On August 5, 1981, President Ronald Reagan begins firing 11,359 air-traffic controllers striking in violation of his order for them to return to work. The executive action, regarded as extreme by many, significantly slowed air travel for months.
Two days earlier, on August 3, almost 13,000 air-traffic controllers went on strike after negotiations with the federal government to raise their pay and shorten their workweek proved fruitless. The controllers complained of difficult working conditions and a lack of recognition of the pressures they face. Across the country, some 7,000 flights were canceled. The same day, President Reagan called the strike illegal and threatened to fire any controller who had not returned to work within 48 hours. Robert Poli, president of the Professional Air-Traffic Controllers Association (PATCO), was found in contempt by a federal judge and ordered to pay $1,000 a day in fines.
On August 5, an angry President Reagan carried out his threat, and the federal government began firing the 11,359 air-traffic controllers who had not returned to work. In addition, he declared a lifetime ban on the rehiring of the strikers by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). On August 17, the FAA began accepting applications for new air-traffic controllers, and on October 22 the Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified PATCO.
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I was around 10 about pre-pubescent when Reagan was elected.
I was around 18 and serving under him in the Army when he left.
It took me a while to figure out he was a pantload.
Sure, Reagan talked big shit during the 1980s, including a return to the Gold standard, but Poppy Bush had the power and was not seriously challenged after Reagan got the .22 caliber message.
The only thing Reagan was good at was doing speeches that explained away billions $$$ in SDI boondoggles and billions $$$ in fake nuke weaponry made out of spare pinball machine parts.
That is my favorite presidential action ever. He wasn’t bluffing.
Waiting for The Donald to start issuing meaningful EOs that signify we’re through screwing around with all the forces that are attacking our country.
Good luck with that.
Agreed, Loop. Rather than let a union hold a critical aspect of a country’s infrastructure and economy hold it hostage and cause gridlock on a massive scale, Reagan basically flipped them a double barreled middle finger and broomed them.
They thought they had leverage.
If I have the facts wrong, then prove it, with supporting evidence, not just a pro-union opinion.
At the local level, I see this playing out for the 2nd time in less than a year, with road construction crews.
They start a project, and before it is finished, go on strike, while major section of 4 lane expressways are down to 2 or 1, with orange cones on half the roads across my State.
Citing: “We’ve been working without a contract since last year…”
It’s a money grab, selectively timed, for when the holders of the public’s purse strings are most at risk, for conceding more benefits as a result of extortion like tactics.
On top of all that, the road construction quality sucks.
Five years from now, the degradation will be so terrible, your services will be required again. Asphalt or cement.
It’s planned obsolescence.
A recurring cost gig, which just guarantees future revenues from taxes for that industry’s survival.
And never, ever, do municipalities think how to stop spending in other wasteful entitlement areas.
It’s always Just Fix The Damn Roads. We will pay for it, by taxing.
Gas tax, license tax. Property tax.
The plundering ways continue.
And so it goes.
For the past 40 plus years I have driven north to visit family in the Northeast. Every year the Interstate highway, I 81, had construction around Scranton, PA. Never ending work in progress. One lane always blocked. Your tax dollars at work.
I got to talk with a man who was an air traffic controller. He retired right before the mass firings. He told me the system was collapsing. Equipment was breaking down and controllers were dealing with close calls on a regular basis. He had a situation where two plane loads of passengers got dangerously close because of system overload. Too many planes coming in at the same time. There were reasons for the strike beyond wages. I would imagine that the stress of getting thousands of people safely off and onto the tarmac every day might push you to the edge.
If I was president I would make it mandatory that all school teachers be armed. If they refuse, then I would fire them.
Yeah, that makes sense. sarc/off.
There are a few damn good teachers who aren’t proficient with firearms. And have no desire to become such.
I’d say if they object to putting a few strategically placed armed school security in, then they are part of the problem and should be dealt with somehow.
But your solution is far fetched and not feasible.
Glad you’re not POTUS.
Reagan paved the way do destroy union labor and secure contracts for millions of blue collar middle class tax paying former union jobs ultimately destroying middle America and now all that were dependent on good wages and benefits from those jobs and taxes from those jobs . Infrastructure collapsing , pensions bankrupt health care out of reach for many .
“BUT” the circle jerk of Wall Street to K-Street to Capitol Street are all doing well as are all the government minions . See how well socialism works for the well connected few as long as they can prolong a parasitic existence !