating. They had to go back to their now grown children and tell them they were a failure. Even for those who have been successful, unsubscribing can be a rough ride. Many reworkers encountered the same rash attitude as new interns. These people are just like you. They wanted to change the system. In many cases, they lost their jobs through no fault of their own. endured They also discovered a more restrained workforce shaped by different circumstances and times. We were more like a family, says Jim Shearer, an attacker who signed with Indianapolis Center and now works at Indianapolis Tower/TRACON. The clash of cultures and the misunderstanding of history saddens people like Barry Krasner. We forget all those who died before us, he says. Controllers who are still against re-employment, he reminds them: they gave it everything they had. You may not have agreed to their strike, but you wouldn't be able to have the contract you have, the raise you have, or the job you have if they hadn't died and you could be alive. On a Monday morning in mid-September 1995, Krasner found himself in an awkward encounter with the former controller of PATCO, a person who, like the reworkers, had stirred up heated emotions over the years. The meeting stemmed from a decision made by former PATCO President John Leyden at a meeting of the National Executive Board. Chapter 6: Spread Your Wings February The union holds its second annual Legislative Committee Conference, attended by some 70 NATCA activists. Louisiana Democratic Representative William Jefferson opposes privatization of the FAA.

206202 Against the Wind Krasner found himself in an awkward encounter with former PATCO controller, the man widely regarded as instrumental in the creation of NATCA, John Thornton. the previous week in Pittsburgh, which ensued a long but candid discussion about the man widely regarded as instrumental in the founding of NATCA, John Thornton. While several board members acknowledged his contributions, they felt that Thornton was not in his element as senior director of legislative affairs, a sentiment that has grown over the past year. It culminated in a feeling that it was not doing enough to prevent the imminent loss of Chapter 71 rights. Congress talked about removing FAA workers' rights to union representation and collective bargaining in the bill. The draft bill on appropriations by the Department of Transport, which he introduced in July, will soon vote on the measure. Board members criticized his performance, accusing him of missing the ball. Legislatively, people weren't happy with the direction we were going, said Joe Fruscella, vice president of East Regional. James Ferguson, Vice President of the Northwest Mountain Region, agrees: We felt it was time for a change. When I think of NATCA, I think of John. He did a great job, but there were some mistakes. Another incident that baffled Thornton and the National Executive Committee involved NATCA's position on legislation known as the Wright Amendment. The 1979 law, named after former Texas Democratic Representative James Wright, banned airlines at Love Field in Dallas from flying outside the four states bordering former Texas executive vice president Ray Spickler, an anti-competitive restriction that helped ensure the success of the new DFW airport. Noting that Love Field and DFW are only eight miles apart, supporters justified Wright's amendment on safety grounds. His argument infuriated Southwest Regional Representative Ed Mullin. Chicago airports are busier. The ones in New York are closer. The. they are more numerous, he says. It was purely a marketing issue, but they framed it as a security issue. When Congress considered repealing the Wright Amendment ten years after it was passed, Mullin convinced the National Executive Committee to publicly support the measure. However, the union february moved into its newly purchased office building at 1325 Massachusetts Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. AFGE owned the structure in the mid-1980s, and John Thornton briefly worked in the offices while he organized the AATCC.

207Chapter 6: Spreading His Wings 203 quickly backed down despite angry reactions from key members of Congress. Thornton didn't believe NATCA should grapple with the issue, especially as it tried to build a presence on Capitol Hill. His position angered Mullin, who left the board a year before the falling out with Thornton. Still, the simmering dissatisfaction persisted. Thornton, though he didn't realize it, didn't actually fall in love with Michael McNally, who was elected executive vice president last year. Thornton developed a close trust with chairman Barry Krasner, a level of trust McNally had not yet enjoyed. At the Pittsburgh meeting, Krasner tried to convince the board of directors not to take such drastic action, but the majority voted to resign Thornton. It was one of the rare debates Krasner lost, and it gave credence to those who argued that the union is eating our youth. Politics interferes, Krasner says now. You know that if you don't get the whole file behind you, you're going to fall apart. It's not just about eliminating John. They can take me out. In the end, they can do whatever they want if you don't have your board of directors behind you. Krasner went home to Long Island for the weekend as usual and didn't know what to do. Early Monday morning, he and McNally left for Washington. While they were on their way, Sallie Krasner woke up crying in bed and wrote a speech that she sent to both men. Please think about this, she said. Please don't do this. Please think about what you are doing. Krasner listened to the page when he arrived at the national office, but the outcome was inevitable. The board's decision stunned many members. When I think of NATCA, I think of John, says Ray Spickler. Michael Putzier, vice president of the Central Region at the time, compares the move to firing the founder. Thornton was as surprised as anyone. I thought it was clear to them that I was doing good work for the union and believed in this, he says. In time, the wounds healed and he became a philosopher. You go through things and if you don't get over them, you've crippled yourself. Two months after Thornton left, NATCA hired Ken Montoya to lead the fight for the restoration of Chapter 71 rights. MEBA retained Thornton as deputy director of legislative affairs, but he was fired a few months later in an effort to cut costs and switched to the National Association for Parks and Conservation. In 1997, he joined the FAA's Free Flight Program, an initiative of John Thornton: after leaving NATCA, he became involved in the FAA's Free Flight Project and was appointed NATCA's Acting Director of Programs late on April 26/ archives. The FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for 274 FAA regional office employees in the logistics, finance and IT support departments.

208204 Against the Wind 19xx NATCA Charitable Foundation Just before Christmas 2000, Darrell Meachum and a colleague carried a rickety table up the stairs to a two-bedroom apartment in a poor suburb northeast of Fort Worth, Texas. Meachum, his wife, Cathy, and their volunteer helper drove forty miles to retrieve the item from the donor's front porch. His bad condition makes them shake their heads in horror. Dirt covered the white Formica top and rust stains eat into the metal trim and legs. It belonged to the landfill. But the trio did their best to clean up the mess before leaving to hand it over to the single mother and her three young children. They were one of the families adopted during the holiday season by the NATCA Charitable Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by the Meachums. As they maneuvered the table around the apartment, they noticed that the only furniture outside the bedrooms was a shabby sofa and a small television on the bedside table. They made three more trips to fill a donated microwave, pots and pans, a laundry basket full of toiletries, and two stacks of Christmas presents, all while the children and their mothers watched in delight. Once the table and four padded vinyl chairs were placed in front of the kitchen window, the children jumped into their new chairs. Smiling, they put their hands on the table as if they had forks and knives. Look, Mom, the table, they exclaimed. Can we eat at our table? The mother was speechless. Scenes like this are one of the most rewarding aspects of the NATCA Charitable Foundation. Cathy Meachum says recipients inevitably cry because they're so happy, and we're beyond that. Darrell Meachum, controller in downtown Fort Worth, hoped to unify the efforts of the many NATCA residents who organize charitable fundraisers and bring recognition to the profession when the NCF was founded in August. Originally founded in Texas, the organization expanded to Florida in 2001 and Georgia the following year. The long-term goal is to make it a national entity, but with measured measures to prevent a good idea from collapsing under its own weight. the national. poor enforcement, says Meachum. The large-scale expansion is something skeptics couldn't even imagine when the foundation envisioned it. They are amazed at how far we have come and how much we have achieved, says Cathy Meachum. They didn't think it was feasible to have a group of people do all that work with just volunteers. Due to the absence of paid staff, NCF is able to donate almost 96 percent of the money raised. A core group of about two dozen volunteers runs the organization, which includes satellite offices in Houston, Jacksonville, Florida and Peachtree City, Georgia. In 2001, the Foundation donated $43,000 to more than 20. Continued on page 206

209Chapter 6: Spread Your Wings 205 to automate certain air traffic functions using various computer tools. Thornton was promoted to acting director of the series at the end of It's About Time. Controllers are often a 24-hour profession. They call their ever-changing schedule a rattle because it bounces them back and forth between day and night like a child's toy. Days off, annual leave and others are determined according to the length of employment. The subject is therefore important for all drivers. When NATCA was organized in the mid-1980s, the issue of seniority piqued the interest of auditors who hoped the new union would give them a say in their work schedules. At that time, each facility had its own policy. Some based seniority on the controller's seniority with the facility rather than how long they had worked for the FAA. The policy discouraged controllers from moving to certain high-density operations, such as Chicago Center, because they would lose all the time they had accumulated. As a result, these institutions were chronically understaffed and auditors often had to work overtime, although some enjoyed the extra pay and did not want it reduced under the national seniority policy. Support for such a change has grown steadily. Although delegates at the 1994 convention rejected a proposal to abolish local policies, the thorny issue was raised again in Pittsburgh two years later. The stubborn debate lasted the first day. A number of controllers lined up in front of microphones calling on the union to end barriers to those who want to move forward and establish a system that is fair for all. We had to get up and make a policy for every driver to make it fair. It's time we had a policy, said Barrett Byrnes, facilities representative for Poughkeepsie Tower. 9 However, an equally outspoken contingent advocated retaining control over local politics. Seniority was a tool FAC representatives could use against management, said Phil Barbarello, TRACON plant representative in New York. This is a tool I no longer have. 10 Another contentious issue related to the specific details of the proposed national policy. Convention Badges That Reflect Contempt: Delegates wear official badges and a host of other union trinkets. / NATCA Archives Apr More than 800 delegates attend NATCA's eighth biennial convention at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage. Requests for revision of the seniority plan and compensation structure are rejected. Delegates approve honorary lifetime membership for Cathy Meachum, a longtime contributor who co-founded the NATCA Charitable Foundation with her husband, Darrell. The foundation is raising about $17,000 at the convention.

210206 Against the Wind NATCA Charitable Foundation (continued) charities and families. NCF's income has grown steadily since its inception, reaching a total of $153,575 at the end of 2001 and is focused on areas not served by other charities. One of the beneficiaries was a battered women's shelter in Dallas, which regularly needs underwear, towels and art supplies for children, who often use creative outlets to work through their emotional trauma. NCF also supports helping vulnerable, disabled, and terminally ill children along with national charities such as the American Heart Association, Cystic Fibrosis Association, and Habitat for Humanity. Visiting terminally ill children and poor people living on the brink of poverty can be uncomfortable, says Darrell Meachum. But, he adds, you know you've done something for the community and you've given back in the name of your profession and your union. Cathy Meachum points out that convincing detail-oriented controllers to donate is sometimes a challenge. They want to see the bigger picture before committing to anything, she says. But when they see it, they jump at full length. They are extremely generous. Drawing on her experience running auctions for the American Cancer Society, Cathy Meachum planned a similar event for NCF's first official function. Beginning in 1996, the organization also raised funds through silent auctions at all NATCA conventions. When Darrell was called to the podium to announce the grand prize winner of the raffle at the closing banquet of the first year, then-Executive Vice President Michael McNally introduced him as Mr. Cathy Meachum. At its biennial meeting in Anchorage in 2000, where the foundation raised more than $17,000, the union formally recognized its continued efforts with an honorary lifetime membership. It was the first time NATCA honored someone completely outside the air traffic control profession (life member Bob Taylor is not an air traffic controller, but has worked for the union since 1991). Cathy Meachum, an associate member for seven years, is a dental hygienist. I just couldn't believe it, she says. It is an unspeakable honor. Website: May FLRA certifies NATCA as exclusive negotiating agent for FAA AOS-200/260 engineers in Oklahoma City. On May 25, FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative of 600 FAA traffic management coordinators.

