The Nation : Union Targets Controllers

The parent union of the defunct Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) announced plans to organize the nation’s 14,000 controllers, who have been without labor representation since an illegal strike in 1981 in which President Reagan fired more than 11,000 controllers who defied his back-to-work order. Gene DeFries, president of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Assn., AFL-CIO, said in a statement: “In recent months, a considerable number of controllers have asked us to undertake an organizing campaign at this time.” PATCO, which was an autonomous affiliate of the Marine Engineers, was decertified after the 1981 strike against the Federal Aviation Administration.