Historical Committee

The NATCA Insider E-Newsletter Published every other week. CURRENT ISSUE: April 5, 2019 ARCHIVE OF RECENT ISSUES:   April 5, 2019 March 21, 2019 March 8, 2019 February 22, 2019 February 2, 2019 December 20, 2018 […]

In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued a presidential proclamation designating the anniversary of Orville Wright’s Aug. 19, 1871 birthday as National Aviation Day. This weekend, National Aviation Day continues this tradition and celebrates aviation in […]

Brothers and Sisters, Thirty-six years ago, our union brothers and sisters took a remarkably brave and honorable stand for our profession and the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS). On Aug. 3, 1981, after 95 […]

WASHINGTON – NATCA President Paul Rinaldi and Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert issued a statement reflecting on the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike, which began on this date 36 years ago. Nearly 13,000 controllers […]

Former NATCA President John Carr grew up in the Washington, D.C. area delivering The Washington Post as a paper boy. He then spent four years as a Navy controller in Corpus Christi, Texas, and aboard the USS Eisenhower, including a 152-day deployment at sea without a port call — a record that stood for 22 years. He turned down a job offer from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a few days after the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike, but reconsidered when his brother counseled him on his career options.

In mid-November 1995, Congress passed an annual appropriations act for the FAA that required the agency to implement a new personnel system and procurement procedures by April 1, 1996. In doing so, Congress exempted the FAA from a majority of the regulations contained in Title 5 of the United States Code. As a result, in addition to other potential changes, the agency could legally negotiate pay for the first time.