On March 1, 2018, former President Ronald Reagan was inducted into the U.S. Department of Labor Hall of Honor. According to U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, Reagan’s induction recognizes his accomplishments as a labor leader. Before leading the country, Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
The Sergeants Benevolent Association of New York City proposed President Reagan’s induction. The organization’s president, Edward D. Mullins, was on hand for the induction ceremony. Others in attendance included U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (a former Secretary of Labor) and several senior members of President Reagan’s administration.
Reagan as Union President
Ronald Reagan is the only U.S. president ever lead a national union. An actor himself, Reagan was SAG president from 1947-52.
“Well before he led this nation, Ronald Reagan led the Screen Actors Guild during its first three strikes,” Secretary Acosta said. “As President of the Screen Actors Guild, President Reagan negotiated never-before-seen concessions for SAG members, which included residual payments and health and pension benefits.”
Reagan stated in a 1981 speech to the National Conference of the Building and Construction Trade Department of the AFL-CIO: “I hope you’ll forgive me if I point with some pride to the fact that I’m the first president of the United States to hold a lifetime membership in an AFL-CIO union.”
Opposition to Reagan’s Induction
Despite Regan’s former union role, many labor leaders questioned the induction. Some even urged Secretary Acosta to reconsider.
They point, for example, to Reagan’s firing of 11,345 air traffic controllers in 1981. These members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike on August 3rd. Reagan fired them on August 5th. Federal law prohibits U.S. government employees from striking. PATCO was decertified as the bargaining representative of air traffic controllers later that year.
On the website for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, labor writer Clyde Weiss asserted, “This is no small insult to working people. It’s a slap in the face to all those people whom the Hall of Honor is supposed to honor.”
About the Department of Labor Hall of Honor
The U.S. Department of Labor established its Hall of Honor in 1988. According to the DOL press release on Reagan’s induction, the Hall’s purpose is “to honor Americans whose distinctive contributions have elevated working conditions, wages, and overall quality of life for American families.”
Past inductees include:
- 911 Rescue Workers, “Fire and police departments, rescue squads, emergency medical technicians, construction workers, labor unions, volunteer building floor wardens and countless others applied their skills and worked selflessly to assist others.”
- César Chávez, prominent Latino-American civil rights leader who co-founded the United Farm Workers
- Chinese Railroad Workers, contributed to economic prosperity by building western railroads and advocated for better working conditions
- Samuel Gompers, the first president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
- Harley Davidson, “Its founders both used and believed in the company’s products and relied on the dedication of its employees to produce quality motorcycles.”
- Helen Keller, famous for overcoming deafness and blindness to advocate for people with disabilities
- Senator Ted Kennedy, chief sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act, among other employee-rights legislation
- Frances Perkins, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet and longest-serving Secretary of Labor
(Direct quotes above from the U.S. Department of Labor Hall of Honor website.)
