Labor Day Special: The Most Bizarre Facts About Union History

2. President Ronald Reagan Was Also A Union President

During his time in office, President Ronald Reagan had an interesting view on labor unions. While he did support the idea of unions and collective bargaining, he also fought them on several occasions. Most notably, as detailed by The New York Times, was the confrontation Reagan had with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization. At the time he threatened to fire roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers unless they called off an illegal strike.

Long before becoming president of the United States, Reagan served as president of The Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. According to the Guild website, he was appointed in 1947. The union board of director was impressed with how the actor handled a series of violent strikes in 1946 when serving as vice president.