
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 13, 1993                   TAG: 9308130158
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

FIRED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS MAY APPLY FOR JOBS AGAIN

The Clinton administration announced Thursday that air traffic controllers fired after a 1981 strike can apply for re-employment, but the Federal Aviation Administration said only a handful are likely to become controllers again.

In an action that was largely symbolic, President Clinton ended a ban imposed by then-President Reagan in August 1981 after 11,400 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association walked out nationwide.

Clinton was in Denver when the announcement, which had been expected for some time, was issued in Washington. "The president believes that it is time to put this chapter of labor-management relations behind us," the statement said. "While the administration does not condone illegal job actions in the federal government, reasonable people would agree that after 12 years former air traffic controllers should be able to apply for employment."

The brief statement was signed by Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, Labor Secretary Robert Reich and James King, head of the Office of Personnel Management. The three agencies took part in the decision.

How many former controllers would apply is uncertain, although estimates said as many as 3,000 might do so. However, the FAA said Thursday that only about 200 new controllers will be hired yearly, and the fired controllers will have to compete with other applicants for those jobs. "We now have a fully staffed system and anticipate only a very limited number of controller job openings," said William Pollard, FAA associate administrator for air traffic.

Pena said the decision "sets a new tone for the relationship between between government and labor." Organized labor agreed.

"It is the only fair and appropriate course of action, and it is long overdue," said Jeff Beddow, public affairs director of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, successor of the group whose strike preceded the firings.

The AFL-CIO offered Clinton "special thanks for the vision to right a wrong."

Rep. William Ford, D-Mich., chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, said Reagan's action encouraged private employers to hire replacement workers rather than bargain, and he said he hoped Clinton's action "puts a tombstone on a terrible era in our nation's history." And, Rep. William L. Clay, D-Mo., chairman of the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, said Clinton "has sent an important message regarding the need for conciliatory labor-management relations."

by CNB