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My father was an air traffic controller when the union, PATCO (Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization for those unfamiliar with the acronym), went on strike. It was actually in 1981 when that happened. It was against federal law for air traffic controllers to strike, I think it applied to all "essential services." As I recall, they went on strike not so much over pay but over working conditions. They were using outdated equipment and the job was simply amazingly stressful. By order of President Reagan, they were all fired.
Not only were they fired, they were prohibited from working for the federal government in any capacity. People, like my father, who only had a few years or so left until retirement were essentially screwed. Later, that restriction was eased and they just couldn't work for the FAA again (ultimately even that restriction was removed by President Clinton).
We bought an RV park in eastern Oregon and managed it for a few years but, when we determined that we just couldn't sink enough money into it to really make money owning it, we sold it and got out. We moved to Yakima, WA where my father worked odd jobs around the city, even picking apples with the migrant workers for a time. And yet we never wanted for shelter, clothing, or food, though we did take advantage of the local food bank (and, yes, we ate government cheese).
It wasn't long, however, before my father got a job with Immigration up in Blaine, WA at the border crossing. He lived up there in a small trailer we had while the rest of us stayed in Yakima and we children finished the school year. We then moved to Bellingham where I started college at Western Washington University and my siblings continued public school. Dad put in his remaining time and retired.
And now the interesting part. As you mentioned, the FAA contracts out to private companies to provide ATC service at a lot of smaller airports. Such is the case at Bellingham and Dad got a job there. At this time, the restriction against working for the FAA was still in effect. He worked there for several years and was by far the most experienced controller they had. After all, he had worked at much larger airports like Oakland, Reno, Miramar NAS, and Edwards AFB (he got to watch the shuttle Columbia land for the first time).
I believe he regrets going on strike and wishes he'd crossed the picket lines and kept his job. Even though Reagan fired him, I think he doesn't hold it against him and considers him one of the greatest, if not *the* greatest, president of his lifetime. He had to give up the house, the boat, and the airplanes (yes, plural). He never did regain his dream of airplane ownership (though he did rent while in Bellingham, and did eventually get another boat) and now hopes that I can fulfill that dream now that I'm a private pilot myself.
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