1981 dramatically altered the arc of American organized labor in America alongside my own life. I had been out of the Air Force for a couple of years, attending community college through the GI Bill when I got my first gig as an air traffic controller. With a new family to provide for, I was looking forward to my new career and the opportunities it promised. So, I packed my bags and headed for the air traffic controller school in Norman, Oklahoma. After several months of work, I graduated and started my new adventure. Who knew that my new career would lead to a complete transformation of organized labor in America? That was the summer Ronald Reagan fired me for being in a union.
I've been an active union supporter for most of my life. I know the power that comes with unions, and how important state legislation can be to both workers and bosses. I was thrilled when I got my first job as a controller. Our union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), helped us gain many changes in our working environment: eliminating mandatory overtime, a grievance process, and good pay. After working there for a couple of years, it was apparent that our union had its unique problems - being a government employee union, we were limited in the scope of what our union could accomplish.
In the summer of 1981, we were deadlocked in negotiations for safer working conditions and higher pay. A controller's job is tough, and not having fully alert controllers in the tower could spell disaster for flights. We thought the federal government would understand this, but negotiations continued to stall.
So all 12,000 of us went on strike.
PATCO had endorsed Ronald Reagan for President of the United States the year prior, and he had promised them that he would have the back of air traffic controllers. However, when we went on strike, President Reagan ordered its end or threatened to fire us all. About 1,300 of my colleagues returned to work on the day of Reagan’s ultimatum. However, my union brothers and I decided to refuse to return to work. Instead of being supported and working with our union, The President of the United States unilaterally fired 11,000 other air traffic controllers and me and banned us from federal service for the rest of our lives.
Reagan’s actions ushered in a renewed era of union-busting as he continued to support individuals and policies that undermined the right to organize. But the labor movement, like I, refused to back down. I went to college on the GI Bill, got my bachelor's degrees in Economics and Computer Science, started a family, and got involved in my community. I coached Little League, joined our HOA’s Board, and spoke out on critical issues for my neighbors and me. Then, when a problem was too big to tackle alone, I turned to my local representative, Supervisor Mark Herring, who encouraged me to run for Town Council.
I laced up shoes, hit the doors, and met people where they were on issues they most cared about. In May 2002, I won my first election handily. Twenty years later, a new challenge awaits me as I run for the Virginia House of Delegates. Virginia has come so far since I moved here in 1993, yet there is so much to be done. When I was on strike with PATCO, I promised myself I would never back down from a fight that needed me and never shy away from the issues that needed to be discussed. I am determined to, as Congressman John Lewis said, “Make Good Trouble.” I intend to keep those promises in the Virginia House of Delegates.
If you’re ready to join me, learn more about our campaign here and chip in to the movement.