211for management, the clause stated that supervisors who had become interim supervisors or who had worked on job sites would lose all their seniority unless they returned to the bargaining unit within the 30-day grace period. However, strong support from smaller institutions helped pass the resolution for a narrow national policy. The nominal vote of 4,706 to 4,573 was 50.7 percent of support. In a 5-4 regional split, Alaska, Central, Great Lakes, New England, and South favored the change, while East, Mountain Northwest, Southwest, and Pacific West opposed it. Kevin Keener, controller of Napa Tower in California, characterizes the result as monumental in terms of the power of small and medium-sized facilities. It was the first time he showed the body that when you come together as a collective, you have a voice, he says. The FAA appealed because the 1993 union contract provided for seniority. We had to get up and make a policy to make every driver fair. It's about time we had a policy. settle locally. Arguing that locals still control politics under the direction of the national bureau, Krasner enthusiastically dismissed the complaint. In a rare role reversal, former Executive Vice President Joseph Bellino testified on behalf of the agency at a FLRA hearing on a separate indictment alleging unfair labor practices involving the rights of non-members. Bellino believed that NATCA stewards had illegally adopted the policy by failing to state that they were speaking on behalf of all controllers, not just union members. He based his argument on a case involving another union, in which a non-member was not allowed to vote on seniority policies. William Osborne argued for NATCA that the contract authorized the union to determine seniority, that its national policies were legal, and that non-members had no voting rights. An administrative judge ruled against NATCA, putting the union in the difficult position of having to decide whether to surrender - Barrett Byrnes, factory representative in Poughkeepsie Tower Chapter 6: Spreading the Wings June FLRA certifies NATCA as FAA's exclusive negotiating agent with 180 automation experts (AOS 300/400).

212208 Taking a Stand Against the Wind: Beth Thomas Presents Her View of a Proposed National Seniority Policy at the 1996 Convention in Pittsburgh. arrive late or file a complaint and run the risk of a potentially large payment delay that will only get worse. But Krasner believed that NATCA's actions were morally and legally correct and decided to appeal. Fortunately, the FLRA overturned the judge's decision a year later. NATCA archives deputies debated the controversial issue for a day and a half before narrowly approving the policy with 50.7 percent of the vote. Bella's actions on behalf of the agency angered many NATCA members. Aside from his brief testimony, he sat at the FAA table during the hearing. As a result, he lost the presidential bid to McNally in 1997 (and to John Carr in 2000). Soon after, Bellino was fired as a facilities representative at Chicago's TRA-CON when he refused to implement the new policy. The topic of seniority came up again at the Seattle convention in 1998. Many controllers were still dissatisfied. During contract negotiations last spring, the FAA lobbied NATCA to relax the punitive aspect of the policy, discouraging controllers from seeking management or jobs because they would lose all previously accrued time. After a day and a half of discussion, the delegates adjusted the policy so that only time spent outside the negotiating unit was lost. The issue was raised again at the 2000 Anchorage convention, but delegates overwhelmingly voted against considering any changes. June A US district court rules for the second time that the FAA has not made a valid decision on whether air traffic control is an inherent government function. The court allows the existing contract tower program to continue. For the second time, NATCA is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to suspend the program.

213Chapter 6: Spread Your Wings 209 Breaking the Glass Ceiling By 2000, President Michael McNally had been on the road for nearly a decade as National Coordinator, Executive Vice President, and President of QTP. His two daughters on Long Island grew up without him, and his wife, Maria, was unhappy about the long absence. Bowing to his wishes, McNally decided not to run for re-election and publicly supported John Carr. After helping to organize the controllers at the Kansas City Tower/TRACON during NATCA certification, Carr took the lead as facility representative. He then spent ten years at Chicago TRA-CON, serving all locally elected positions and contributing regularly to the institution's newsletter, Intentionally Left Blank, the first indication of his confidence in communication. Carr was now working at Cleveland Tower/TRACON to be with his new wife, Jill, who was also a controller at the facility. Witty and eloquent, he rose to national prominence as a member of the 1998 contracting team and wrote a preamble that read in part: The true measure of our success will not be the number of disputes we resolve, but the trust. honor and fairness with which the parties jointly perform this Agreement. His campaign platform emphasized open communication, a marked departure from McNally's closed-back style, and reflected Carr's no-nonsense, down-to-earth demeanor. He called himself Johnny de Stier, a nickname he got during collective bargaining for his job. Homecoming: President Michael McNally (shown in an amusing moment at the 2000 convention in Anchorage) decided not to run for re-election when he presided over the assembly. He toured NATCA for nine years. / Frank Flavin July 12 FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, many other agency and union dignitaries and regular members attend the dedication ceremony for NATCA's new headquarters as the Krasner Building. The main meeting room on the first floor is called the Michael McNally Meeting Room. McNally presents Howie Barte with a plaque in his honor for his role in creating the NATCA logo.

214210 Against the Wind John Carr: After NATCA's fourth president took office in 2000, he expanded communications with members and launched an aggressive public relations campaign to promote the union's position on delays and privatization. / NATCA Archives While its origins are a closely guarded contract team secret, the nickname became a symbol of Carr's tenacity, and his campaign materials often included the tagline: Don't you want bulls? Then he meets Bull. Members welcomed the refreshing change, overwhelmingly electing Carr over Joseph Bellin, who was running for president for the second time, and Lee Riley of the Atlanta Center, who was on his third run. After taking office, Carr established himself as communications president in a number of ways. Following Rodney Turner, he published detailed weekly updates on the Internet to keep members informed about union activities. He also prioritized meetings with the editors of major newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. As his administration progressed, the Communications Department underwent a metamorphosis. Collaboration with the media became more proactive, the website was further expanded, employees produced a new newsletter and a number of other publications that were especially interesting for members. Like McNally, Executive Vice President Randy Schwitz had served on the national board for ten years and was ready to return to the Atlanta Center. However, he still enjoyed widespread support and says he has been persuaded by people to run for re-election. He faced challenges from Will Faville Jr., a former Alaska regional representative and director of security and technology who was applying for the job for the second time, and Ruth Marlin of Miami Center. Marlin joined the FAA in 1990 and became active in the local union as a controller after his retirement. He attended NATCA's second annual Lobby Week in Washington, D.C., saw the power of political activism, and convinced the local Miami Center to create its own legislative representative, a position Marlin initially held. When Congress threatened to eliminate the 5 percent difference for comptrollers, it teamed up with Miami Tower Comptroller Andy Cantwell and Fort Lauderdale Executive Tower's Barry Wilson to form a group of seven facilities called the South Florida Legislative Caucus, to mount a coordinated lobbying effort. The continued success of this group has become a model for similar organizational structures. July FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for FAA Aviation Systems Standards Specialists and seventy-five Oklahoma City AOS-510 engineers. August 23. The FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for the FAA's 30 occupational health and safety specialists, occupational nurses and medical program assistants.

215Chapter 6: Spread Its Wings 211 NATCA Racing A visual symbol of union identity since before certification in 1987, the red and blue NATCA logo appeared on shirts and jackets, pins and belt buckles, coffee mugs and key chains. It has graced the walls of air traffic control facilities and homes and can be seen on many members' cars and trucks. Over Memorial Day weekend of 1998, the logo debuted at a new venue: the Indianapolis 500. During its performance, a car sponsored by the union was taken from a car driven by Sam Schmidt, a recent speedway competitor who had finished sixth at Indy and won the Las Vegas 500K in which Schmidt had raced since he was 5 years old. He had a car but needed sponsorship when he met Taylor Koonce, a racing enthusiast and driver at the Indianapolis Tower/TRACON. Displaying union colors at major sporting events in front of spectators has attracted Koonce, as well as others on the local field and across the field in downtown Indianapolis. They also saw it as a natural fit, as controllers often work from temporary towers during races to cope with the influx of drivers, pit crew and spectators. The two Indianapolis residents soon began selling stylish checkered polo shirts signed by Sam Schmidt and bearing the car number 99 and NATCA Racing logo to cover sponsorship costs. It's a win-win situation, says Koonce, who worked as a Navy inspector for a decade before joining the FAA in 2016. The more we go to the track, the more people recognize the jerseys. They have to meet the controllers. NATCA's involvement took on new meaning in January 2000 after 35-year-old Schmidt was seriously injured in a crash at Walt Disney World Speedway in Bay Lake, Florida. Using a ventilator, he was diagnosed as quadriplegic for months. For the Schmidt family, history repeated itself. Sam's father, Marvin, is left partially paralyzed from a racing accident that happened when his son was 10 years old. When the family founded the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, NAT-CA Racing, profits from the extensive clothing line were diverted to spinal cord research. A year later, the foundation donated $50,000 in donations from unions and other sources to the University of Washington's Japphire Clothing for a good cause: A portion of proceeds from T-shirt sales help fund spinal cord research . Faculty of Medicine St. Lodewijk. Schmidt, who hopes to one day benefit from that research, wasn't content to limit himself to daily physical therapy. In 2001 he formed a team and returned to racing. Sam doesn't give up, says Koonce. He continues to strive for excellence, and that is very representative of NATCA. In 2002, the union began sponsoring NASCAR Winston Cup star Bobby Labonte, who won the Virginia 500 in April.

216John Carr ATC Facilities C u r i t e: P r e v i o s: NUMBER C90 MCI/TRACON National Office Tower TRACON/TRACON Tower Past NATCA Positions/Accomplishments 1998 Contract Team; all elected officials at Chicago TRACON; first local president at Kansas City Tower/TRACON; facility representative, training instructor. President Hired January 2000 NATCA Archives Current Nickname / Company Initials: Johnny the Bull / CY Hometown: Washington, D.C. Spouse/Children: Jill/Rachael Diana Other Trivia: Fluent in Spanish; visited more than 50 countries and 45 states Interests: travel, soccer, sailing, swimming When John Carr moved to Washington after being elected the fourth president of the NATCA in 2000, it was like coming home. Carr grew up in the D.C. area, delivering The Washington Post and seeing how the Beltway worked through his father, a career civil servant who avoided unions and viewed his son's eventual interest as a hobby. Actually an understatement. Carr's passionate loyalty stems from an overriding concern for others, a sense of fairness and empathy. He once compared women's tears at work to men tearing down walls with frustration tempered by intolerance to ruthless government. Carr spent four years as a Navy Comptroller in Corpus Christi, Texas and aboard the USS Eisenhower, including 152 days at sea without a call to port, a record that stood for twenty-two years. He turned down a job offer from the FAA a few days after the strike, but reconsidered when his brother advised him on his career options. He joined the agency five months later and was soon certified as a Kansas City Tower/TRACON Clerk. NATCA's petition reached the heart of the United States in 1986, when Carr organized its installation and became the first local president. Two years later, O Hare's famous traffic brought him to Chicago TRACON. The joy of serving in various positions, including facility functions, drew him to the union. It also contributed to the divorce. Unlike previous NATCA presidents, Carr's selection for the top job was not based on National Board of Directors experience. Instead, he made the leap using his eloquent style, joining the 1998 contract team, and the endorsement of his new wife, Jill, a controller at Cleveland's Hopkins Airport. After the couple married in July 1998, Carr moved to Cleveland, where the newlyweds wanted to settle down and start a family. But union activists had a different plan and nominated Carr for president. Determined not to repeat his personal history, John gave up on the 51 percent decision to elope with Jill. His wife reminded him that she is also a member of the NATCA and thinks he is the best candidate. Taking the reins of a mature union, Carr has proven himself adept at shaping public debate on key issues, such as flight delays and privatization, while strengthening communication with members. I've become very successful in every corner of my life and have given Jill that 51 percent, he says. Some of that luck has recently paid off. On March 14, 2002, the couple celebrated the birth of blue-eyed red-haired beauty Rachael Diane.

