Reagan Fires Air Traffic Controllers (1981)

Published: Aug. 5, 2021, 12:56 p.m.

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It\\u2019s August 5th. This day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers, who had gone on strike over failed negotiations for a new contract. In addition to firing them, he banned the workers from ever holding federal jobs again.

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Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how this moment reflected and shifted a moment when American unions were in decline and employers \\u2014 both at the federal and private level \\u2014 were being emboldened in their negotiations with workers.

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Find a transcript of this episode at:\\xa0https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.

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If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com

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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is\\xa0thisdaypod.com\\xa0Follow us on social @thisdaypod

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro, Executive Producer at Radiotopia

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