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Title: Ronald Reagan Called Union Membership ‘One Of The Most Elemental Human Rights’
Source:
Think Progress
URL Source: http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/25/flashback-reagan-union-right/
Published: Feb 25, 2011
Author: Think Progress
Post Date: 2011-02-25 17:34:32 by go65
Keywords: None
Views: 726
Comments: 4
As the Main Street Movement of students, workers, and other middle class Americans erupts across America, many conservatives have invoked the legacy of former president Ronald Reagan to demand that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) not back down from his push to end collective bargaining for his state’s public employees. In a prank call with the Buffalo Beast’s Ian Murphy, where Murphy pretended to be right-wing billionare David Koch, Walker himself even fantasized about being just like Reagan. Yet conservatives may be shocked to learn that their idol Reagan was once a union boss himself. Reagan was the only president in American history to have belonged to a union, the AFL-CIO affiliated Screen Actors Guild. And he even served six terms as president of the organized labor group. Additionally, Reagan was a staunch advocate for the collective bargaining rights of one of the world’s most famous and most influential trade unions, Poland’s Solidarity movement. Founded in September 1980, Solidarity was formed in Soviet-occupied Poland as the USSR’s first free and independent trade union. By 1981, the union had grown to 10 million people and became a powerful force for demanding economic and political reforms within the Soviet Union. Solidarity began to use strikes to demand these reforms, and the Soviets responded by jailing their leaders and cracking down on their right to organize. During his Christmas address to the nation on December 23, 1981, President Reagan condemned the Soviet-backed Polish crackdowns on labor unions, promoting the “basic right of free trade unions and to strike”: [blockquote]REAGAN: The Polish government has trampled underfoot to the UN Charter and Helsinki accords. It has even broken the GdaDsk Agreement of 1980 by which the Polish government recognized the basic right of free trade unions and to strike.[/blockquote] In a radio address given the following October, the former president escalated his rhetoric. Reagan condemned the Polish government’s outlawing of Solidarity, and attacked it for making it “clear they never had any intention of restoring one of the most elemental human rights — the right to belong to a free trade union”: [blockquote]REAGAN: Ever since martial law was brutally imposed last December, Polish authorities have been assuring the world that they’re interested in a genuine reconciliation with the Polish people. But the Polish regime’s action yesterday reveals the hollowness of its promises. By outlawing Solidarity, a free trade organization to which an overwhelming majority of Polish workers and farmers belong, they have made it clear that they never had any intention of restoring one of the most elemental human rights—the right to belong to a free trade union.[/blockquote] Although Solidarity was not an American union, it is important to understand that much of its political program at the time was much farther to the left than any comparable U.S.-based unions. Solidarity’s economic platform in 1981 called for worker-owned businesses, social control of the food supply so as to ensure that everyone was fed, and for workers to decide what days of the week businesses would be able to declare holidays, among other things. As conservatives, including Walker himself, continue to fashion themselves as clones of Reagan as they face off with a new progressive populist movement across the country, Americans should know that Reagan’s views and actions may not have always perfectly aligned with those on the far right.
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#1. To: go65 (#0)
LOL. What's that smell...? Oh, I know... it's the smell of fear and desperation. You're QUITE the POS.
Socialist ass-hats think "There will be no more money when the U.S. dollar has no value, until that time we can keep printing more." And yes, that IS from LF's answer to Ben Bernanke, go65, leading disfunctional and delusional socialist of the forum. "You want me to kill THE ENEMIES of Jappos, I'll kill THE ENEMIES of Jappos, Rebs, or Sioux, or Cheyenne... For 500 bucks a month I'll kill whoever you want. But keep one thing in mind: I'd happily kill you for free." Algren, "The Last Samurai" Reagan didn't belong to a government bureaucrat union which has a monopoly on the services that we are FORCED to pay for. If GM or Ford negotiates a rotten deal with the UAW, we can all go buy Honda's or Toyota's. But if our home state negotiates a rotten deal with the NEA, we are stuck paying for it, by force of law, ultimately at gun point. We don't have any choice. Unfortunately, the teachers in most states don't have any choice either. They are forced to pay expensive union dues to keep their jobs. Frankly, this uproar by the NEA is not mostly about collective bargaining. It's about Wisconsin refusing to withhold union dues from teacher pay checks. NEA officials and lazy tenured teachers are scared to death that if the rank and file teachers had to mail their dues in, that many just wouldn't do so.