217Chapter 6: Spreading Your Wings 213 in other urban areas. Later, Marlin served as chairman of the Southern Regional Legislative Committee for several months before assuming leadership of the National Legislative Committee. After the Chapter 71 battle, which she watched growing up in NATCA's legislative activism school, Marlin wanted to change the nature of Lobby Week. Planned in advance, the annual event may not coincide with a timely release, and this may reduce its effectiveness. Marlin hoped to foster training and long-term relationships with Congress that would allow us to work on district issues year-round rather than having our legislative success dependent on a few days in D.C., she says. Krasner and McNally agreed, and the union held its first NATCA in Washington that year without a hitch. With other goals in mind and hoping to avoid capture, Marlin decided not to run for a second term as chairman of the National Legislative Committee. A year later, he worked on terminal and route issues as a full-time NATCA air traffic requirements liaison at FAA headquarters before returning to Miami Center meetings in the spring of the year. During this time, he decided to campaign for executive vice president at the FAA. commissioned by Jim Poole, Vice President of the Great Lakes Region. Like Carr and many other members, Marlin was frustrated with the recent lack of communication from headquarters and believed a top-down attitude was beginning to strip ranks and members. When the votes were tallied, Faville was a distant third. Marlin outscored Schwitz, but neither won a majority. The voters faced a different choice. Schwitz had a strong record of employment relations, running the national office during McNally's absence and ensuring continuity at headquarters. Marlin was part of the youngest generation of contract controllers in the past decade, one who embraced open communication and sought to advance union goals by influencing Congress and the media. During the second round, Marlin did not campaign and continued to focus on recertification at the center to keep in touch with rural life, a decision he now calls foolish. In fact, his initial lead of 458 votes was cut to just sixteen votes in the second round. The ballots were tabulated in a conference room on the first floor of the main office using a banknote counter, and workers performed several counts to confirm the results. Ruth Marlin: After attending Union Lobbying Week in 1994, she became a strong advocate for maintaining close ties with legislators in Congress. / NATCA Archives August FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for 263 FAA employees in the Airports Division and airport district offices. September 8. FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for 13 FAA employees in the Airworthiness Program Branch.

218214 Against the Wind When Marlin took her seat on the National Executive Committee (and also began posting weekly Web updates), she was joined by Carol Branaman, the newly elected vice president of the Northwest Mountain Region. It was the first time in NATCA history to have women on its board of directors. While Branaman is happy with that union leadership representation, he says that wasn't why he campaigned for the position. There comes a point when an organization has to decide that it is first and foremost a union, wants to be a union, and not a loose group of regions going their separate ways. Branaman was a trade unionist for most of his adult life. She was hired by the FAA at Daytona Beach Tower/TRACON in 1975 and later became a representative of PATCO facilities. As one of the first women in the tower, she faced unique and often minor problems. There comes a point when an organization has to decide that it is first and foremost a union, wants to be a union, and not a loose group of regions going their separate ways. The manager's daughter accompanied Branaman to lunch on his first day on the job because, the young woman explained, her father didn't know what to do with his new employee. When Branaman cleared pilots, he often endured long silences before hearing an incredulous reply: Is this a girl who talks? Branaman was transferred to Denver's Centennial Tower in May 1981 after deciding not to go on strike, a decision motivated by his perception that the impending strike was more about leadership than membership. Although he was not involved in organizing NATCA, he joined the union after being certified and eventually became a representative of the facility. He also worked on several projects, including FAA reform and the 1998 contract team, before running for the National Executive Committee in his campaign Denver Center Facilities Representative Chris Monaldi recalls an evening at Branaman's Carol Branaman, Vice President , Northwest Highlands Sep. The FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for 532 FAA employees in the Aircraft Certification Service. September 17 Approximately 260 participants attend NATCA in Washington. Member financial contributions during the week pushed the union's PAC over the $1 million mark for the first time.

219Chapter 6: Spread Wings Fifth National Board of Directors In 2000, four new faces joined the Board of Directors: Alaska: Anchorage Center incumbent Ricky Thompson easily defeated Doug Holland to win his second term. Holland worked at TRACON in Chicago, and his candidacy involved an interesting inconsistency in the union's bylaws. Candidates may run for vice president in regions other than those in which they work; however, controllers can only vote in their own region. Middle: Kansas City Center's John Tune defeated St. Louis reigning Bill Ott TRACON. East: Incumbent Joe Fruscella of New York's TRACON ran unopposed for his third term. Great Lakes: In his second campaign for the office, Deputy Regional Vice President Pat Forrey of the NATCA Archives in Cleveland Current leadership: NATCA's fifth National Executive Council includes, from left to right: John Tune; Central; Jim D Agathi; engineers and architects; President John Carr; Rodney Turner, Southerner; carol branaman; northwest mountain; Mark Pallone, southwest; Pat Forrey, Great Lakes; Mike Blake, New England; Kevin McGrath, Western Pacific; Ricky Thompson, from Alaska; executive vice president Ruth Marlin; and Joe Fruscella, from the East. Center defeated Kevin Christy of Chicago Center. New England: Boston Center incumbent Mike Blake ran unopposed for his second term. Northwest Mountain: Denver Centennial Tower's Carol Branaman defeated Seattle TRA-CON's Mike Motta. South: Nashville Metro Tower/TRACON incumbent Rodney Turner won a second term by beating Miami Tower's 1998 team member Andy Cantwell. Southwest: Eric Owens of Houston TRACON defeated incumbent Mark Pallone of Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON, but neither received a majority. Dennis McGee of DFW Tower also ran, receiving 19.5 percent of the vote. In the second round, Pallone retained his seat for a second term. Western Pacific: Southern California's Kevin McGrath of TRACON defeated Oakland Center's incumbent Gus Guerra, making the region the only region to elect a new vice president in each of NATCA's five national elections.

220216 Tegen de wind Verkiezingsresultaten 2000 President John Carr Great Lakes Cleveland TRACON 4, Joseph M. Bellino Great Lakes Chicago TRACON 1, F. Lee Riley Southern Atlanta Center 1, Executive Vice President Stempercentage Ruth Marlin Southern Miami Center 3000. , Randy Schwitz / titel South Atlanta Center 2, , Will Faville Jr. Great Lakes Muskegon Twr./TRACON Gestegen stemmen Gestegen percentage Regionale vice-presidenten Ricky Thompson uit Alaska / gevestigde exploitant. Anchorage Center Doug Holland Chicago Center Central John Tune Kansas City Center Louis TRACON East Joe Fruscella / huidig ​​New York TRACON Great Lakes Pat Forrey Cleveland Center Kevin Christy Chicago Center New England Mike Blake / huidig ​​Boston Center Northwest Mountain Carol Branaman Denver Centennial Tower Mike Motta Seattle TRACON xx

221Chapter 6: Spread the Wings 217 votes Percentage South Rodney Turner / Incumbent Nashville Metro Twr./TRA Andy Cantwell Miami Tower Southwest Mark Pallone / Incumbent DFW TRACON Eric Owens Houston TRACON Dennis McGee DFW Tower Western Pacific Kevin McGrath Southern California TRACON Gus Guerra / incumbent Oakland Center Tony Yushinsky Tucson TRACON Howie Raffles John Wayne Tower Runoff Vote Percentage of Runoff Engineers and Architects (1999 Special Election) Jim D Agati Great Lakes Pete Healy Southwest James Ajax Kidd Washington Center Engineers and Architects (2000 Regular Election) Jim D Agati / carrier to the Great Lakes

222Ruth Marlin ATC Facilities C u r i n te : NE P r e v i o s : ZMA National Office Center Previous NATCA Positions / Achievements President Nat l. Foot. Com., Southern leg. Com.; portion of South Florida. tail; cooperation with the FAA; received a BA and MA from the George Meany Campus. Hired December Executive Vice President 2000 Today Peter Cutts Company Initials: SL Hometown: Joppatowne, Maryland Spouse/Children: Scott/Sean Other Hobbies: Hiking the Grand Canyon Interests: Skiing, Arts, Entertainment Ruth Marlin began working in the profession of air traffic control by accident, but quickly developed a passion for NATCA and a vision to increase the union's influence. While selling ads for the Yellow Pages in Deerfield Beach, Florida, he heard a radio commercial about the FAA driver's license test and took the test on Saturday morning because he had nothing better to do. When the agency hired her eleven months later, she was working in a chiropractor's office and maintaining a computer network at a venture capital firm. While I wasn't excited about the prospect of living in Oklahoma City during practice, I had a great time at the academy, says Marlin, and soon discovered the exciting challenge of his new career. After registering with Miami Center, she began lobbying to join the local union and became treasurer (later elected to two terms). The institution's representative at the time, Tim Leonard, encouraged Marlin's activism and was assigned to attend Lobby Week. Those four days in Washington in 1994 changed his life at NATCA. It was amazing. There were three hundred people, she says. It was that big NATCA love. The contact with so many activists who shared the same interests energized her. Among the participants was Trish Gilbert, a former representative of the Houston Center facilities who regarded Marlin as an idol because she had clearly earned the respect of her colleagues with her natural leadership style. Returning to Miami with a heightened sense of political awareness, Marlin became the center's first legislative representative and helped found the South Florida Legislative Committee to lobby to keep the 5 percent operating differential paid to drivers. Like other legislative activists, Marlin saw Congress as a necessary ally, if not more than the FAA. To educate members about this, he led a philosophical shift during Lobby Week, an annual $200,000 event, toward a more educational orientation rather than a one-topic focus. It's an open door, says Marlin. Face rap training is for face rap. Conventions are for delegates. But Lobby Week is for anyone who wants to come and learn. The evolution of Washington's renowned NATCA occurred during Marlin's tenure as chair of the National Legislative Committee, an experience that paved the way for her selection as Executive Vice President of the Year. Her work in the legislative arena was praised by many members. One of the fondest compliments he received a few years ago was from Trish Gilbert, who told Marlin that she was her idol.

223Chapter 6: Spread Your Wings 219 showed an interest in running. It immediately hit me, he says. I thought the union should be more committed to women and minorities. This was just a middle-aged white men's organization. We needed a different perspective at the table. Branaman, whom some colleagues called a visionary, wrote an article proposing the adoption of professional standards. The theory is that peer review is much more efficient than the top-down hierarchy we have, he says. You have to function in teams, teams that care about each other and are responsible for each other. Some see merit in the proposal, but Branaman believes it was submitted too early: it leads the union into a gray area. People feel uncomfortable. But that's where we're going, where we need to go. Former Southwest Regional Representative Ed Mullin, an early proponent of professional standards, agrees. We've never been good at looking inwards. It's easier to blame the agency, he says. If we are professionals at it, we have to deal with it. It's arrogant and stupid to ignore it. 1. Sharn, Lori Air controllers have a persistent problem. USA today. On April 13, the Final Edition TCAS installation must be suspended indefinitely until the system errors are fixed. NATCA Newsletter. October Unnecessary altitude deviations due to increase in TCAS, causing chaos in the air traffic control environment. NATCA Newsletter. February. 4. Weintraub, Richard The FAA supports two major components of a large computing project. The Washington Post. On June 4, the latest edition of NARI receives more than $1 million in grants. Air traffic controller. September. 6. Miller, John M. and Saffle Jr., Charles F The JOVIAL/MIL-STD-1750A IFATCA Integrated Tool Suite 89. NATCA Bulletin. June. 8. Shorrock, Tim Former president of MEBA sentenced to five years in prison. Magazine. The January 30 convention pushes NATCA into the future. Radar contact. October. 10. Ditto. Carol Branaman: Women first served on the union's National Executive Committee in Branaman, comptroller since 1975, was elected vice president of the Northwest Mountain Region. / NATCA Archives October FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating agent for FAA employees in the Alaska region's logistics, finance, and computer support departments.

