Terminal Flight: The Air Traffic Controllers' Strike of 1981.

The article focuses on the air traffic controllers' strike of 1981 in the U.S. The union concerned was the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), which, under the abrasive leadership of Robert Poli, had endorsed U.S. President Ronald Reagan candidacy, offended the AFL-CIO leadership, waged its strike with little union help, and was crushed, to judge by the opinion polls, amidst considerable popular acclaim. Reagan's aggressive attitude towards illegal strikes among public employees gave the AFL hard evidence of his intentions towards public sector UrnOris. Such unions were the AFL's most promising recruits, but as PATCO was to find, the ones most hampered by legal restrictions and public hostility when members struck.