Michael J. Rock, 67; 1st CEO of Air Traffic Controllers Union

Michael J. Rock, co-founder and the first chief executive of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, has died. He was 67.

Rock died of cancer April 22 at a hospital in West Islip, N.Y.

A small but powerful union launched in the late 1960s, PATCO was decertified as a bargaining unit after a 1981 strike in which President Reagan fired some 11,700 striking members for refusing to return to work.

“I consider Mike one of the greatest leaders in labor organizations as far as making dramatic changes, especially in the federal sector,” said Ron Taylor, president and CEO of PATCO, which is now a nonprofit organization working for the good and welfare of the former PATCO strikers.

“If it wasn’t for a fighter like Mike, air traffic controllers would still be operating under the military rule of the [Federal Aviation Administration] -- very by the numbers, no give and no take; they were just command and demand,” said Taylor. “By having the organized union, we were able to bargain with the FAA: Make them come to the table and negotiate just grievances, which they were not used to.”

A Bronx native, Rock was trained as an air traffic controller during his three years in the Navy. After his discharge in 1958, he was hired by the U.S. government as an air traffic controller and worked at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, N.Y., and MacArthur Airport on Long Island in New York.

Concerned with the toll the long hours and stress of directing air traffic had on the health of many controllers, Rock and several others decided to create a union to address the safety issues and working conditions of all air traffic controllers.

Rock enlisted the support of famed criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey, as well as TV personality Arthur Godfrey, to help publicize their concerns. Rock also appeared on “The Tonight Show” and the “Huntley-Brinkley Report.”

In 1968, the union representing the Professional Air Traffic Controllers was born and Rock was elected CEO and vice president.

In 1981, when PATCO was negotiating a new contract with the FAA, members voted to strike until their concerns for better medical coverage and working conditions were addressed.

Reagan told the controllers to “work or be fired,” and after 48 hours, about 11,700 of the approximately 13,000 striking controllers who ignored the president’s deadline were fired.

The government banned the striking controllers from ever being re-hired by the FAA, said Taylor. In 1993, President Clinton lifted the ban, and 800 former strikers were eventually hired back, although Taylor said nearly 11,000 have not been rehired and are “still locked out.”

After the strike, Rock helped rebuild the air traffic control system and until his retirement a few years ago was active in legislative issues affecting the health and welfare of controllers as well as being involved with regional and nationwide training.

Rock’s nephew, Michael J. Rock, a Glendale Police Department captain, described his uncle as “one of these colorful guys: He was just a very big, outgoing, flamboyant and kind man.”

Rock is survived by his wife, Joan; a son, Michael J. Rock IV; a daughter, Michelle Salerno; three grandchildren; and a brother, Robert.