224Security and business America don't go hand in hand. Former President Michael McNally ATC One: Archie League, the nation's first air traffic controller, began his career in St. Louis around the time of the stock market crash / National Archives

225Chapter 7 The Sky Before Us When Controller Archie League arrived for his day shift at Lambert Field in St. Louis, he didn't hang up. Radio communication with the pilots was halted for another year. The tools of the trade for League, widely regarded as the first air traffic controller in the United States, consisted of red and checkered flags, a deck chair, a writing pad, notes, water, and your lunch. Every morning, the former barn and mechanic loaded his equipment into a cart that he pulled with an umbrella to protect himself from the sun. He then circled the 170-acre dirt airfield, positioned himself at the approaching end of the runway, and waved flags to give oncoming pilots clearance to hold or land. The league was hired by the city of St. Lodewijk. Other major airports followed suit and started hiring controllers as well. However, it was difficult for pilots to see them from above, and it was nearly impossible for controllers to control more than one incoming aircraft at a time. Within a few years, the traffic boom forced drastic changes. Twin-engine Boeing 247D and Douglas DC-2 aircraft flew over Chicago, Cleveland and Newark. An airport official said up to 15 planes regularly circled overhead, all flying blind and trying to stay at various altitudes, some of which were running low on fuel. 1 It happened almost regularly. Local officials were concerned about planes crashing into neighborhoods and imposed flight restrictions at major airports. In response, Congress created the Office of Air Commerce in 1934 to create and manage an air traffic control system. But the Great Depression still gripped the country, and a new agency was able to control the National Archives in Newark: Earl Ward, left, and R.A. Eccles' aircraft tracks in the country's first Airways air traffic control unit at Ward helped develop the ATC concept.

226222 National Archives Against the Wind Privatized ATC: Four airlines operated this first Air Traffic Control Unit at Newark Airport, plus others in Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Oakland for seven months before the Office of Air Commerce took over in July. That's why the Department of Commerce has asked airlines to keep the system running until it takes over. American, Eastern, TWA and United opened the first air traffic control unit at Newark Airport on December 1. Soon after, four airlines opened facilities in Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Oakland, California. Dressed in white shirts and ties, controllers received position reports from air traffic controllers and pushed brass shrimp boats marked with information about each flight through aerial charts to track their progress. They gave approvals to the dispatchers by phone, who relayed them to the pilots via primitive radios. By mid-1936, the Department of Commerce was well enough to take over operations and employ federally authorized inspectors. Many airline employees joined the Office of Air Commerce to continue working at the renamed Airways Traffic Control Stations. Aside from a few very small city towers operated by private companies, air traffic control has remained the purview of the federal government for nearly half a century. After the 1981 strike, the crippled FAA once again turned to the private sector. Struggling to keep the system running with only a quarter of its controller staff, the agency closed eighty small facilities known as Level I VFR towers. Two-thirds of the towers reopened in the fall of 1984 , including nine operated by private companies under FAA contract. The towers ranged from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Laredo, Texas and Pendleton, Oregon. October FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for 22 air traffic controllers in the Hawaiian Department of Defense and the Islands Air Guard. This is the eleventh and final new bargaining unit organized by the union during the calendar year. NATCA now represents 15,000 controllers, 80 percent of whom are union members, and nearly 4,000 other FAA employees, whose membership percentages vary.

227Chapter 7: The Sky Ahead 223 The contract program was expanded to thirty facilities in late 1993, when the FAA announced its intention to privatize the remaining 101 Tier I towers over the next four years. Concerned about the fate of about 1,150 comptrollers, who could be reassigned or simply fired at the bureau's discretion, NATCA sued. The union accused the FAA of failing to follow rules that require state agencies to determine whether FYI Archie League, the nation's first air traffic controller, has finally transitioned to using radios to guide planes. He also earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and flew as a pilot during World War II. In 1937, the League joined the Bureau of Air Commerce, which evolved into the Civil Aeronautics Administration and today's FAA. During his 36-year career, he served as Deputy Administrator for the Central Region, Director for the Southwest Region, and Director of Air Traffic Services at FAA Headquarters before retiring from League. He passed away on October 1 at the age of 79. The services they provide are inherently a governmental or commercial activity prior to the award of the contract. The law allowed private companies to provide commercial services only. At the same time, National Executive Committee member James Ferguson, whose northwestern mountain region will lose most of its towers, volunteered to work with the agency to arrange transfers for affected controllers. Then-President Barry Krasner backed out of his bet and agreed. He believed that outsourcing was entirely within the jurisdiction of the FAA and doubted that NATCA would win its case in court. * While the agency initially claimed it knew best where people were needed, Ferguson successfully argued that it would improve their morale and job performance if employees were given a say in where they moved. Out of those discussions came the direct placement program, which essentially guaranteed Level I controllers the right to move to the highest-density facility of their choice. Krasner viewed the show with mixed feelings. While he would take care of the Tier I controllers, he acknowledged that the guild set a precedent in contract towers. He also knew that some Level II and III air traffic controllers trying to work their way up could become frustrated if they were outclassed by their counterparts in larger facilities. However, given his pessimism about the ongoing legal battle, James Ferguson reluctantly signed on: When the FAA contracted private companies to operate 101 small rigs in the mid-1990s, NATCA's Northwest Mountain Regional Vice President worked with the agency to ensure that affected drivers could be transferred to an institution of their choice. / NATCA Archives * In the eight years since NATCA filed its original lawsuit, as well as a second lawsuit in 1999, the case has remained unsolved after a series of partial union victories and appeals. In February 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cleveland again ordered the FAA to make a last-ditch effort to bring its privatization program into compliance with federal law. December 7. President Clinton signs an executive order requiring the FAA to reorganize its air traffic control operations into a performance-based air transportation organization. He describes such services as inherently governmental. Clinton appoints five board members to serve as oversight committee and orders the hiring of a chief operating officer.

228224 Upwind FYI Until 1998, the FAA rated its towers and TRACONs on a five-level scale based on traffic volume. Level V was reserved for the busiest facilities. Route hubs are ranked on a different three-tier scale, with controllers at the busiest facilities receiving the same pay as those at Tier V and TRACON towers. Tier I VFR (Visual Flight Rules) towers were not equipped with radar and only handled general aviation traffic in fair weather. Under the reclassification plan adopted by the FAA in 1998, all facilities are now classified from ATC-4 to ATC-12 based on traffic volume and operational complexity. Two higher classes ATC-13 and -14 were added to the scale to accommodate future growth. agreement with the FAA to implement the direct employment program. It was a victory for the people. It was a loss for the union, says Krasner, who sees the issue as a major failure of his presidency. To implement the program, a twelve-member Tier I hiring committee was established, consisting equally of FAA executives and union representatives. The agency has given NATCA some leeway by allowing it to recommend each year which facilities will be transferred to private operators. While the program has been hailed as a success by the controllers involved, the overall cost to the union represents what its members call the Wall of Shame. On one side of the large conference room on the fifth floor of NATCA headquarters are the local bylaws for the 101 towers that were once unionized but have since been outsourced. Another thirty-four private towers were Japphire's Wall of Shame: union charters for towers leased to private companies hang in a conference room at NATCA headquarters. The union reorganized thirty-four contract towers. reorganized by NATCA. Unless absolutely necessary, Krasner will not enter the room. I just can't look at it, he says. It eats me alive. One of Krasner's concerns about the direct deployment program came shortly after the remaining towers went private, posing a significant challenge to NATCA's future. In 1998, Congress ordered the FAA to study the feasibility of expansion. The FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative of the FAA's 50 regional and central councils. January 20. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater resigns after a term of office of February 14, 1997.

229Chapter 7: The Sky Ahead 225 are contract program for all non-radar towers, including Level II and III facilities (now classified as ATC-8 and below). There have also been rumors in Congress and in the airline industry about the FAA's divestment of transoceanic flights, a potentially lucrative part of the air transportation system. Meanwhile, a staunch public policy advocate named Robert Poole proposed transferring all air traffic operations to a private entity funded entirely by user fees. Poole, founder of the Reason Foundation think tank, has been advocating for the privatization of many government services for more than two decades. It based its air traffic control model on Nav Canada and similar ATC systems in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. His views gained attention at the turn of the millennium as the air traffic boom led to unprecedented flight delays and Congress grew increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of FAA modernization. Under the current U.S. system, major airports assess landing fees from general aviation airlines and pilots to help pay for operating costs and facility improvements. Money from the passenger tax and fuel tax levied on GA pilots goes to the Airport and Airway Fund, which Congress allocates to the FAA for other capital expenditures. However, one-third of the agency's operating budget ($6.9 billion in fiscal year 2002) comes from general tax revenue. Poole and other advocates argued that a self-financing system would ease the congressional budget struggles that have plagued civil aviation since the Air Commerce Bureau was created nearly seventy years ago. They also argued that it would accelerate the modernization of air traffic control facilities and reduce delays, which had reached a record high of one in four commercial flights by the summer of 2001. Over the years, NATCA has backed two proposals to create a quasi-government agency to manage air traffic control, on the premise that such an agency could free the union from the constraints of the civil service pay system and potentially accelerate Flying Finance : Privatized ATC systems charge user fees. In the United States, landing fees, fuel and ticket taxes, and general tax revenue pay for capital and operating costs. / Brian Fall on January 25. Norman Y. Mineta takes over as Secretary of Transportation. Mineta served for two decades as a Democratic congressman from California and Secretary of the Department of Commerce during the Clinton presidency. In 1997, Mineta chaired the National Civil Aviation Review Commission, which recommended restructuring the FAA into a government-led, performance-based organization.

230226 Against the wind Conclusion: NATCA argues that the pursuit of profit in a privatized air traffic control system competes with safety in terms of sufficient personnel and training. * Despite fifty-seven co-sponsors, Ford's bill never made it to a vote in the Senate. ** The Department of Transportation Trades is an umbrella organization made up of thirty-four AFL-CIO unions representing workers in the airline, rail, transit, trucking, highway, and port industries. Much needed equipment upgrade. The union supported Senator Wendell Ford's bill for an independent FAA in 1988 and worked with the Clinton administration on the USATS plan in mid-1990. *NATCA, however, opposed privatization and further outsourcing. He was also attentive to other suggestions. When the Clinton administration drafted an executive order to create a performance-based organization in late 2000, two top union officials and the executive director of the Department of Transportation Commerce attended a meeting at the White House to ensure that the mandate described air traffic control as an inherent government function. ** Saving jobs was not NATCA's only concern. Many members were concerned about the inevitable trade-off between safety and profit. Bill Blackie Blackmer, the union's former director of safety and technology, says the increased traffic is putting pressure on controllers, whose compliance with safety limits could lead to delays. What scares our people the most is the pressure we would feel in the private world. A measure of that impact and the effect of increased traffic is the number of near misses on the ground, called runway incursions. In the year 2000, a record 431 incidents were reported in the United States, or more than one per day. The National Transportation Safety Board considered the problem so serious that it listed preventing runway entry as one of the most requested safety improvements. While many incidents are relatively minor, the potential for disaster is always there. The worst plane crash in history occurred when two Boeing 747s collided on a mist-shrouded runway in Tenerife in the Canary Islands in 1977, killing 582 people. NATCA feared, rightly so, that a privatized system would create serious staff shortages and compromise safety. The northern neighbor is an example of a privatized model. Nav Canada, a not-for-profit company, paid the Canadian government $1.5 billion to take over the airlines' air traffic control operations, and other customers pay Nav Canada fees for their services. The company estimated that airlines saved more than C$225 million in fiscal year 2000 compared to previous costs under the Canadian aviation tax. 2 Although Nav Canada spent T$500 million on the modernization, the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association claims that part of the savings should have gone towards additional improvements. Other savings have come from Nav Canada since January. NATCA signs two collective bargaining agreements with the FAA representing engineers/architects and traffic management professionals. February 28 An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale severely damaged the control tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Brian Schimpf ignores evacuation orders and lands the twelve remaining arrivals.

