In 1981 U.S. President Ronald Reagan met with the huge problem of a series of strikes, the first intermittent, or so-called "mating", and then continue, the "air traffic controllers."
After months of negotiations without any agreement being reached and the hearing that the strike continued, causing millions in losses to the Companies air and blocking the traffic of passengers and goods, the U.S. administration took several steps: the first was " dismiss" the 12,172 air traffic controllers who refused to enter the work force, over 95% of the group, second call and " contract" to 9,000 drivers, while taking the title, did not exercise due to lack of vacancies, third, " move" some 1,000 drivers side to the main airports, and finally under a law passed by former President Carter, the places there were still covered with "personal military. " It urgently called "new opposition " drivers and immediately began training practice.
The strike was aborted, its instigators ended up in the courts, and union leaders were expelled from these by their peers to have led them to a situation of no return .
course all this was not easy to run and its immediate consequences were the halving of scheduled flights for a month in 22 airports of major cities, the closure of 58 secondary airports and eventual loss of confidence in the security within the U.S. airspace mainly because the military controllers, despite speaking perfect English, did not follow international control procedures.
The situation began to be regularized only after nearly a year of military controllers were being replaced by their civilian counterparts.
In Spain underwent in its early stages and for years the same "blackmail " suffered by the U.S. by air traffic controllers. Can you apply the "Reagan measures" in Spain? The initial response is "NO ." First, because the right to strike is protected by the Constitution for all workers if we except some very specific groups, although in practice only the military had fulfilled ... for now and, second, the Armed Forces (SAF) lack in quantity and drivers quality to take over consoles in the first class civil airports, which hold the contrary is mistaken. In this regard the General Staff of the Air Force and Navy have complained repeatedly to the Ministry of Defence of the lack of such staff but their requests have consistently fallen on deaf ears, the training courses are expensive and if this added that staff can not remain in these positions for a long time due to the screening of his career imposed by law and that their knowledge of English language and wording is very poor civil airport we find that, in short, most of our military controllers are, as the expression goes, " for homespun."
All the above is well aware of the civilian drivers, so have been getting year after year some perks far superior to that of their colleagues in the European Union and any official of the Administration. They know they have the upper hand and if they wanted they could bring down a government. Only if they pass a law that regulated exprofeso right to strike, it could prevent the ongoing " extortion" that subject to the State.
If it does not work we will be in a situation similar to the U.S. but without the ability to answer them. Unfortunately, as in many other matters of vital importance to the country, we have neither a government or a Parliament or to a union, at the height of the circumstances, it is much easier to lift pits Civil War, to allow abort girls aged 16 and protect the rights of chimpanzees.
