Teamsters Join Forces With PATCO Air Traffic Controllers

Before my current job I thought that unions were solely focused on improving the quality of life for their members. Though this is a worthwhile cause, I have since learned that they often work with employers to improve safety and operations (when the company is willing to listen).

This agreement could potentially go a long way towards improving safety. And hey, it can't hurt having unions work together to improve quality of life. At the very least, they will have a louder voice with politicians.

 

Who the heck does PATCO represent? All FAA controllers are represented by NATCA, and DOD controllers are non-union.

Some private tower somewhere?

 

PATCO is the old controllers union that was dissolved when Regan fired all its members in 1983. The controller union now is NATCA. Must be a mistype.

 

PATCO is the union that represented FAA controllers during the strike of '81. The government decertified them for conducting an illegal strike. PATCO now represents controllers in certain contract control towers, known as "Federal Contract Towers". These are mainly towers that used to be staffed by FAA controllers that the government chose to contract out to private firms for cost savings. The savings usually comes from having one controller on duty when the FAA would have used three. Most of these towers are at GA airports or the airport serving smaller cities with commuter airline service.

I sat at SDM (Brown Field - San Diego) for thirty minutes once waiting for an IFR clearance because the one controller working tower and ground control was totally saturated. At that same airport, two pilots were visiting the tower. The lone controller had a busy pattern and an emergency aircraft. Approach control was calling to coordinate something. The controller asked one of the visitors to grab the phone, tell approach he's buried with an emergency, and he'll call them back.