David Broder: Obama's Muscle Moment
... You can hear in the comments of [Sen.] Levin and other members of Congress the sounds of grudging admiration for a fellow politician who has shown them he has more backbone than they expected [for taking on GM, pushing out Rick Wagoner, and risking displeasure with labor unions and the Democratic state of Michigan].
The most dramatic example of that kind of reappraisal in my experience was supplied by Ronald Reagan in the summer of 1981, his first year as president. PATCO, the union representing government employees who were air traffic controllers, presented a series of contract demands including $10,000-a-year pay increases and shorter hours to relieve the strain of their high-tension jobs.
When negotiations stalled, PATCO threatened to strike, despite federal law forbidding it. When the union carried out its threat, Reagan gave its members 48 hours to get back to work, warning that those who stayed out longer would be fired.
The union gambled that Reagan would not run the risk of disrupting air service and aggravating so many business travelers. But it lost. Twelve thousand of its members -- all but the few dissidents who stayed on the job -- were summarily fired. When the strike effectively collapsed after five days, Reagan barred the rehiring of the strikers for any government jobs.
It was a catastrophe for organized labor because it stiffened the resistance of many private employers to unionization. But for Reagan it was all benefit. He had always been well liked. But he had never been feared -- until he broke the PATCO strike. From that point on, Democrats and Republicans alike thought twice about challenging him.
It is possible, I think, that ousting Wagoner and the GM directors will have a similar effect for Obama -- but only if he enforces his other deadlines and conditions....
Read entire article at WaPo
The most dramatic example of that kind of reappraisal in my experience was supplied by Ronald Reagan in the summer of 1981, his first year as president. PATCO, the union representing government employees who were air traffic controllers, presented a series of contract demands including $10,000-a-year pay increases and shorter hours to relieve the strain of their high-tension jobs.
When negotiations stalled, PATCO threatened to strike, despite federal law forbidding it. When the union carried out its threat, Reagan gave its members 48 hours to get back to work, warning that those who stayed out longer would be fired.
The union gambled that Reagan would not run the risk of disrupting air service and aggravating so many business travelers. But it lost. Twelve thousand of its members -- all but the few dissidents who stayed on the job -- were summarily fired. When the strike effectively collapsed after five days, Reagan barred the rehiring of the strikers for any government jobs.
It was a catastrophe for organized labor because it stiffened the resistance of many private employers to unionization. But for Reagan it was all benefit. He had always been well liked. But he had never been feared -- until he broke the PATCO strike. From that point on, Democrats and Republicans alike thought twice about challenging him.
It is possible, I think, that ousting Wagoner and the GM directors will have a similar effect for Obama -- but only if he enforces his other deadlines and conditions....