231the practice of closely matching traffic patterns with variable shifts of six to eleven hours from day to day to reduce staffing. However, many of the 2,000 drivers complain of chronic fatigue. Former CATCA president Fazal Bhimji said it is not uncommon for many Canadian inspectors to work nine consecutive days with one day off. Extreme variations in shift lengths and start times, as the employer tries to match expected traffic to the workforce, wreaks havoc on our drivers' sleep patterns and their personal lives. Bhimji's successor, President Rob Thurger, notes that the staff shortage is structural: implementation practices show that Nav Canada is staffed for the 90th percentile of demand. Therefore, the demand for the system can be at least ten percent above capacity at any given time. The Boston Center's 3 controllers experienced that equation firsthand in the summer of 2000, when extreme variations in shift lengths and start times wreaked havoc on our controllers' sleep patterns and their personal lives. they asked the Canadian Navy for permission to divert some regional jets north of the New York border to avoid thunderstorms. The Canadians declined the request, citing an insufficient number of flights to justify paying another controller to work overtime. Those already on duty could not handle the overflow, causing flights to be delayed. Bad weather is generally responsible for about 70 percent of traffic delays. Much of the remainder is due to saturated capacity at major airports, where the runways are physically unsuitable for the number of aircraft scheduled to arrive and depart within a given hour. Faced with increasing delays in the late 1990s, Congress and the Air Transport Association became increasingly critical of the FAA and its beleaguered air traffic control system. NATCA President John Carr's statement that delays are on the ground, not in the air, became a rallying cry for the union in 2001, shaping former CATCA president Fazal Bhimji. consolidated facility in Peachtree City, Georgia. The TRACON's Macon and Columbus are expected to move into the building within a year. 14 Approximately 285 participants attend NATCA in Washington.

232228 Against the Wind A Concrete Solution: NATCA President John Carr, Center, and Captain Andy Deane of the Air Force Pilots Association appeared in a 2001 television commercial to convey the message that a lack of runway capacity was causing the flight delays. / NATCA documents part of a public relations campaign that shifted focus from the FAA. For anyone mistakenly under the impression that you can add unlimited demand to a limited system, I have a quick note: You can't, Carr claimed. Fifty miles of concrete poured into twenty-five of the busiest airports would do more for the aviation needs of this country than privatization ever will. In partnership with Hill & Knowlton, a global PR firm, NATCA also produced commercials for CNN's Airport Network and ran print ads in AOPA Pilot, Roll Call and elsewhere to educate the public about privatization and other traffic control issues. The union also made toy Beanie planes called Roger and Journey to hand out to members of Congress during NATCA in Washington. As the union's public relations campaign gained momentum, the ATA, a trade group representing twenty-two domestic airlines and five international airlines, softened its attacks on the FAA and supported NATCA. ATA president Carol Hallett also distanced himself from the union of Poole's privatization proposals, acknowledging the need for infrastructure improvements. We now need to set real and achievable priority goals to quickly address the system's shortcomings, he said. What we don't need is another lengthy debate between academics and theorists about the merits of a private air traffic control system. 4 The September 11 Disaster Rumors of privatization and traffic delays vanished, at least temporarily, in the thick, ominous smoke that rose from the four May 11 plane crashes. FAA selects Lockheed Martin Corporation to upgrade agencies in Anchorage, New York and Oakland. ocean control centers. Lockheed's system, used by private company Airways New Zealand, will eliminate the need for controllers to use slips of paper and track ocean flight with grease pens on Plexiglas charts. Such rudimentary tools have been in use since the 1930s.

233Chapter 7: The Sky Ahead 229 Day broke under clear blue skies along the east coast. By mid-morning, the sun was shining on a country shaken by horrific terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists linked to Saudi exile Osama bin Laden. About 3,000 victims from 80 countries died in the disaster, including Susan Mackay, the wife of the Boston Center's controller. After American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 bound for Los Angeles, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York at 8:46 a.m., some reporters speculated that a serious air traffic control error had been made. Sixteen minutes later, a United Airlines 767 crashed into the South Tower, making it painfully clear that the crashes were no accident. The air traffic controllers had already warned the army that the hijackers had seized two planes. They also broadcast a chilling message from one of the terrorists on American Flight 11 who said, We have several planes. 5 The hijacker thought he was talking to the passengers through the aircraft's loudspeaker. Instead, his words were broadcast over radio frequency, which confirmed to the controllers that something was wrong. But the terrible sequence of events unfolded too quickly for disaster to be avoided. One after another, the planes flew south over the Hudson Valley, reaching their target before two F-15 fighter jets from Otis Air National Guard Base in Falmouth, Massachusetts could intercept them. Engulfed in an inferno raging at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the 110-story Twin Towers collapsed within the next ninety minutes. Shortly before the second tower was hit, Indianapolis Center controllers lost radio contact with the second US plane. Flight 77's radar target for Los Angeles has also disappeared. At 9:24 AM, Danielle O Brien of Dulles TRACON observed an unidentified signal in her range moving rapidly from the southwest into a restricted airspace over the White House and Capitol known as P-56. Flight 77 reappeared. Despite Dulles' dire warnings, the Boeing 757 crashed into the Pentagon before fighter jets from Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia could arrive to stop it. Half an hour later, passengers encountered the hijackers on a United Airlines 757 en route from Newark to San Francisco. In the Aftermath Jane Garvey: FAA Administrator credits the Controller's swift actions to prevent more loss of life after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: It was public service at its finest. / FAA, June 6 The FAA and Boeing's air traffic management unit unveil long-term plans to improve the ATC system. The FAA plan, estimated at $11.5 billion, consists of several projects already in development. Boeing's model relies heavily on satellites to provide navigation and communication services. Boeing's John Hayhurst emphasizes that his company's plan would minimize the need for ground facilities.

234230 Against the Wind Dick Swauger: NATCA's National Technology Coordinator previously assisted the union in its extensive facility and wage reclassification project. / NATCA Archives * The National Airspace System was first closed to commercial and general air traffic on September 10, 1960, when the Department of Defense conducted a six-hour air exercise known as Operation Sky-Shield. During combat, the plane crashed in a field about three miles from the small town of Shanksville in western Pennsylvania. Shortly after the two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the FAA's command center grounded all takeoffs nationwide. As more information came in, it became clear that it was best to ground the remaining 4,500 aircraft as quickly as possible. Transport Secretary Norman Mineta gave the order at 09:45. m., closing the National Airspace System for the second time in history under a modified implementation of a plan known as Security Control of Air Traffic and Navigational Aids, or SCATANA, which was developed in the 1960s to control the air in the event of a nuclear attack. Six controllers returned 700 planes to the ground in the first four minutes, and the rest in another two hours. * FAA Administrator Garvey credits the controller's extraordinary actions for preventing further loss of life. The prevailing view I share is that greater tragedies could have happened had it not been for their good deeds, she says. It was public service at its best. In recognition of the traffic controllers' efforts, Mineta subsequently awarded them a gold medal in 2001 from the Ministry of Transport for outstanding performance. The airspace system was closed to commercial flights for two days. General aviation traffic was grounded for a week and many private jets were grounded for several months due to new restrictions on flying in high-density areas. In the first weeks after the attack, air traffic controllers and pilots had to deal with changes in procedures on an almost daily basis. Ironically, three-quarters of the union's National Executive Committee and factory representatives from five regions gathered in New Orleans for a meeting on 9/11 and spent several frustrating days trying to get home to help controllers on the front lines. NATCA's Critical Incident Stress Management Team was also in action. Specially trained volunteers, who guide their colleagues to help them come to terms with traumatic events, had to do their job. Like many other people in Manhattan, the controllers of the LaGuardia, Newark and Kennedy Towers had to sit in the front row for weeks because of the smoke rising from the gaping hole in the New York City skyline. September Terrorists hijacked four planes in an attack that killed about 3,000 people. The hijackers fly two Boeing 767s into New York's World Trade Center, causing both towers to collapse in the ensuing fire. They fly to the Pentagon on a 757. A 757 crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought the hijackers to prevent further attacks. All air traffic in the United States, except military flights, was grounded for the second time in history.

235Chapter 7: The Sky Ahead 231 Amid calls for increased airport security, President Bush signed legislation to federalize passenger screening, albeit with skepticism. New baggage check rules were also adopted. Although the focus was solely on airports, many air traffic control facilities remained vulnerable. Security usually consisted of little more than a chain link and a guard at the main entrance. NATCA called on the FAA to post armed guards at all control towers and radar facilities, and to redesign employee identification cards to reduce the likelihood of tampering or duplication. Perfection, Nothing Less When the tragic events of 9/11 shook the American airline industry out of its long-standing complacency about safety, NATCA's central argument against privatization that air traffic control is an inherent government function took on a new dimension and reaffirmed the role of controllers in the defense of the Fatherland. But the passionate devotion of NATCA's cadre of activists dealing with security and other issues has remained a constant since the early days of unionization. Much of his dedication stems from the nature of the profession, where perfection is the minimum standard of achievement and a momentary lack of attention can have tragic consequences. Dick Swauger, a PATCO inspector who now works in the union's Security and Technology Department, compares the work to boxing. The only problem is that you never win or lose. You get off it and feel good if you didn't make a mistake, he says. Then you need something else to put that energy into. Many controllers are very happy to do something. Those who turn to activism more often to satisfy their need to work are swept up in a vortex of constant participation. Members of the National Executive Committee and institutional representatives are officially granted time off from the agency to conduct union business. But the evolution of NATCA and its many achievements have also found their way into the hands of countless activists who work in their spare time without financial compensation. Your effort takes its toll. The long journeys were a factor in the segregation that affected nearly all national executive committees, along with activists on the ground. Several longtime regional vice presidents left the board and returned home with children who grew a foot or more during their extended absences. Members of the contracting team and those assigned to Washington for a year or more as liaison and technical representatives are well aware of the personal costs of participating. At home, their husbands bear the greatest burden, whether they like it or not. In May 1986, John Thornton Howie Barte Steve Schneider visited Union Etiquette: NATCA visitors are passionate about their organization. Above: Many members show their loyalty with special tiles. Below: Oakland Center Comptroller Mike Hull, NATCA liaison for the FAA, shows his pride in a more personal way. Courtesy of Mike Hull, September 13. Limited commercial flights continue, but passenger traffic drops drastically. General aviation aircraft are allowed to fly IFR on September 15. VFR flights resume four days later, but restrictions near major airports have left thousands of private jets stranded where they were on the ground when the attacks occurred. All commercial airports are reopening for security reasons except the national ones; limited flights will resume on October 4.

