On this day in 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) declared a strike, seeking better working conditions, better pay, and less hours, resulting in their mass firing and union decertification.

By striking, the union violated the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, which prohibits strikes by federal government employees.

Despite supporting PATCO in his 1980 campaign, Ronald Reagan declared their strike a "peril to national safety" and ordered them back to work under the terms of the Taft-Hartley Act. Reagan demanded those remaining on strike return to work within 48 hours or officially forfeit their positions.

Only 1,300 of the nearly 13,000 controllers returned to their jobs, with the remaining disobeying a federal court injunction ordering an end to the strike.

On August 5th, Reagan fired 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored the order and banned them from federal service for life. PATCO was also decertified by the Federal Labor Relations Authority a few months later.