June 19, 1987: NATCA's BIRTHDAY! The FLRA officially certifies NATCA as a union, the exclusive bargaining representative of FAA air traffic controllers. This comes eight days after 70 percent of controllers who cast ballots (7,494 to 3,275) voted for NATCA representation. More than 80 percent of all controllers voted.
MEBA President Gene DeFries characterizes 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.” He adds that the election is “a turning point and the start of a new trend” for American labor. “It shows what can be done to organize professions.”
National Coordinator John Thornton sets a tone of collaboration: “We are looking for a constructive relationship with the many people in the FAA who understand that the system needs improvement and that a good relationship with NATCA can help improve it. Can we be successful? We feel that we can by being an active participant, not a spectator, in the decision-making process.”
Charter members begin signing Personnel Management Form 1187, which authorizes the FAA to deduct union dues (one percent of step one base pay) and send them to NATCA.
This excerpt from "Against the Wind, The History of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association," by Paul McElroy (Pages 90-91), captures the scene and the mood from the date of the vote, June 11, 1987, through FLRA certification:
"Morning edged into afternoon without a formal lunch break and the stacks on the "yes" table gradually mounted. In time, they dwarfed those on the "no" table. The controllers smiled and nudged each other while the FAA managers grew increasingly subdued. Eighty-four percent of the work force cast ballots. After the last one was counted, the tally stood at 7,494-3,275 -- a margin of 70 percent, exactly as Thornton had predicted.
"Thornton and the board members shook hands, hugged each other, and tried to keep mum about the victory as they shouldered past a thicket of reporters outside the building. The official announcement would be made at MEBA headquarters. But they couldn't contain their ear-to-ear grins and (New England Regional Representative Howie) Barte discreetly gave one reporter a thumbs-up signal.
"Back at MEBA's offices, they joined other controllers who'd been anxiously awaiting the results. DeFries and Thornton each spoke into a forest of microphones to announce the historic news to a mob of reporters and television camera crews. Afterward, controllers, FAA officials, other dignitaries, and journalists milled about a reception on the second floor. The FAA managers wore gold NATCA pins in a show of respect but, privately, they were stunned the union had garnered so much support.
"During the celebration, a member of Congress approached an exhausted (Southwest Regional Representative Ed) Mullin, who was sitting in a corner nursing a drink. "You people have no idea what you did," the politician said. "They never saw this coming." Reflecting on the accomplishment now, Mullin agrees. "To do it after an apocalyptic event but before Reagan left the White House, and during an anti-union decade with Pepsi-generation people was quite astounding," he says.
"The FLRA certified the election results on June 19. Donald Engen, who presided over the FAA throughout NATCA's formation, had announced the previous March that he intended to return to the private sector. Two weeks after certification, he left office. President Reagan and his administration would occupy the White House for another nineteen months. Once again, they had to deal with a labor organization representing air traffic controllers, less than six years after crushing its predecessor."
THIS WEEK IN LABOR HISTORY:
1947: The Congress of Industrial Organizations expels the Fur and Leather Workers Union and the American Communications Association for what it describes as communist activities.
1990: Battle of Century City, as police in Los Angeles attack some 500 janitors and their supporters during a peaceful Service Employees International Union demonstration against cleaning contractor ISS. The event generated public outrage that resulted in recognition of the workers' union and spurred the creation of an annual June 15 Justice for Janitors Day.
