Items and Collections

Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO)

The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) was formed in 1968 to represent the interests of federally employed air traffic controllers. Their objectives were to promote the profession; to improve working conditions for air traffic controllers within the United States, its territories, and possessions; and to represent members in dealing with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concerning grievances, personnel policies, and practices. In 1981, though as federal employees it was illegal for them to do so, PATCO members went on strike. Over 11,000 controllers were subsequently dismissed. The collection consists of the records of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization from 1968-1985. They include minutes, resolutions, subject and chronological files, correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, legal files, contracts, press releases, grievances, arbitration, and printed materials. The records reflect the organization's efforts in improving the working conditions of air traffic controllers regarding wages, pension plans, and shorter work hours. The National Historic Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) has awarded a grant in the amount of $90,000.00 to Georgia State University Library to digitize portions of PATCO's records and make them available online. The records are part of Georgia State University Library's Southern Labor Archives. Work on the digitization project is expected to take approximately 20 months; at its completion, all scanned documentation (approximately 179,000 pages of text) will be searchable, for free. All content digitized for this project should be available for searching online by early 2013.