A new era of attacks on unions was ushered in when Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers\u2019 organization during a 1981 strike. \u00a0Business, big and small, saw that as a green light to declare war on organized labor.
\nFor the several decades, working people saw their standard of living diminish as corporate profits skyrocketed. \u00a0The Reagan-Bush philosophy of \u201cfree\u201d trade encouraged many major companies to close shop in the U.S. and reopen in Third World countries where wages are low and environmental and safety laws are virtually nonexistent.
\nThe Reagan-Bush years brought a wave of anti-worker actions, such as the permanent replacement of striking workers with nonunion employees, the demand by employers that workers accept cuts in wages, reduced benefits and more givebacks in working conditions, and the growing use of temporary or part-time workers in every phase of business and industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","yoast_head":"\n