August 5th 1981 less than 2 years into his first term Ronald Reagan fired over 11’000 Federal Air Traffic Controllers who ignored his orders
to go back to work. The mass firing of federal employees slowed commercial air travel, but it did not cripple the system as the strikers had forecast. Reagan branded the strike illegal. He threatened to fire any controller who failed to return to work within 48 hours. Federal judges levied fines of $1 million per day against the union. To add to the woes of the fired Controllers, 3,000 supervisors joined 2,000 nonstriking controllers and 900 military controllers in manning airport towers. Before long, about 80 percent of flights were operating normally. Air freight remained virtually unaffected. Regan did not stop there he instituted a lifetime ban on the fired controllers. In October 1981, just over two months later the Federal Labor Relations Authority de-certified PATCO, the controllers Union.
Some call it union busting, it may well have been, but none will deny that what the President did was necessary to prevent further mass disruption in air travel which would have disastrous consequences for the country.
More than anything Reagan demonstrated that he would not be bullied by subordinates. No one doubted the resolve of Reagan from there on in.
April 10th 2006 Roger Toussaint, the president of the transit workers’ union who led bus and subway workers in a strike that crippled New York City for three cold days in December, was sentenced to 10 days by Justice Theodore T. Jones of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. Additionally Toussaint was fined $1000. Ed Watt, the union’s secretary-treasurer, and Darlyne Lawson, its recording secretary, were each fined $500, but were not sentenced to jail.
In handing down sentence Justice Jones said “It is unfortunate that it came down to an illegal strike, but it was nonetheless illegal.” The charges stemmed from the union leadership’s failure to order transit workers back to work after Justice Jones ruled that they must do so under the state’s Taylor Law, which prohibits strikes by public employees.
Fast forward to the actions of NYPD cops who have made it a habit now of being disrespectful to the Mayor of the city of New York. Mayor Bill deBlasio who did exactly what he ought to have done in addressing the concerns of citizens of the city regarding unlawful police conduct , now seem to be bending over backward to demonstrate to some thuggish gangster-cops withing the NYPD that he is on their side. Essentially the tail now appear to be wagging the Dog. In two prescients in the Brooklyn neighborhood where two cops, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were killed recently cops have virtually instituted a work stoppage. There has been a 94% drop in tickets written and summonses issued. Whether you agree with over policing which created the higher number of summonses and tickets handed out to begin with, is a legitimate debate. What is not legitimate is cops taking it upon themselves to institute an illegal work stoppage while receiving their pay.
Under no circumstances would this coup-de-ta be tolerated in the private sector, neither would it be tolerated in any other area of the public
sector. Work stoppage and outright disrespect have no place in the workplace. At the heart of Some communities complaint is the issue of police dis-respect which leads them to abuse and kill people without concern for penalties under the laws. What is it then which allows police to believe they can kill and no one should question them on it? Further why does police believe that their boss the Mayor, have no authority to hold them accountable for their actions when they are clearly in the wrong ? The reasons are clear. Police believe they are not subject to the laws which govern everyone else.
Police have huge support , in the United States, particularly on the political right. Not because the political right are law and order enthusiasts. In fact Staten Island Republican Congressman Michael Grimm is a typical Republican hypocrite when it comes to the rule of law. He is slated to be sentenced on Federal tax evasion charges later this month. The stark reality is that the right support police who they see as a barrier between themselves and black Americans.
If over 11,000 Federal Air Traffic controllers can be fired with the stroke of Reagan’s pen and their Union de-certified, cops can be fired . If a New York City Union leader and others can be imprisoned for fighting for a livable wage for their members why are cops exempt from the rule of law?
This is a moment where Bill deBlasio may once and for all show these thugs who is in charge. Yet deBlasio is a Democrat, and Democrats do not make decisive decisions. Patrick Lynch and the other police Union bosses knows deBlasio will not squash them like bugs, that is the reason they continue with what is clearly a soft coup de ta . The moment when the Mayor should haven take decisive action was right after they turned their backs to him at Woodhull Hospital, he missed that boat. Going forward deBlasio will have no control over the City’s 39.000 cops, he has no one to blame but himself. They are uniformed essential service employees there are ways to control them . deBlasio missed his chance at leadership.