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The evolution of the NATCA logo from the AATCC organizing effort to NATCA name we all know today. The left image is Barte’s first AATCC logo. The middle image is a cleaned up version a commerical artists assisted Barte with. The last image is the NATCA logo as it exists today after a MEBA-affiliated artist switched out AATCC for NATCA after MEBA agreed to fund the young union.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan took office as President and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike, two events that set into motion a new age for organized labor in aviation. Frustrated with the status quo, PATCO members demanded better working conditions, better pay, and a 32-hour workweek. Three hours before the proposed strike, the Reagan administration opposed any further concessions to air traffic controllers, forcing PATCO to vote on whether to strike. They narrowly met the strike authorization point, with 80.5 percent of the membership voting in favor.

The story of NATCA began long before the Union’s 1987 election and Federal Labor Relations Authority certification. It began with NATCA’s founding father, John F. Thornton, a gifted and influential leader whose passion for representing the interests of the nation’s air traffic controllers began with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), and continued as a national organizer of NATCA.

“He gave this union the foundation on which to build, and he set the tone that NATCA was a different union with different goals,” said NATCA President Paul Rinaldi. “Without John Thornton, NATCA may never have existed.”

Thirty years of incredible accomplishments, meeting challenges with a collective strength, energy and passion, and building the unity and solidarity of our great Union to best represent the greatest workforce of aviation safety professionals in the […]

Department of Labor Information Websites: OWCP Physicians ListU.S. Department of Labor (DOL)U.S. DOL Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation (DFEC)Fact Sheet ESA 91-18OWCP Approval/Authorization SiteFed Workers Comp.netNATCA Critical Incident Stress ManagementDisability Retirement LawDOL Information for Medical ProvidersCode […]