236232 Against the Wind Phil Barbarello: A Pennsylvania police officer surprised a representative of the New York TRACON plant by arresting him during the 1996 session of Congress in Pittsburgh. The officer's brother, the controller, came up with the joke. / NATCA files at his home in rural Rhode Island, and was greeted by an annoyed 10-year-old boy. You took my father, said Susan Barte. Thornton nodded in understanding. My daughter says the same, he replied. Participating is like loving, says Michael Putzier, former vice president of the Central Region. You have to be very careful because it can completely take up all your time. Christine Neumeier, a long-time administrative assistant for the Southwest region office, considers the members to be her children. It's a feeling that explains why she and other dedicated employees often work NATCA jobs well past 5 p.m. The union's continued successes and its necessary participation in decisions affecting the national airspace system continue to draw 5 to 10 percent of its members into the circle of narcotics activism. Helping legions of other people by contributing to the union's political action committee or simply paying dues. The net result can be seen in the benefits of NATCA's agency contract, its significant influence in the industry and on Capitol Hill, its effective dealings with the media, and its recognition by organized workers. Although NATCA is a relatively small union, labor relations director Bob Taylor notes that its voice is strong. We absolutely lead the labor movement in the federal government for all bargaining unit employees and their families, he says. Such a series of victories also has a downside. Many members are concerned about the inevitable severe setback. Sooner or later it will happen and it will be a big shock. I don't think the union is ready for that, says James Ferguson. For now, however, NATCA remains rightfully proud of its achievements and enjoys a level of affiliation with the FAA that has eluded previous generations of auditors and agency managers. Many union members are quick to share the credit. Jane Garvey and her immediate associates are great, said Phil Barbarello, factory representative for New York TRACON. They really changed the way we think about agency. They work together more. And it starts to leak. I don't think there is a way back. Too many people in the general ranks like to work together. From Garvey's perspective, NATCA's leadership played a key role in turning the partnership around in January. FLRA certifies NATCA as the exclusive negotiating representative for 950 FAA personnel support professionals. This is the 20th negotiation unit that NATCA has organized since its inception. May 19 Approximately 275 participants attend NATCA in Washington.

237Chapter 7: The Sky Before 233 Reality. I was very lucky with McNally and Carr. Both are gifted presenters. Both were appropriate for their time, she says. Mike understood the collaboration part and the concepts of productivity and taking more responsibility. As a relationship matures, Garvey notes, each party must rely on the other for support, a concept Carr understood intuitively. He always comes up with an idea to solve a problem. He also praises Carr for her exceptional communication skills. I don't think there's anyone better in Washington to grab the attention of the public, says Garvey. It is electroplating. He says the right thing in the right way. It's very nice to watch. Industry magazine Aviation Daily echoed that sentiment when it named Carr the year's second most influential person in aviation. The honor was given in recognition of the Controller's efforts on 9/11, but also highlighted the great strides NATCA has made since its founding fourteen years ago. years earlier. . Air traffic controllers always have voice guidance on the radio. However, they have struggled for decades to achieve this in the workplace. Today, NATCA and the FAA are seen as partners like never before. But despite the unprecedented changes, realists realize that the process will never be complete. We're not there yet. We're not done yet, says Garvey. It's like any relationship. You have to keep working at it. 1. Komons, an indispensable partner of Nick Aviation, turns 50 years old. US Department of Transportation 2. Flint, Perry A great success. World air traffic. October CATCA says: Privatization is not justified by the example of Nav Canada. Air traffic controller. July August. 4. Archives of the Air Transport Association. Press release March 1 Wald, Matthew and Sack, Kevin We have several planes, the hijacker told the controller. The New York Times. October 16. 6. Schwartz, Stjepan I. This is not evidence. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. November December. 5 September. NATCA is celebrating its ninth biennial convention at the Cleveland Convention Center, hosted by the Sheraton City Center hotel.

238253 Index Index Note Page references in italics refer to information in illustrations or photographs. A AATCC New England, 57, 58 59, 61, 65 Abbott, David C., 110 activism, by NATCA members, Advanced Automation System (AAS) Project, 157, 179, 182 Aero Center card, 39 AFL-CIO accepts NATCA as a direct charter, 8, AFGE/MEBA Article 20 hearing and fight for NATCA Chapter 71 rights, Department of Commerce Transportation, 226 Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), 54 55, 57, 62, Airports Foundation and Airways, 153, 225 Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE), 53 air traffic controllers, 56, 59 Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA), 18 air ARTS air traffic control operations system, 17, 18, 175, 181 center, equipment, 10, 15, 16, 17 late 1950s, modernization , 229 origins, post-strike, Project Beacon, STARS system, 17, 175, 181, Air Traffic Organization, 223 Air Traffic Association (ATA), 24, 228 Region Alaska, 176 Downtown Albuquerque, Allen , Tom , 53 Alsop , Frances, 105, 147 Alternative Dispute Resolution, 117 Alternative Work Schedules (AWS), American Air Traffic Controllers Council (AATCC), 54, 72 logo, 71 American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Organizing Efforts AATCC, 47, 53, 54 , 55, 56 65, 67, 72 opposition to drug testing, 99 American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), 67 American Federation of Teachers (AFT), 67 American Medical Association (AMA), 64 Anchorage International Airport, 53 arbitration , 116, 117 measurement arrival, 34 asbestos removal, 184 Ashwood, Thomas, 64 Atlanta Center, 52 53, 56 57, 175 Atlanta Center local offices, 109 Atlanta TRACON, 184, 227 Atlantic City Tower, 54 Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS) , 17 , 18, 175, 181 automation experts, 56, Aviation Labor Coalition, 157, Aviation Safety Commission, 76, 94 Aviation Safety Reporting System, 21 , 127 B Bailey, F. Lee, 21 , 22 , 23 Baker , Gordon, 121 Bamberger, Richard, 84, 100, 101, 103, 128, 137, 139 Barbarello, Phil, 36, 51, 160, 168, 205, 232 Negotiating Units. see also NATCA negotiating units within aviation medicine, 194 air traffic control specialists, 194 aircraft certification, 194 airport departments, 194 airworthiness engineers, 194 automation specialists, 194 financial and budget analysis, 194 Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, 194 engineers and architects, 180, 185, 194 Engineers (Oklahoma City /Atlantic City), 194 Hawaii Department of Defense, 194 Hawaii National Guard, 194 Division of Logistics, Finance, Accounting Information Services, 194 Notice to Office of Airmen, 194, 196 Regional Office Counsel, 194 private air traffic control specialists, 194 personnel support specialists, 194 traffic management coordinators , 163, 191, 194 Barry Krasner Building, 2, 9, 106, 197 Barte, Howie, 1, 6, 84, 100, 103, 137 and AATCC Logo, 61, 71 Aviation Subcommittee Testimony, 85 Biographical Sketch, 66 AATCC New England Representative Elected, 55 56, 58 and NATCA Certification, 89 and Creation of NATCA, Proposed CEO Model, on Strike Effect on Operations , 33, 34 Bayone, Tom, 192 Bay TRACON, 149 Osos, Ed, Bell, R Steve, 73, 84, 100, 128

239254 Biographical sketch Against the Wind, 104 elected first NATCA president, 95 99, 97, 102 and first contract negotiations with FAA, 124, 125, 126 and John Thornton, 94 joins union movement, in New York TRACON, election, 135 Bellino, Joseph, 100, 103, 113, 114, 137, 138 and Barnstable Tower, 146 Biographical Sketch, 140 Loses 1997 Election, 160 and NATCA Organization, 83 and Pay Show, Candidate for Executive Vice President, Seniority Policy and Weekly paycheck, 147 Bentley, John, 47, 52 Bhimji, Fazal, 227 Blackmer, Bill Blackie, 160, 166, 226 Blake, Mike, 164, 215 Blaylock, Ken, 48 Blittersdorf, Karen, 165 Bolling, Charlie, 47, 52 Bolton , Richard , 102 Bond, Langhorne M., 21, 22, 73 Boston Center, 174, 184, 227 Bottini, Dave, Boughn, Chris, 168 Bradley-Windsor Locks Tower, 54 Branaman, Carol, 95, 142, 159, 168 , , 215 Brandt, Dan, 42, 80, 84, 94, 96, 98, 100, 102, 114, 137, 138 Brawner, James, 137, 139 Breen, James, 95, 100, 103, 137, 139, 152 Bridgeman, Owen, 103, 137, 139, 152, 165 Brissenden, Ken, 143 Brown, David, 84 Brown, Don, 1, 35, 40, 46 Browne, Walter, 97 Buckles, Jim, 136 Building Fund, NATCA, 170 , 194 Bullard, Margaret L., 165 Office of Air Commerce, Burnett, James, 77, 91 Burnley, James H., 101, 111 Busey, James, B., IV, 116, 136 Butterworth, Valerie, and Bob, 200, 201 Byrnes, Barrett, 205 C Calhoon, Jesse, 23 Canada, ATC operations in, Canadian Air Traffic Control Association, Candaele, Kelly, 62 64, 73, 76, 97 Cannon, Cheryl, 108 Cantwell, Andy, 117, 165, 168 , 210 , 215 Card, Andrew H., 137, 142 Carlisle, Don, 128 Carr, John, 44, 115, 118, 163, 168 biographical sketch, 212 and Jane Garvey, 233 joins union effort and safety campaign, 228 and cloth, 165 training, election, Carson, Johnny, 21 Carter, Jimmy, 16 Carter, Randy, 53 Cascio, Paul, 128, 137, 139 Chapter 71 rights issue, 202 Chavez-Thompson, Linda, 157 Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, 191 Chicago Center, 19, 175 Chiles, Lawton, 181 China Lake Naval Weapons Center, 148 Choir Boys, 12, 23, 25 Christy, Kevin, 192, 193, 215 CIP (controller incentive pay), 169 Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), 16 Clementz, Larry, 100, 102 Clendenin, Alan, 175 Clinton, Bill, 145, 158, 171, 223 Coiro, Anthony, 113, 127, 128 Cole, Martin, Command Center, 104 boards. see commissions NATCA Communications Workers of America, 67 Special Aviation Group CompuServe, 121 Computer Message Boards, Conklin, Kenneth, 49 Connor, Mike, 185 Conom, Nick, 36 Contracts. see NATCA FAA contracts; PATCO FAA 1981 contract negotiations contract tower issue, 153, 161, 178, 187, controller incentive pay, 149 convention. see national NATCA conventions Coulter, Mike, 151, 165 Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, 159 Critical Incident Stress Management Team, Crouse, Jack, 43, 47, 52, 57, 70 Cullison, Alexander Doc, 5 6, 27, 76 79 , 80 81, Cunningham, Debbie, 175, 176 D Agati, Jim, 164, 192, 193, 215 D Alessio, Joe, 58 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, 158 Damalas, Al, 53 Data Link, 184 Davies, Scott, 121 bye , Ed, 162 offers, 16, 69, 77 Deane, Andy, 228 DeFries, Clayton E. Gene, 65, 67, 68, 88, 94, Delaney, Dennis, 84, 85, 100, 103 delays, airline, downtown Denver , 35 Denver International Airport, 163 Detling, Chalmer, 165 Direct Access Radar Channel (DARC) systems, 20, 26 Direct Deployment Program, Display System Replacement (DSR) Project, 157, 176, Dole, Elizabeth, 50, 99 Dresden , Tony , 105 dress code, 36 drug test, 72, 99, 100 dues, 87, , Duffy, Henry A., 55, 64 Dunigan, Joe, 84

