Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) said striking United Auto Workers (UAW) members should be fired, following the example of President Ronald Reagan crushing an air traffic controller strike in the early 1980s.
NBC News reported Monday that at a meet-and-greet event in Iowa, Scott was asked whether he would insert himself as president into talks between the UAW and the auto industry. The UAW is on the fifth day of a strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—that could have serious economic impacts on the U.S.
“I think Ronald Reagan gave us a great example when federal employees decided they were going to strike,” Scott responded. “He said, you strike, you’re fired. Simple concept to me. To the extent that we can use that once again, absolutely.”
Reagan famously fired more than 11,000 unionized air traffic controllers and barred them from federal service for life after they went on strike in 1981.
Of course, those air traffic controllers were government employees. It’s unclear if Scott thinks the president would have the authority to fire private employees on strike or compel management to do so. Strikers are also largely protected from firing under the National Labor Relations Act.
Scott’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for clarification. In a statement to NBC News, the campaign also declined to elaborate, but spokesperson Matt Gorman said Scott “has repeatedly made clear, both at that event and others, that taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize any deal with the UAW and auto companies.”
That’s a perfectly fair point, and the UAW’s demands are fair game for criticism as well. UAW leaders have been bargaining for a four-day workweek, in addition to higher wages and cost of living protections.
“We’re seeing the UAW fight for more benefits and less hours working,” Scott said at the event. “More pay and fewer days on the job. It’s a disconnect from work, and we have to find a way to encourage and inspire people to go back to work.”
But it’s not the president’s place to play strikebreaker (or matchmaker) when a labor dispute involves two private parties.
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