Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 08:00:43 -0500
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
From: Candy Madigan <candymadigan at mindspring.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Odd events
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

At 10:36 PM 12/22/2005, you wrote:

>On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 11:55:44 -0500 Gayle Surrette
><davinci at chesapeake.net> writes:
> > I agree with Ted on this.  I had friends who were ATC at the
> > time and the strike wasn't really about wages though that was
> > part of it. It was about safety...
>
>I concede there is another side to the ATC story, and I'm aware that ATC
>equipment infrastructure has been a long-running problem.  Call me
>cynical, but I would think that PATCO was striking in their own interest,
>as opposed to the public interest, knowing the strike would disrupt air
>transportation and cause economic damage way out of scale with the stakes
>at direct issue.  I would suppose that essential public employees such as
>air traffic controllers would have to sign a no strike contract to obtain
>employment in the first place.

Oh, I'm sure it was in their own interests.  They were in an extremely
high-stress job that was causing stress related health problems for the
employees.  The fact that it was also a safety issue was just a convenient
side effect.  What they were really after was more ATCs so that they could
work less hours so that they could function both on and off the job.  But
of course, they didn't want to lose pay and benefits, so the money issue
came up.

Candy
(301)345-6635