240255 Index Dupon, Duane, 143 Dyess AFB, 38 E Eads, Gary, 27, 29, 40 Eccles, R.A., 221 Edmunds, Jim, 76 Ehrlichman, John, 23 Elections, see National Elections NATCA Members Emeritus, 95 Engen, Donald D., 55, 57, 67, 69, 70, 90, 91, 95 Engineer-Architect Negotiation Unit, 180, 185, F FAA. see also NATCA FAA Contracts; PATCO FAA contract negotiations in 1981; strike, 1981 controller managers, from 1958, 161 Advanced Automation System (AAS) project, 157, 179, 182 age limits for controllers, 47 Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS), 17, 18, 175, 181 First DARC commissions, 20 Tower Issue Contract, 153, 161, 178, 187, 195, 208, Controller Incentive Payment, 149 Made, 16 Critical Incident Report, 159 Direct Deploy Program, System Replacement (DSR) Display Panels, 157, 176, Facility Security, 42, 231 Facility Advisory Board (FAB), Flow Control 50 Implemented, 27, 32 Free Flight Program, 82 Financing and Privatization, Aviation Reservation System General, 54 Human Relations Council (HRC), 42 Independence Hearings, 99, 107 Jones Committee Reports, 37, 41, 43 NATCA liaison position, , 180 National Airspace Systems Plan, 42 Demonstration project payment, 114, 135, 146 1998 facility reclassification, 224 controller replacement, training and treatment, 5 6, seeks consolidation AATCC Regional Certification Petitions, 57, 58 Terminal Automation Replacement Standard System (STARS), 17, 175, 181, Structured Staffing Program, 45 46, 51 Oversight Culture, FAA Academy, 18, 21, 36, Facility Advisory Boards (FABs), Facility Representative Training and Leadership Course, Fallon, Brian, 120, 174 Habituation Travel Rights, 24, 73, 197 Faville, Will, Jr., 84, 100, 102, 137, 147, 164, 177, 182, 183 Federal Labor Relations Administration (FLRA), 38, 41, 50, 58, 163 Fellows , Mike, 35 Ferguson, James, 149, 152, 164, 185, 186, 202, 223 Fisher, Freddie, 42 Fitas, Dan, 168 Fletcher, Robert, 100, 103 Flow control 50, 27, 32 Ford, Mike, 55 The Forgotten Promise: The Resurgence of Unionism Among Air Traffic Controllers, 79 Forrey, Pat, 147, 151, 152, 199, 215 Frank, Barney, 99 Frascone, Jim, 192 Free Flight Program, 82, 160, 205 Fruscella, Joe, 51, 110, 141, 143, 152, 164, 215 Future Air Navigation System, 168 G Galipault, John, 121 Galloway, Tom, 49 Garvey, Jane, 168, 183 emphasis on collaboration, 160, 161 , 182, credit controller actions on September 11, 2002, Contract Negotiations, 7 8, General Aviation Reservation System, 54 George Meany Center for Labor Studies, 117 Gibbons, Ray, 118, 177 Gilbert, Fred, 19 20, 55, 58, 84, 87 on post-strike controller handling and FAB national meeting, 34, running for NATCA president, 96 99, 98, 102 supports reemployment controller, 74 76, 79 Gilbert, John, Gilbert, Trish, 110, 161 Gisala, Wilma, 109 Goldschmidt, Neil E., 19 Gordon, Richard, Jr., 105, 108, 109, 137, 143, 159 , 194, 199 Green, Dee, 175 Green, Veronica, 118, 119 Green, Jim, 167 Green Book, The, Greer, Phil, 55 Gropper , Donna, 55, 56, 69 Grundmann, Karl, 84, 90, 100, , 137, 139, 153 and dues increases, 198 FAA liaison, 159, running for executive vice president, 96 99 , 97 on controller union leadership, 93 Grundmann , Susan see under Tsui Grundmann, Susan Guensch, Craig , War, Gus, 164, 215

241256 Against the wind H. Haines, Tim, 137, 138, Haldeman, H.R. Bob, 23 Hallett, Carol, 228 Hambrick, Melissa Lee, 165 Hampton University, 127 Air Traffic Center and Tower Employee Handbook, Hanley, Scott, 180 Hanson, Terry, Hartney, Dennis, 153 Hastert, Dennis, 173 Hatfield, Mark, 158 Hays, Jimmy, 22 Healy, Pete, 192, 193, 217 Helms, J. Lynn, 22, 37, 54 Herman, Tony, 78, 168, Hiatt, Jon, 188 Hicks, Joel, 73 74, 108, 182 Hightower , Laura Caroline, 165 Hill & Knowlton, 228 Hinson, David, 145, 176 Hintz, Doug, 192 Hoffman, Bob, 53 Holland, Doug, 121 , 215 Hood, Mark, 165 US House of Representatives See US Congress . Houston Center, 33 Howe, Curt, 192 HR 2663, 146 HR 4003, 75 76, 79 Hull, Mike, 117, 231 Human Relations Councils (HRCs), 42 Humphreys Adell, 92, , 196 biographical sketch, 106 Hurricane Andrew, 178 I IBM 3083-BXI Host Computers, 63, Computers, 16 , 18, 63 RISC-6000 Computers, 157 Immunity Program, Operational Error Reporting, 73, Intentionally Left Blank, 118 International Civil Aviation Organization, 183 International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations ( IFATCA), 8, Irving, Mike Iggy, 120 J Jacksonville Center, 18 Jeffries, Terri, 109 Johanssen, Howard, 72 73, 86 Jones, Gordon P., 100 Jones, Lawrence M., 37 Jones, Rick, 45, 47 Jones Committee Reports, 37, 41, 43 Jordan, Garlon, 192 Joseph, Art, 55, 128 JOVIAL Computer Language, 181 K Kansas City Center, 170 Katz, Deborah Ann, 138 Kaufman, Andy, 182 Keeling, Jay, 143 Keener, Kevin , 207 Keeney, Dan, 68, 72, 84 Keesler Air Force Base, 38 Kelley, Steve, 51, 75 Kennedy, John F., 16, 18 Kerr, George, 13, 25, 51, 53, 55 Kidd, James Ajax, 115 , 116, 121, 164, 166, 217 Kilgallon, Joe, 105, 141, 150 Kirkland, Lane, 37 Kochis, Kim, 61, 71 Koonce, Taylor, 211 Kramer, Lonnie, 128, 143 Krasner, Barry, 100, 102 , 128, 143, 152, 168 Second Term Achievements, 160 Biographical Sketch, 132 Leads Meetings of the Third Convention, 131 and Program for Direct Employment and Dues Increase, Member Emeritus, 95 and IFATCA, 186 Introduces Constitutional Changes to Membership, 94 and Expulsion from MEBA, contract team, contract negotiations, 7 8 , 163 reason for office, 195 organizing in New York TRACON, candidate for president, , 137 , 138 Kremer, Leo, 121 Kuhl, Tim, 121 , 168 Kushner, David, 57, 58, 67 Kutch, Mark, 114, 125 , 126, 128, 138, 143 L Labonte, Bobby, 211 Labor and Management: Partners in Problem Solving, 136. see also Quality Through Partnership (QTP) Landry, Dave, 19, 20, 70, 84 Lane, Sally, 32 Lasker , T. Craig, 142, 152, 165 Laugh, Doug, 122, 123 Lawless, Scott, 84, 100 Lawsuits, 101, 105 League, Archie, 220, 221, 223 Leonard, Tim, 100 , 103, 165 Lewis, Drew , 19, 26, 37, 50 Leiden, John, 7, 22, 86 career highlights, 14 and choristers, 12, 25 PATCO president-elect, lifetime honorary membership, 95 and John Thornton, 48 removed as PATCO President -a and reclassification, 169 and reassignment of fired controllers, 200 and professional retraining, 24 liaison program and technical representative, NATCA , , , 180, 182 life members, honorary, 95 Llafet, Greg, lobbying efforts and programs, NATCA, , 172 , , Lobbying Week, 146, 158, 164, 170, 175, 176, 179 Lockheed Martin Corporation, 228 logo, NATCA, 70, 71, 130

242257 Index Logo Quilt, 92, 107 Lombardi, Bill, Jr., 49 Low Level Wind Shear Warning Systems (LLWAS), 46, 64 M Mackay, Susan, 229 Magnificent Seven, 146 Magnuson, Warren, 16 Maher, Jack, 20 , 21 Majors, Floyd, 192 Maltby, Cam, 151 Marine Engineers Beneficial Association (MEBA) Membership/Indemnification Agreements, 88 89 and Civil Action Law, 101 Final Loan Disbursement, 111, 168 NATCA Discharge, 178, 179, 184, and NATCA Organization , 62, 65, 67, 68, 70 72, 74 and PATCO, 5, 9, 23 training center, 125, 126 Marlin, Ruth, 9, 159, , 213, 215 biographical sketch, 218 Martin, Mike, 192 McArtor, T Allan, 95, 111 McCain, John, McCann, Jim, 84, 97 McDermott, Jerry, McGee, Dennis, 215 McGrath, Kevin, 215 McLauren, Mark, 192 McNally, Michael, 137, 138, 152, 164, 168 evaluates Bell achievements, 136 biographical review, 162 and Chapter 71 fighting for rights, not running for re-election, 209 member emeritus, 95 and Jane Garvey, 160, in New York Center after strike, contract negotiations, 7 8, as QTP national coordinator, 135, 141 and Steve Bell, 75 Meachum, Cathy, 95, Meachum, Darrell, 179, 180, Means, Bruce, 143, 168 media use, NATCA, 175 Metropolitan Controllers Association, 21 Meyer, Greg, 177 Meyer, Robert , 29, 40 Miami Tower, mid-air collisions, 16 Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. see FAA Academy Mineta, Norman, 73 74, 185, 225, 230 minimum safe height warnings, 34 Moen, Kenneth, 103 Molen, Gary, 58, 72, 84, 88, 100, 103, 137, 139, emeritus. , 95 and John Thornton, 94 and NATCA election confirmation, 90 Salt Lake Center host, 61 62, 63 retirement, 149 Molinari, Guy, 67, 69, 76 Monaldi, Chris, Monroney, Mike, 16 Montoya, Ken , 156, , 168 Morin, James, Morris, Ed, 121, 123 Motta, Mike, 143, 215 Mullin, Ed, 84, 100, 103, 137, 139, 153 biographical sketch, 78 and certification selection, 90, 91 emeritus, 95 close Join FAA , 77 A Dues Refund Trust Program, Organizing Efforts, 6 & Salary Increase Negotiations, 168 Southwest Rule (Contingency Fund), 111 & Amendment Wright, Murphy, Bill, 142 Murphy, Doug, 39 N NATCA Approved as Commercial Agent for controllers only, 6, 7 , 86, business units within, , 194, 210, 213, 214, 219, 222, 232 building fund, 170, 194 Chapter 71 issuance of, 202 founder medal, 90 founders, Critical Incident Management Team, dues , 87, , Emeritus members, 95 Employees, 245 Facilities and management training, Election files, 83 MEBA finances and loans, 88, , 123 , 150, 168, 194 health and working conditions, interim articles of association, 85, 87 bridging program and technical representation , , 180, 182 members for life, benefits, 95 programs and lobbying efforts, , 172, , departmental bargaining unit for logistics, finance, accounting, information services, 203 members, see also individual names Membership milestones, 110 , 129 adopted name and logo, 70, 71 national office and staff, 2, 9, , 106, , 202 O.N.E. Dues Back Trust Program, Radar Tower Coalition, 182 regional chapters, 95, 234 security issues and initiatives, age issue, discussions and policies, 144, , 174, 191, 200, Small Region Coalition, 95-96

