Patco Is Alive if Not So Well

In 1981 President Reagan fired virtually all aircraft traffic controllers and banned them from reapplying for controller jobs after their union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association (Patco), convinced them to strike. While nearly 800 Patco controllers have been re-hired since President Clinton lifted the ban in 1993, “thousands” of others have not been hired because of their age, Patco said. So Patco has filed what it hopes will become a class-action age discrimination lawsuit against the FAA. The case is scheduled for trial in a U.S. district court next April 21.