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Reference.org
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)
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<p>The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) was a <a href="/facts/Labor_unions_in_the_United_States/FHruckNo">United States trade union</a> of <a href="/facts/Air_traffic_controller/HmzpS6qu">air traffic controllers</a> that operated from 1968 until its <a href="/facts/Decertification/Gg2fhCHM">decertification</a> in 1981 following <a href="/facts/1981_Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_strike/MYuBtfby">an illegal strike</a> broken by the <a href="/facts/Presidency_of_Ronald_Reagan/8kKVR2pA">Reagan administration</a>; in striking, the union violated 5 U.S.C. (Supp. III 1956) 118p (now <a href="/facts/Title_5_of_the_United_States_Code/gPXzsDyD">5 U.S.C.</a> <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/7311">§ 7311</a>), which prohibits strikes by federal government employees. </p>