FAA Hiring Back Hundreds Of PATCO Controllers, Union Says

http://www.patco81.com/news.htm
FAA Hiring Back Hundreds Of PATCO Controllers, Union Says
Aviation Daily 10/23/2006

Adrian Schofield

FAA in the past few months has begun hiring hundreds of former
controllers who were fired more than 25 years ago by then-President
Ronald Reagan.

Many of the former controllers are still represented by the
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), the union
that locked horns with Reagan. Of the 500 remaining PATCO members,
about half have received offers of employment from FAA recently, PATCO
President Ron Taylor told The DAILY. Almost all of these controllers
have not handled air traffic since 1981 and will have to requalify at
the facility where they'll be working.

The PATCO controllers were originally fired after a long-running
strike, and the newly hired controllers were organized under the
National Air Traffic Controllers Association. The Clinton
Administration authorized FAA to rehire the controllers fired by
Reagan, but until recently only a handful was actually put on the
payroll, Taylor said.

Almost all the PATCO controllers being rehired are over 60, because
the current controller retirement age of 56 doesn't apply to them.
PATCO will still proceed with its suit against FAA alleging age
discrimination. The PATCO controllers will be represented by NATCA in
collective bargaining with FAA, but they are not required to join the
newer union. Taylor himself has received an offer of employment from
FAA to control traffic at the same facility where he was the PATCO
representative until 1981.

Separately, PATCO last week severed its ties with the larger AFL-CIO
and OPEIU unions. In a letter to OPEIU, PATCO said its "goals,
objectives, and future growth...are being suppressed by other unions
within the AFL-CIO." PATCO accuses these other unions -- undoubtedly
referring to NATCA -- of "laying claim to all non-union ATC facilities
throughout the U.S."

PATCO and NATCA are both trying to recruit members in control towers
at smaller airports that are run by private companies under contract
to FAA. Taylor said PATCO is active in about 20 contract


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From Aviation Daily

March15, 2006

PATCO


A U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) judge this week
ruled that controllers fired by President Reagan after the 1981 strike
can proceed with a class action suit against FAA charging that age
discrimination has prevented their rehiring.
The EEOC decision is a major milestone for the Professional Air
Traffic Controllers Organization in its long-running legal battle with
FAA, said PATCO President Ron Taylor. He estimates that 4,000-5,000
PATCO controllers could be covered by the class action, and a
multi-million-dollar damages claim is possible. No court date for the
suit has been set yet, and Taylor said the ball is now in FAA's court
as to how it will proceed.

The judge considered submissions from controllers and FAA, and decided
there was a proper class action. The PATCO claim charges that FAA
discriminated against PATCO members "on the basis of age" when they
applied for FAA controller positions from September 2003 onward.

In the suit, PATCO said FAA has not hired any PATCO controllers since
1999. Other discriminatory practices listed by PATCO include the use
of separate applicant pools, and hiring quotas for PATCO members.
Candidates from each pool were not compared against each other, PATCO
said. -AS