The Air Controllers' Controversy: Lessons from the Patco Strike [Paperback]

Arthur B. Shostak (Author), David Skocik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1986 | ISBN-10: 0898853206 | ISBN-13: 978-0898853209

Identifies the causes and issues of the 1981 Air Traffic Controllers' Strike, and discusses the impact of the mass firings on the controllers.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The 1981 Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organizaton (PATCO) strike, the union's decertification, and the termination of 12,000 controllers were critical events in U.S industrial relations. Shostak has written a history and analysis of PATCO and of the terminated controllers. Skocic, a former controller, contributes "what it was like" chapters, and appendixes include analysis by other academics and detailed leader and member interviews. Most of the book is written in a jaunty and loosely organized style that impairs its analytical bite, but the later chapters and the appendixes are sharply focused. Written from a union perspective, though representing divergent views within the union, the book serves as a complement to the more common analyses from the management perspective. Frieda Shoenberg Rozen, Labor Studies Dept., Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Many trade union members and outside observers alike believe that the defeat of the air traffic controllers' strike in 1981 marked a watershed in the contemporary history of the American labor movement. In this view the decision by President Reagan to fire controllers who did not return to work and the failure of other trade unions to adequately support the strikers prompted many employers to adopt a harder line in relation to organized labor. Plant closings, demands for concessions, and the unilateral abrogation of contracts through bankruptcy declarations represent some of the tangible results of the PATCO debacle. This study offers an inside look at the forces that produced one of the most dramatic labor-management confrontations of the modern era. The transformation of PATCO from a supervisor-dominated association into a militant union of white-collar professionals in the late 1960s and 1970s paralleled the dramatic growth of the nation's air traffic system. As the number of daily flights increased, controllers becarne increasingly resentful of their treatment by their employer, the FAA. Its unwillingness to seriously deal with continuing controller concerns over job stress, retirement plans, and salary inequities, along with PATCO's own organizational problems, made the 1981 strike inevitable. Of particular importance is the book's insight into the behavior and beliefs of PATCO members. The authors lay bare the conflicts experienced by individual controllers as they attempted to balance their responsibilities to the public, their commitment to their country and its laws, and their sense of themselves as highly trained professionals. The study would have profited from additional editing. The opening sections of the narrative do not mesh well and appendices comprise nearly 20% of the text. The heavy reliance on a 1984 survey for examples of the thinking of PATCO members presents a one-sided view of controllers' perceptions of the strike. Even with these limitations this work should be required reading for anyone concerned with the state of collective bargaining in the United States. As the title suggests, there are many lessons to be learned from air traffic controllers' controversy. A failure to heed those lessons can only result in future repetitions of the PATCO conflict. -- From Independent Publisher --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Human Sciences Pr (August 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898853206
• ISBN-13: 978-0898853209
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,179,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Air Controllers' Controversy, May 12, 2000

By 

Bernie Reed (Farmingville, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Air Controllers' Controversy: Lessons from the Patco Strike (Paperback)

As a new union member (1987) in the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) I read this book several times from cover to cover and always found something new. I also had a strong desire to learn about my roots. There are many lessons to be learned and this book is both informative and educational. It is obvious the authors spent a lot of time researching and putting together a great piece of work.

The book covers PATCO from its initial start until the end.

If you are a labor union member or just someone wanting to know about PATCO and its history, I whole heartedly recommend this book.