243258 Against the Wind Southwest Rule (emergency fund), 111 training programs, Wall of Shame, 224 website, 117, 122 NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF), NATCA Committees National Communications Committee, 121, 123 National Legislative Committee, 175 Committee for Political Action, 8 , 120, 176 Reclassification Board (Installation and Payment), 141, , 168, 169, 224 NATCA FAA Contracts 1989, 110, 113, 114, , , 137, , 7 8, , 168 Washington NATCA , 176, 179 , 186 , 213, 227, 232 NATCA Membership Investments Incorporated (NMI), NATCA National Conventions National Convention Body, 235 branch (1986), 81, 84, second (1988), 93 95, 103 third (1990), 205 fourth (1992) ), 138 fifth (1994), 155 sixth (1996), 174 seventh (1998), 191 eighth (2000), 205 ninth (2002), 233 MPs, 94 NATCA national elections 1988, , , , , , , , , , , , , NATCAnet, NATCA Racing, 211 NATCA Shop, NATCAvists, The NATCA Voice, , 174 NATCA (Washington Center), 45 48, 52, 56, 57 National Airport (Washington, D.C.), 28 National Airspace System Plan , 42 National Association of Air Transportation Professionals, (NAATS), 18 19, 157, National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), Local Air Traffic Controller Unions Formed, O Hare Delay and Compensation Plans, National Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI), 171, 185 National Communications Council, 121, 123 National Executive Council (NEB). see also Interim Executive Board first (1988), second (1991), 137 third (1994), fourth (1997), fifth (2000), 215 expansion, 193 family size, 231 first female board member, 214 weighted scale proposals, National Federal Employees Federation, 54 National Legislative Committee, 175 National Maritime Union, 187 Nav Canada, Neumeier, Christine, 109 Newark Airport, 222 Newburn, Ed, 114 New England, organization in, New York Center, 54 New York TRACON, 18 , 50 52, , 141 Night Program at ATC, 67, Nixon, Richard, 23 Noonan, Joseph, 113, 140 O Oakland Center, 19 O Brien, Danielle, 229 O Brien, Dennis, 84 O Brien, Joe , 34, 51, 58, 67, 68, 69, 72, 75, 84 O Hare International Airport, 15, 20 O.N.E. Dues Back Trust Program, Operational Error Detection Patch Software, Operational Error Reporting, 73, 91, Operation Snowman, 20 Osborne, William W., Jr., 94, 99, 128, , 207 Otto, Bill, , 164, 198, 215 Owens, Chuck, 137, 138 Owens, Eric, 168, 215 Owens, Norbert Nobby, 113 P Padgett, Victor, 48 Pallone, Mark, 164, 186, 215 Pappa, Benjamin, Jr., 103 Parrish, Jeff, 119 PATCO. see also 1981 PATCO FAA contract negotiations; strike, 1981 comptroller performance under Leiden, MEBA affiliation, 23 choristers, 12, 23, 25 incorporation, decertification, 29, 38 early negotiated victories, 21 supports Reagan, 16 files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, settlement with FAA-OM, layoff, retaliation, and reassignment, Second Career Retirement Act, 24 delay at O ​​Hare International Airport, 15 PATCO FAA 1981 contract negotiation educational package distributed to members, 13 employment contract with FAA-om expires March 1981, 21 Poli accepts FAA's final contract offer, 24 , 26 representatives withdraw from negotiation sessions, 23 second strike term set, 26 strike and aftermath, strike term set, 23 , 26, 31

244259 Index Payment Demonstration Projects, 114, 135, 146, 149 Pearson, Dave, 84, 100, 102 Peer, William, 13 Peña, Federico F., 143, 177 Perrone, Joseph, 102 Phillips, Rich, 141, 152 , 165 , 193 plane crashes, 1985, 68 69, 130 Planzer, Neil, 178, 179 Poli, Robert E. takes up final contract offer from PATCO and FAA, 24, 26 resigns, 29, 40 sets deadlines, 23 , 26, 31 Politics Action Committee, 8, 120, 176 Poole, Jim, 58, 84, 98, 118, 137, 138, 141, 152, 164, 173 Poole, Robert, 225 Portner, Courtney, 108 Potzger, Richard H., 154 Preston, Wayne , 13 Privatized ATC systems, , 225. see also Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) contractor problem, 41, 72 73, 131, 157, , 192 Professional Controllers Alliance, 55, 76 Project Beacon, 16 18, 18 Interim Executive Committee, 44, 72, 84 Putzier, Michael, 114, 137, 138, 141, 152, 164 Q Quality Through Partnership (QTP), 60, 104, 135, 136, , 162 Quonset TRACON, 35 , 55 R radarscopes, 10 , 15 Radar Tower Coalition, 182 rainy day fund, 78 Ramsden, Jon, 159 Raytheon Company, 20, 64, 175 Reagan, Ronald fires 11,000 controllers on strike, 5, Promises support for PATCO, 16, Withdraws no-fire order for federal labor inspectors, 39 Redeployment Board (benefits and wages), 141, , 168, 169, 224 Reed, Bernie, 137, 143, 145, 148 , 149, 153, 163, 168 reassignment of fired comptroller, 75 76, 79, 145, Reuben , S. Jesse, Rich, Sam, 137, 138, 152 Richards, Thomas C., 142 Raffles, Howie, 167, 217 Riley, Bill, 53, 54, 56-57, 61, 137 Riley, Lee, 36, 52 53, 56 57, 84, 100, 103, 137, 160 Rock, Mike, 21 Rodney Vision, RTCA, Inc., 160 Rucker , Tom, 38, 41 runway incursions, 226 S safety issues and initiatives, , safety statistics, Salt Lake Center, 20, 33, 62, 76 Saludin, John, 102 Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, 211 Sandbach, David, 115, 116 San Juan CERAP, 59 Schimpf, Brian, 226 Schmidt, Sam, 211 Scholarship Program, 165 Scholl, Mark, 164, 173 Schwitz, James R. Randy, 28, 121, 137, 139, 152, 164 attends IFATCA conference, 185 biographical sketch, 190 and purchase of national office building, election, 210, 213 Scott, Mike, 47, 52 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, 226 sector design, 180 Security Control of Air Traffic and Navigational Equipment (SCATANA), 230 age issue, debate and politics, 144, , 174, 191, 200, September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Shandrowsky, Alex, 174 , 187 Shedden, Bill, 153 Sheedy, Michael, Shrimp Boats, 15 The Shroud, 165 Shuler, David, 100, 103 Ill, 21, 22 Simon, Paul, , , , 156, 173 Simpkins, Walt, 70, 72 Singletary, Cary R., 115, 116 Skinner, Samuel, 111, 136 Skirlick, Anthony Skip, 38, 55, 57, Slater, Rodney E., 177, 224 Smith, Brandy L., 165 Southern California TRACON, 134 South Florida Legislative Committee , Southwest Region (NATCA), 102, 109 Southwest Rule (emergency fund), 111 Soviet Union ships/cargo, MEBA longshoremen and 23 Sperry Univac Corporation, 17, 18 Spickler, Ray, 84, 100, 102 , biographical review, 112 passed at third convention, 131 elected first executive vice president, 98, 99 at founding convention, 95 IFATCA meeting, 183 and payshow, 149 1991 reelection bid, 130 sprinters, 27 Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS), 17, 175 , 181, Stephenson, Rob, 143 Stevens, George, 97 strike, 1981 controllers, Stinson, Timothy, 102 Structured Personnel Program,

245260 Headwind 45 46, 51 Success Through Partnership, 113, see also Quality Through Partnership (QTP) Sullivan, Sallie, 132 Sutherland, Chris, 115, 116 Swauger, Richard, 95, 141, 150, 182, 230 Sweeney, John , 158, 189 T Taylor, Quentin, 69 Taylor, Robert D., 95, 114, , 168, 189, 191 Teamsters, 67 Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, 64 September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Texas, 80 Thoman, Ray , 124 , 125, Thomas, Beth, 59 61, 73, 127, 128, 208 biographical sketch, 60 Thomas, Chuck, 59, 61 Thomas, David, 18 Thompson, Bryan, , 119, 121, 123 Thompson, Ricky, 164 , 215 Thornton, John speaks at founding convention, 85 as AFGE organizer, 47 50, 55-56, 67 Barte recommends coordination of NATCA organization under MEBA, 68, 69 biographical sketch, 82 recall of board and election for certification, 44, honorary membership, 94, 95 MEBA terms as executive director, as MEBA organizer, 73 as PATCO president, 49 and reinstatement of dismissed comptrollers, 74, 79 designated role, at second national convention, as senior director of Legislative Affairs, 101, 105, 202 & Wright Amendment Repeal , Thurger, Rob, 227 Tierney, Jerry, 3 5, 182 Timme, Heather, 115, 116 Torchia, Domenic, 19, 29, 40 Traffic Alert/Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), 25, 151 , 177 Training Programs , Trainor, Joe, 159 Transatlantic Flights, 16 Department of Transportation, 230 Department of Transportation Operations, 226 Trigler, Stacy, 156 Trumka, Richard, 157 Tsui Grundmann, Susan, Tune, John, 37 39, 38, 41, 215 Turner, Rodney, 116, 121, , 143, 164, 215 U ULTRA computer language, 181 staff shortages, 30, 69 union lawsuit, 50 US air traffic controller lobby, 57 US air traffic control organization (USATCO), 59 University of Oklahoma, 36 United States Air Traffic Services Corporation (USATS), 153, 156 United States Congress. see also individual members of Congress Air Traffic Controller Incentives and Retention Act, 146 Chapter 71 entitlement question, 202 Civil Service Reform Act, 18 FAA Reauthorization Act, controller stresshearing, 43 House Subcommittee on Aviation, 73 74, 107 H.R. 2663, 146 HR 4003, 75 76, 79 Postal Reorganization Act, 22 Second Career Retirement Act, 24 Senate Subcommittee on Aviation, 85, 99 Wright Amendment, US Postal Service, 22 V Van Houten, Steve, 100, 102 Van Nuys Tower, 150 Vocational Retraining, 24 Volpe, John, 22 W Wagner's Law, 18 Wall of Shame, 224 Ward, Earl, 221 Ward, Mark, 100, 103 Washington Center, 3, 4, 30, 45 48, 52, Washington National Airport, 28 Watson, Larry Bubba, 164 Website, NATCA, 117, 122 Whittaker, Jerry, 152, 154, 164 Wicker, Doug, 183 Williams, Paul, 9, 142, 143 Wilson, Barry, 210 Wind Shear, 46, 64 Woolbright, Rick , 110 World Wide Web, use of, 117, Wright, Dale, 117, 195 Wright, James, 202 Wright Amendment and Yushinsky, Tony, 217

246234 Windward NATCA at a glance All nine regions Washington North Dakota Minnesota New England Maine Oregon Montana Idaho Mountain Northwest Wyoming South Dakota Nebraska Great Lakes Iowa Wisconsin Illinois Michigan Indiana Ohio Pennsylvania New York Eastern Vermont New Hampshire Delaware Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Nevada Western Pacific Utah Colorado Kansas Central Missouri Kentucky West Virginia Virginia Virginia Maryland California Tennessee North Carolina Hawaii Arizona New Mexico Texas Oklahoma Southwest Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi South Alabama Georgia South Carolina Additional information is available on the union's website: Alaska Alaska Notes South region includes St. John and the US Virgin Islands The Western Pacific region includes Kwajalein and the Marshall Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. Florida NATCA 1325 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, D.C. Voice: 202 / Fax: 202 /