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The difference there was that PATCO was a union for government air traffic controllers. Every government employee swears an oath not to strike against the federal government:

https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/sf61.pdf

There were existing laws on the books to remove the striking ATCs.

That’s not the case with the ILA. The most they can do is block strikes for 80 days.




>The difference there was that PATCO was a union for government air traffic controllers.

The Taft-Hartley Act already made it illegal for public sector unions to strike (later replaced by a similar law, the same law from which the SF-61 oath is derived). That same act allows the President to suspend private union strikes, so I don't think there is a fundamental difference. It's been used 37 times since passage. There's even precedent in this specific area: President GW Bush use the Taft-Hartley Act in 2002 for a port dispute.

>The most they can do is block strikes for 80 days

The 80 days is part of the "cooling off" period: 60 initial negotiation days + 15 days of secret voting + 5 days of certification. While the President and courts can't stop a strike after a legal cooling off period, Congress may still have the power to do so. Congress has been given Constitutional authority to intervene is labor disputes that affect inter-state commerce (see the arguments around the recent rail labor dispute). "They" (as in the entire govt) still have cards to play after the cooling off period ends.

Given the historical and legal context, I don't think the OPs assumption that govt is inherently pro-union holds.


You’re right that Congress has the ability to pass new directives that could stop a private strike.

My original comment was assuming that Congress in its current state would be unable to pass such legislation.


I don't think that argument holds water either. Not too long ago, Congress passed legislation to prevent the railroad strike.[1] The fact that it was a bill that didn't capitulate to the union demands also shows the govt isn't inherently pro-union.

[1] https://www.npr.org/2022/12/01/1140123647/rail-strike-bill-s...




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