Labor unions are not what they used to be. Not by a long shot. So what happened?

On August 3rd, 1981, the United States of America awoke to a national disruption in the country’s transportation system.

At 7:00 that morning, more than 11,000 of the government’s air traffic controllers went on strike, halting airports across the country. Doing so directly put them at unprecedented odds with the new President, who was in no mood to show any weakness in front of the entire nation. The ensuing showdown came to be a symbolic moment in the United States that has had cascading effects in the decades following, leading Historian Joseph A. McCartin to define the episode as "one of the most important events in late-twentieth-century U.S. labor history."

Ever since the Wright Brothers first set flight in 1903, travel by air became an increasingly used medium of transportation, and the air-transportation system struggled to keep up with a larger public demand.

A lot of this burden was deeply felt by the nation’s Air Traffic Controllers. Being an air traffic controller was often a stressful and lonesome career. Controllers routinely worked six-day weeks, with no consistent shifts. Scheduled days off would often end in being called into work due to understaffing. These conditions led to multiple disasters, including a midair collision in 1956, which led to the Federal Aviation Administration or the FAA, and another in 1960, with 134 casualties, making it the worst air disaster in U.S. History at the time. The stress of the work led to a strong sense of solidarity among the workers, and they decided to organize in efforts for a better life. In 1969, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, or PATCO, was formed as a United States trade union to represent air traffic controllers around the country.

The union quickly made a name for itself with its aggressive tactics and orchestrated demonstrations to protest FAA actions they felt were unfair, such as low wages, long hours, and not enough controllers to do the job.

The method of calling in sick was to circumvent federal law forbidding government employees from going on strike. These methods produced some desired results. It helped the government realize that the air traffic control system was indeed working at capacity, as congress instituted programs that developed more automation systems and began hiring as well as training air traffic controllers at a higher rate, in addition to salary raises. Despite these wins, the economic climate minimized their effect.

When it came time for the presidential election of 1980, PATCO was frustrated with their relationship with President Jimmy Carter.

Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan, although a Republican, was in fact a former Union leader himself, and sought out a political partnership with PATCO by righting a letter to PATCO promising good faith cooperation between the administration and the union.

This won PATCO leaders, and they officially endorsed his campaign on October 23rd. This proved to be the peak of their alliance, as Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in a landslide and the realities of governmental relations set in.

Gear used in this video: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k, Panasonic Gh4, Rode NTG-2 Multi-powered Shotgun Microphone
Software: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects

Instagram: @zackthewilliams

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