Ronald Reagan The PATCO Strike of 1981: The Rise of the Working Man Background Information The PATCO Strike of 1981 drastically changed the way union workers operate. Before 1981, workers did not have much control and were timid in asking for better benefits and working conditions. Workers have grown because of this strike, and now have a large amount of power over their employers. However, the power of the PATCO union was severely weakened. Since this strike, many unions have disappeared and only a small amount still have a strong impact on society today. PATCO is the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, which is responsible for regulating America’s skies. The air traffic controllers have the duty of making sure each flight pattern does not intersect with other flight patterns. This is an important job to secure the safety for airlines across the country. The union’s pay rate and hours are determined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "The safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace is a primary objective of the FAA" ("About"). They are responsible for the technology provided for the air traffic controllers and also assign the use of air space throughout the country. [Top] Causes of the Strike Struggles between PATCO and the FAA first started in 1968 and really erupted when the air traffic controllers went on strike. PATCO members felt as if the FAA was doing an inadequate job controlling the conditions of the workplace for the air traffic controllers. The controllers were looking for better conditions that would entail, fewer hours, higher wages, and improved equipment and they even wanted to receive more appreciation for the work they were doing. Before the strike in 1981, the controllers were working 40-hour workdays over five days. They were demanding that it be reduced to a four day, 32-hour workweek. At the time of the strike, the air traffic controller’s wages spanned from $20,462 to $49,229, and they were asking for an increase of $10,000 per year (Manning). Finally the controllers wanted to be offered retirement after 20 years of service with a full pension plan. The cost of changes they were asking for came with a 770 million dollar price tag. The controllers believed that they deserved new conditions due to the amount of stress that their job requires. The FAA failed to comply with these demands for several reasons. Being a branch of the government, the FAA was not supplied with enough money to raise the wages of the employees and at the same time supply the controllers with new technological equipment, which was extremely costly. It was also important to the FAA that air traffic controllers worked more hours because there were very few workers with enough training to perform at an acceptable level. This is important for American transportation, because high skill is integral in keeping the skies safe and accident free. [Top] Details of the Strike These conflicting interests and availability of money resulted in the PATCO members going on strike. More than 13,500 air traffic controllers decided to go on strike. This posed a huge threat, because without air traffic controllers, flying became incredibly dangerous. Government officials felt it was necessary for them to step in and take control of the situation and end the strike immediately. President Ronald Reagan threatened to fire all air traffic controllers that did not return to the job within forty-eight hours from the beginning of the strike. Of these 13,500 workers that went on strike, only 1,650 of them decided to return to work. President Reagan fired the remaining 11,650 controllers, which was 70% of the workforce. On August 4th, there was a scheduled 14,000 flights and out of those flights, 6,000 of them had to be canceled. Ultimately, with the controllers on strike the government funding froze the FAA’s funding of about 3.5 million dollars (Bucher). [Top] Results and Effects of the Strike As a result from the strike, employees, that were re-hired, decided to form a new union called the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Their job was to make sure the FAA regulated the pay, hours, and technology available to air traffic controllers. They also had the job of preventing the FAA from becoming a monopoly. Workers argued that due to large amounts of stress, higher pay and fewer hours are important to reduce the stress as much as possible. The PATCO Strike came to a close when the FAA refused to compromise with the air traffic controllers. In a recent essay on the strike Rebecca Pels says, “The FAA’s handling of the strike is the most obvious proof of its outlook. Rather than reopen talks, the FAA instead maintained air travel using an overworked, under trained, skeletal workforce. It, too, denied the legitimacy of workers’ grievances, refused to negotiate working conditions, and dismissed the strikers as ‘chronic complainers and crybabies.’” The PATCO Strike of 1981 brought many workplace issues to the public’s concern. These issues included better wages, better retirement, improved equipment, and fewer working hours. Although the strike did not conclude with a compromise or settlement between the air traffic controllers and the Federal Aviation Administration much was learned from this conflict. Management realized that the common worker was being treated unfairly and would not stand for this kind of treatment much longer. Also management realized that in order to keep their workers they would have to at least make some changes in their employee’s salaries, working conditions, and benefits, and increase safety within the workplace. Since 1981, workers have gained much respect and now feel more secure in asking for higher pay and better working conditions. “Management is going to have to recognize all of these issues and have a much more compromising attitude with their union members” (Bucher). This was demonstrated and made known for the first time through the PATCO Strike of 1981. Even though this strike only lasted forty-eight hours, it made a major