Demonstrating a desire to curb the power of organized labor, the reagan administration took a hard line against an illegal strike by

Reagan took a hard line stance against the strike by air traffic controllers. Air traffic controllers that were part of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike after negotiations with the Federal Aviation Administration fell through. In total, roughly 13,000 of these individuals went on strike. However, Reagan knew this strike would be extremely harmful to the American society. So he told the air traffic controllers that they must return to work by a certain date, otherwise they would be fired. In total, Reagan fired 11,000 air traffic controllers who went on strike.