Forty Years Ago This Week: More than 12,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization had just declared a strike. Within hours President Ronald Reagan called the move a “peril to national safety” and threatened severe action, including termination and imprisonment, if they failed to report to work within 48 hours.
PATCO members were seeking a reduction in the 40-hour work week and an increase in their pay ceiling, but Reagan rebuffed, stating that, according to federal law, their strike was clearly illegal.
“They took an oath in writing they would not strike,” Reagan said. “I think it’s not a case of firing. I think they quit.”
But Zelda Bransted, spokesperson for the Colorado AFL-CIO, said she and other Colorado union organizations were questioning Reagan’s reaction to the strike and said that government employees should have the right to strike because they did not have any other bargaining means.
“We have rapists and murderers on the streets who only get a slap on the hand,” Bransted said. “Here we have people fighting for the basic principles and freedoms upon which this nation was founded and they are thrown in jail.”
Steve Bieringer, AFL-CIO regional representative, accused the Reagan administration of union-busting.
“It’s not a reaction of one to solve the problems that do exist,” Bieringer said. “All working people should have the right to refuse their service … it’s a basic human right.
Arthur R. Martin Jr., national representative for Clerk Craft, a division of the American Postal Workers Union, which had also threatened a similar strike action, concurred that the Reagan administration had overreacted.
“There could have been more compromise, more good faith bargaining,” Martin said. “Without the right to strike, government employees have no teeth. If we can’t work under the conditions we should be able to refuse to work. Every other worker is allowed to strike. The federal employee is not a second-class citizen.”
But Martin did agree that the strike, which had the profound inconvenience of slowing down air traffic, was creating a bad image for the union.
“Most people only look at the money issue and think we’re greedy,” Martin said. “They don’t look at the real issue or the stress of the job. They take us for granted. We try to give a service to the country and are looked upon as fat cats.”
As the strike drug on, supervisors and military controllers were being called upon to land planes.
“The supervisors have not been in the position for a while and the military controllers do not put a plane down every 60 seconds as is often demanded in control towers,” said Bransted.
Fast forward to Aug. 12, 1993: President Clinton ended a prohibition on rehiring any air-traffic controller that had participated in the strike.
Twenty Years Ago: State Senate President Stan Matsunaka, D-Loveland, told The Colorado Statesman that he planned to officially announce the formation of an exploratory committee to run for governor before the end of August.
Matsunaka said that he was viewed by many in the Democratic Party as the best candidate to challenge Republican Gov. Bill Owens.
“I’ll have another political announcement after the special session ends,” Matsunaka said, “which I hope will be on Oct. 5. I’m 95% sure that the other announcement will be for my candidacy for governor, that’s where I’m headed.”
Matsunaka also clarified rumors that he’d already held fundraisers for a gubernatorial campaign.
“Those have all been for the Democratic Senate Campaign Fund and my state Senate colleagues.”
Rachael Wright is the author of the Captain Savva Mystery series, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and The Gazette.
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