Stop Union Busting Dump Reagan

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Ronald Reagan’s history with unions is complicated. In 1981, shortly after taking office for his first term, Reagan fired around 12,000 air traffic controllers. The employees were skilled and did not believe that the government would be able to replace them. Reagan found them in violation of a law that bars federal workers from striking, and the government gradually replaced them with retirees and controllers from the military and other sources. Reagan is also accused of appointing anti-union members to the National Labor Relations Board. On the other hand, Regan was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952, and later in 1959.

Whether his actions hastened the decline of unions or signaled the changing times is a matter that historians and commentators still debate. Some historians and other experts contend that corporations were already challenging unions before Reagan’s decision during the PATCO strike, and that union membership had been declining since the 1950s. Others argue that Reagan emboldened efforts to weaken unions.