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Ronald Reagan named to Labor Department Hall of Honor

Cigar

Cigar

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Ronald Reagan, a one-time Hollywood union leader who as U.S. president fired 11,000 air traffic controllers and crushed their union, will be inducted into the Labor Department's Labor Hall of Honor.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announced Reagan's forthcoming induction at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Thursday.

"Well before he led this nation, Ronald Reagan led the Screen Actors Guild during its first three strikes," Acosta said in a statement. "As president of the Screen Actors Guild, President Reagan negotiated never-before-seen concessions for SAG members, which included residual payments and health and pension benefits. As president of this nation, Ronald Reagan continued to recognize the contributions of unions to a free society. His support for Solidarity in Poland prompted a flourishing of freedom that ultimately led to the collapse of Communism."

Acosta made no mention of Reagan's firing of the 11,000 striking air traffic controllers, who were banned for life from those jobs, or the decertification of their union.


A new union was formed years later.

Read more: Ronald Reagan named to Labor Department Hall of Honor | masslive.com
 
If it were just for his time as an actor it might make sense. But the citation also mentions his time as POTUS which means you can't just ignore the air traffic control ordeal.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
If it were just for his time as an actor it might make sense. But the citation also mentions his time as POTUS which means you can't just ignore the air traffic control ordeal.
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:shrug: They were striking illegally, and each air traffic controller swore not to strike when accepting the job. Their strike put the entire air traffic system in the United States in jeopardy, which was a serious, serious danger.

Just because a union is involved, it doesn't mean the union is right.

Also, there's a significant difference between private unions and public employee unions. Even FDR didn't believe in public employee unions.
 
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Harshaw said:
:shrug: They were striking illegally, and each air traffic controller took an oath not to strike when accepting the job. Their strike put the entire air traffic system in the United States in jeopardy, which was a serious, serious danger.

Just because a union is involved, it doesn't mean the union is right.

Also, there's a significant difference between private unions and public employee unions. Even FDR didn't believe in public employee unions.
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I'm not justifying the strike. But it is contentious enough to make this award controversial. Not that I had even heard of it until this thread. :)
 
Skeptic Bob said:
I'm not justifying the strike. But it is contentious enough to make this award controversial. Not that I had even heard of it until this thread. :)
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I don't think it's incongruous.

But I love how "MassLive" doesn't know the difference between news and editorial, considering the lede:

Ronald Reagan, a one-time Hollywood union leader who as U.S. president fired 11,000 air traffic controllers and crushed their union, will be inducted into the Labor Department's Labor Hall of Honor.
Click to expand...
 
Cigar said:
Ronald Reagan, a one-time Hollywood union leader who as U.S. president fired 11,000 air traffic controllers and crushed their union, will be inducted into the Labor Department's Labor Hall of Honor.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announced Reagan's forthcoming induction at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Thursday.

"Well before he led this nation, Ronald Reagan led the Screen Actors Guild during its first three strikes," Acosta said in a statement. "As president of the Screen Actors Guild, President Reagan negotiated never-before-seen concessions for SAG members, which included residual payments and health and pension benefits. As president of this nation, Ronald Reagan continued to recognize the contributions of unions to a free society. His support for Solidarity in Poland prompted a flourishing of freedom that ultimately led to the collapse of Communism."

Acosta made no mention of Reagan's firing of the 11,000 striking air traffic controllers, who were banned for life from those jobs, or the decertification of their union.


A new union was formed years later.

Read more: Ronald Reagan named to Labor Department Hall of Honor | masslive.com
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He had every flipping reason to fire them !

First, Reagan offered them a double digit pay increase, 11 percent but PATCO wanted a 100 percent pay increase that would have cost tax payers 700 million dollars.

Next, it was a ILLEGAL strike. So a Public sector Union was willing to cripple the economy and risk public safety and would only relent if the tax payer doubled their pay ?

Screw em
 
This is simply a right wing President and his toadies giving a big middle finger to organized labor.
 
I see no controversy here.

The award is fine.

as for the air traffic controlers. he attempted multiple times to work it out. they refused to do it and then they refused a presidential order and i think even a court order to
return to work. They were putting the nation and public at risk.

So he did what any reasonable employer would do and fired them. Let their union reps explain to their families where their next check was going to come from.
 
haymarket said:
This is simply a right wing President and his toadies giving a big middle finger to organized labor.
Click to expand...

More like a public sector union trying to give the middle finger to the tax payer.

What did they expect ? They demanded a 100 perent wage increase and the strike was illegal.
 
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