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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1981)
ational THE BATTALION Page 13 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1981 ontrollers coping with strike woes I United Press International Janies Clarry can t afford to fix sCnr, and when he takes his kids I ball game, he buys cheap lak Bob Westra stopped eating It and devotes more time to ibiret-inaking. Jesse Johnson is bliunting and spending his sav- I gs- Marry, Westra and Johnson are idng the 11,400 air traffic con- iflers who walked off their jobs lug. 3 and refused to return, esident Reagan ordered the Bprfll Aviation Agency to fire e«i learly two months later, with ifflieson reduced flights because tlr walkout and a new' legion of (■rollers being trained, the dis- Hged men and women are cop- some better than others. Borne have found new jobs; Brs are still looking. Many have B without a paycheck for about Bays. Some are struggling to ay bills; others say savings and .latires will keep them afloat for Enle longer. ■few privately say they made a Hake by going on strike. Many ■t they aren’t sorry and speak I words of praise for their Tattled union, the Professional ■ rraffic Controllers Or ganiza- ii I think this strike was neces because the vast majority of I controllers couldn’t work ler the existing conditions,” lid Clam', 35, who was an air m roller earning $12,000 a year Tong Island’s MacArthur Air- brt j have no regrets,” he said. But he said he has felt some much more than guiding planes in and out of airports. Westra, 33, who was a control ler at Chicago’s O’Hare Interna tional Airport earning $39,000 a year, is at work in his basement building cabinets. “I’ve gotten into (cabinet making) a little more seriously since the strike began, Westra said. ‘T’ve got to replace a sizable sal ary. I have been talking to a few people about switching careers — some kind of financial job. For many discharged control lers their financial plight has been eased by working spouses. Not so for Johnson. Just five weeks after he went on strike, his wife joined other Philadelphia school teachers who walked off their jobs. “It is especially tight for us right now,” said Johnson, 34, said. “As far as making mortgage and car payments, the Communica tion Workers of America has don ated $1 million for these purposes in emergencies, so no one has yet lost a house or a car. ” Several unions have contri buted money to help the control lers, who had no strike fund of their own and who have been, in most states, denied unemploy ment benefits. Fired controllers may be eligi ble for food stamps, however, de pending on their financial condi tion. “During the past week or so, my funds ran out. I had to get food stamps,” one discharged control ler said. “But I don’t want my name used. I have a son, and he might be teased in school if the other kids knew.” In Atlanta, a discharged con troller now working for a courier service has had second thoughts over his decision to strike. “It’s caused a lot of anguish in families,” said the man, who has three children and also asked not to be identified. “If I had to do it over again, knowing all the anguish, I would probably have stayed (on the job).’’ J. Paige King, president of the PACTO local in Roanoke, Va., doesn’t look back. He said he backs PATCO 100 percent. “They only thing they did was coordinate this thing,” he said. “The desire to strike and im prove our working conditions was very evident throughout the working ranks.” As for what it has accomplished. King said, “If nothing else, the air traffic controller is no longer the hidden, unheard of, invisible sec tor of the aviation industry.” Chris Laskey, 34, a former O’Hare controller said: “We’ve never been gung-ho strike. What we’re gung-ho for is that we want this job changed — fixed — so that people can survive it.” Postage stamps 20 cents Nov. 1 United Press International WASHINGTON — The price of a first class stamp will go to 20 cents on Nov. 1, the U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday. They added that the jump should forestall any further increases for another two years. The move, which is likely to be challenged in court by va rious consumer and user groups, marks the first time the Board of Governors of the ser vice have approved a general increase without going through the independent Postal Rate Commission. Just two weeks ago, the com mission turned down a request from the board for a 20-cent first class stamp. Postmaster General William Bolger said the increase would bring in about $ 1 billion in addi tional revenue and will allow the service the break even for the fiscal year which begins today. H times while he waits to take ■ j 0 ^- \fsr ■ ^ ave a 1^73 Capri whose roof xxcr ■’ sa ' ( l‘ 1* no mu ffl er MSC Hone of the tail lights is broken, mber It [ don’t have the money to two He the repairs. ” Barry recently took his two ■ Hdren to a ball game, he said. P* just go general admission Bts, and there were no souve- H for the kids. I felt really bad. H kids really don’t understand H things are.” Hhecontrollers, who were earn- \ L, l & an avcru K e salary of $33, (XKI a sar, went on strike in demand for Where do Aggies go after YeU Practice? TO A CEPHEID movie: oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo CAMPUS THEATRE 846-6512 Now Showing 7:40 9:50 3d Her pay and improved working 1( j jMlditions. They complained that He-wracking demands of their ■ forced many into early rctire- >-6105 e ‘ lL 5 D niB es * te ^ ea 8 an s vow n °t to -1 fuT bred controllers to be re- - jrrl some hold hope they will their jobs back, eventually, be. 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