impact in empowering employees. This strike gave many other workers the courage to fight for what they want. Although today many of the issues of the PATCO strike of 1981 are still controversial and a problem today in the air traffic controller business, working conditions have been improved. The PATCO Strike of 1981 was a backbone for the movement towards worker's rights and played a large role in helping to bring about change within working conditions. Although unions have been weakened and no longer play a huge role in bargaining for workers' rights, since the strike, the workers themselves have gained power. [Top] Annotated Bibliography of Works Consulted “About the FAA.” Federal Aviation Administration. FAA. www1.faa.gov/aboutfaa/Activities.cfm (29 Jan. 2004). This website provides the general information about the Federal Aviation Administration. It lists the different departments within the FAA, and briefly discusses each department's role in keeping air travel safe. It is a reliable source because the information is provided by the government and the information comes directly from the organization itself. However, it is only general information and specifics are not listed. Bucher, Nick. “The Air Traffic Controllers’ Strike of 1981.” Air Traffic Control Strike Web Page. University of St. Francis. www.stfrancis.e du/ba/ghki...opics/works/atcstrike.htm (28 Jan. 2004). This essay provides general information about the strike. It lists the causes, effects, and details of the strike. It takes the workers' standpoint on the strike and argues in favor of the workers' needs. Quotations and statistics are given to support the information presented. This is a reliable source because all sources used for the research are given, and the essay was written at a collegiate level. Del Balzo, Joseph M., and Al Miller. “A New Organizational Flight Pattern.” Training & Development Journal 43.3 (March 1989): 40-45. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. Mercyhurst Coll. Hammermill Lib. 23 Jan. 2004 www.epnet.com/. This article talks about the FAA and its purposes concerning the regulation of air traffic. It also discusses the hiring of the air traffic controllers. This leads into the strike and the changes that came from the strike. This takes the viewpoint of the workers and their needs for the ideal workplace. This is credible because it was an article from Academic Search Elite and contains a substantial amount of facts. Manning, Jason. "The Air Traffic Controllers' Strike." The Eighties Club. eightiesclub.tripod.com/id296.htm (1 Feb. 2004). This website gives statistics about the workers involved in the strike and their demands. It also takes a look at President Reagan's view of the workers. This is a credible source because of its focus on numbers and statistics. Also the information is supported by a letter from President Reagan to an air traffic controller. In addition, the site lists all references used in formatting the webpage. “Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization.” Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization. PATCO. www.patco81.com/ (29 Jan. 2004). This is the official website of the PATCO organization. The website includes information of ongoing problems with PATCO and the air traffic controllers. No information from past occurrences are listed. There is not much information on the site, but the information that is given is credible because it comes straight from the organization itself. Pels, Rebecca. “The Pressures of PATCO: Strikes and Stress in the 1980’s.” The Pressures of PATCO. University of Virginia. etext.lib.virginia.edu/journals/EH/E H37/Pels.html (23 Jan. 2004). This article describes the different organizations and people that were involved with the PATCO Strike of 1981. It also gives an explanation of the main causes fro the strike. The user is presented with a detailed description of the strike occurrences and is given some numbers and statistics that relate to the PATCO Strike. This source gives reliable information about the strike and presents many useful facts and statistics within its text. Pinsdorf, Marion K. “Flying Different Skies: How Cultures Respond to Airline Disasters.” Public Relations Review 17.1 (1991): 37-56. This journal article discusses many problems with air traffic control around the world. It also takes a look at how the different countries responded to their different problems. This is an extremely credible source because it is a scholarly journal and contains all facts. Information in the journal relates to air traffic control, but does not discuss the PATCO Strike. [Top] Related Links FAA Web Site PATCO Web Site The Air Traffic Controllers' Strike of 1981: Essay The Pressures of PATCO: Article The Eighties Club: Air Traffic Controllers' Strike: Article homepage.mac.com/ba rbarap2/home/laborcrises/PATCO.HTM ------------------- www.dogpile.com/dogpile/w...%20public%20unions%20atc% 20strike/1/417/TopNavigation/Relevance/iq=true/zoom=off/_iceUrlFlag=7?_IceUrl=true
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
The PATCO Strike of 1981 was a backbone for the movement towards worker's rights and played a large role in helping to bring about change within working conditions. Although unions have been weakened and no longer play a huge role in bargaining for workers' rights, since the strike, the workers themselves have gained power.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
by go65
#2. To: go65 (#0)
(Edited)
"Everything that can be invented has been invented."-- Charles Duell, Commissioner of US Patent Office, 1899
#3. To: go65 (#0)
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so"
#4. To: go65 (#0)
The PATCO Strike of 1981 was a backbone for the movement towards worker's rights and played a large role in helping to bring about change within working conditions. Although unions have been weakened and no longer play a huge role in bargaining for workers' rights, since the strike, the workers themselves have gained power.
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