Franklin Delano Roosevelt                                     Ronald Reagan
              Democrat                                       Republican
32^nd President of the United States         40^th President of the United States
   Champion of the middleclass                      Anti Union, Union Buster
Supported unions, promoted unions.           Pro Corporation, Pro filthy rich
          Pro American                                    Anti- Middleclass

Ronald Reagan was not only the worst president in America's history he was the most anti union president in our nations history. The Republicans have praised Reagan for years and have followed his suit on labor issues, in fact the Republicans have made it their philosophy to follow his doctrine. They have been slowly eating away the middleclass, so slow that most people other than the most political acute of our citizens did not realize it, until the ordeal in Wisconsin brought focus and attention to exactly what the republicans are doing. It took blatant actions by the republicans to get the attention of the middleclass workers.

Hopefully the middleclass continues to support their brothers and sisters in the states that are under attack, and hopefully the middleclass will continue to stay focused and diligent in fighting the republican party so they can not further deteriorate the wages, benefits, or the ability to organize, and unionize, and the fundamental right to collective bargaining.

Reagan was the first republican president to challenge the unions' legal standing since Democrat Franklin Roosevelt's belief and stand on strong unions for labor in this country in the 30's. Most presidents bargained with the unions giving and taking just like unions do when they are bargaining, but not Reagan he launched a vicious war against unions that was waged everyday.

What was really odd Reagan did not have to fear the union voters, he had nothing to loose politically he had smooth talked nearly half of all the voters in the nation, even union voters who had voted for him, and he was about to began his union busting campaign. I am proud to say this union family never voted for him.

Reagan was the president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1959, but was forced to resign by union members because he was so pro management; under his tenure his anti-union feelings weakened the Screen Actors guild considerably.

Reagan started his assault on unions in 1981 when he fired 13,000 air traffic controllers, it was the beginning of the weakening of all unions in America, it was the start of companies moving out of the US and replacing fulltime workers with temps so the companies did not have to pay benefits. It also began the onslaught of management firing workers because they wanted to go union, or fire a worker just because they wanted to.

Reagan appointed anti-union representatives to the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) these three appointments considered labor to be the cause of the decline of thriving industries.

Under a House investigation they found that the committee had neglected workers rights and had abandoned the American worker. Reagan attacks on labor continued on, he tried to lower the minimum wage; he rolled back child labor laws, eased anti sweatshop laws, and taxed fringe benefits. He tried to get rid of federal employees and replace them with temps and the list keeps growing. He got rid of safety rules for workers; making it so the contractors could get by with out being accountable for unsafe working conditions, no rules no penalties.

Reagan was a piece of crap and still is a piece of crap up on the shinning city on the hill. Union people who voted for Reagan lost more than they can possibly understand. Hell all workers in America lost because of Reagan. Not just their generation but many generations after.

There is hope though, people have become aware of the republicans attack on America and its workers, and have united against oppression, young people are seeing that unions are a good thing and hopefully union numbers will increase. It may take time but unions are resilient and so is the American worker.

I must repeat a phrase that Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto used after the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
This is what the republican party has done, and the American worker is the sleeping giant filled with terrible resolve.