>>>>>We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. One of the shining moments of his 8 years was when he stood up to the extortionist tactics of the air traffic controllers union. Loved it when he fired them all :)
>>>>
>>>>Disagree, for sure.
>>>>It was his worst moment for me.
>>>
>>>Correct me if I'm wrong, but the union wanted a 10K wage increase annually and hours reduced from 40 to 32 a week. They were basically blackmailing, and Reagan called them on it. He made an example of them.
>>
>>Yes, he did.
>>And he set the tone that emboldened employers throughout the country to do the same.
>>Jimmy Carter had something to do with it too, but the real decline in the labor movement in the US can be traced to that action by Reagan.
>>It's noteworthy that people who support that action by Reagan are horrified when working people want increased wages and shorter work weeks, but blink when idiots inherit billions for doing nothing.
>
>Curious - what is your opinion of the position and the actions of the air traffic controller union at the time? I've said my two cents - I think their actions amounted to extortion. What's your view of a union of federal employees asking for a 10K increase, hours cut from 40 to 32, and threatening to disrupt the airline system?
>
>And correct me if I'm wrong, weren't the feds willing to give in some on their $$$ demands?

See my answer to Sammie.
Difficult negotiations are difficult.
I was managing a large DP shop employing lots of people who used public transportation during the New York City subway strike on 1968 and we never missed a deadline.
The people who wanted to, found a way to function.
It was a real mess, but the strike was settled and no one was fired.

When I got into senior management, I was dealing with union leaders regularly, including some pretty nasty people.
One thing I learned was that management has a lot more power than labor and smart managers learn how never to use that power.