on 3 august 1981 , 12,500 air traffic controllers , members of the professional air traffic controllers organization ( patco ) , walked Self_motion off their jobs with the federal aviation administration .

these efforts were not particularly well received Receiving because in the 1980 presidential election Choosing , patco refused Agree_or_refuse_to_act to back president jimmy carter , instead endorsing republican party Social_event candidate ronald reagan .