So no less of an anti-union asshole really.

Dereliction of duty, violation of contractual agreements...there are two reasons!

That continues to harm workers to this day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/opinion/reagan-vs-patco-the-strike-that-busted-unions.html?_r=0

What Reagan did was very wrong, an abuse of his authority, and caused harm to the workers in America. It is not something to champion and ask to emulate.

to openly threaten the mayor and entire city of NY if they dont get their way...

The police protested, something that is lawful for them to do, by turning their backs. For that act you champion the stripping of their rights to free speech and to assemble, and champion taking away their employment for an action that was tasteless, crude, but legal.

What part about rights do you not get.

I am a liberal. Rights are the essential foundation of liberalism. The fight should be to get full equal rights to all Americans, not to fight to curtail those rights of a detested group.

presentation - bosses tend to fire people for stuff like that

you've heard of unions, strikes, work stoppages, walk-outs & the like I presume?

I think nypd sucks, but I don't believe they should be fired for political reasons.

after the contract expires and while the 2 sides are negotiating. if we were to walk out in the middle of our contract we could be sued for breech of contract.

i also think that for people in that line of work strikes are prohibited even more so than other contracts b/c of public safety

btw they are a group doing this to their boss for something he said not for work related issues like pay or benefits or job security.

A person representing the union during negotiations can tell their boss to go fuck themselves because in this setting they are on equal footing with management and aren't subject to discipline in the same way some other employee would be and/or in a different setting. Rank in file employees don't have that luxury. So it is possible the NYPD could potentially discipline employees for this behavior, but realistically I don't see that happening.

Ex-CIA Analyst Ray McGovern Beaten, Arrested for Silent Protest at Clinton Speech

This week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a major address calling for internet freedom around the world. As Clinton condemned the Egyptian and Iranian governments for arresting and beating protesters, former U.S. Army and CIA officer Ray McGovern was violently ejected from the audience and arrested after he stood up and turned his back in a silent protest of America’s foreign policy. Ray McGovern joins us from Washington, D.C..

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/18/ex_cia_analyst_ray_mcgovern_beaten

They weren't in the air they were safe on the ground.

In the end, they were.

i don't think their retirement was raided.

Neither of the two groups made out very well. A PATCO controller who was close to retirement probably still took a big hit and still probably had to wait a decade or so for a check because the FAA did (and I believe still does) force controllers out at a relatively young age similar to pilots. A Braniff employee with a decent 401(k) that wasn't highly invested in company stock probably made out the best.

Back then it was a cardiac job, lots of disability retirements.

With the new treatment of retirements that is probably the best plan. Get vested then disabled. Seems to work for CEOs. Get a contract then have it bought out.

Controllers still have to maintain the same aviation medical requirements as most commercial pilots.

The problem with disability retirement is you can't (legally) perform pretty much all other compensated work without giving up your disability retirement. So it might be OK if you want to go home at a relatively young age and do pretty much nothing, or if you want to risk prison time by getting another job and lying on your annual disability paperwork.

Or at least, in violation of the contract they signed. It's sad that this event was a catalyst for the anti-labor movement. I don't blame Reagan for firing them. He was looking for an excuse and the union played into his hands. I wish they had done things differently.

I have always said, if there had been just one major plane crash in the aftermath of the firing, Reagan would have left office in disgrace. I do remember the media breathlessly reporting every near miss for months.

Just sayin'

They sure as hell need to understand that this union negotiating tactic does not deserve a reward.

I get what you are trying to illustrate, but I am still of the opinion that what is happening in the NYPD is not all LEO's. I liked very much what the New York DAily news said in its Op_Ed today: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/jonathan-tasini-labor-reject-lynch-bitter-bile-article-1.2060012 (read the entire piece, I am posting four paragraphs.)

wrong, shitty and destructive to organized labor in America. Fuck him and anyone who would emulate him.

I was making a comparison, showing how absurd the police actions are as I consider them open threats

Much of DU are Reagan cheerleaders?

Personally, I despise every single dead bone in his body, and I find there are a lot of people here at DU who I dont consider remotely close to being liberal, but I havent seen much cheerleading of Raygun

you agree with, also protect the NYPD unions. Similarly, the police, as public employees, are entitled to the same constitutional protections as other more liberal public employees. Lastly, the type, nature, extent and procedures for discipline are governed by the various collective bargaining agreements between the city and unions, which in a blue state and city like NY, favor workers.

You may find the actions of the officers abhorrent, and to a great extent I certainly agree, but I'm not to about to abandon my liberal labor ideals and become a hypocrite over some posturing between a mayor of NYC and the police, hardly a historically uncommon circumstance, and a few less traffic and parking tickets, no less look to Reagan's PATCO firings as an inspiration.

In additional to the police officers' legal protections, threatening discipline, no less termination, is a political dead end. Whether anyone here agrees or not, the police have solid public support, solidarity with police elsewhere, and could not be easily or readily replaced. In fact, the mayor's continued dispute with the NYPD rank-and-file, which started before Gardner and the police murders and primarily relates to the contentious negotiation and now binding arbitration of the PBA contract, is largely responsible for the deBlasio's precipitously declining support in the polls. DeBlasio certainly doesn't want to inflame the situation even more, despite his belief that the union criticisms are unfair and unfounded.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/new-york-city/release-detail?ReleaseID=2120

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/new-yorkers-who-like-cops-dont-like-de-blasio/

Lastly, the police have not threatened deBlasio outside the entirely lawful political sphere, and certainly not his family. Such inaccuracy and hyperbole are not helpful and potentially counterproductive.

they wanted safety issues addressed. Both my Father then retired had to go and train controllers in Oklahoma and my Sister was fired!