Film Strike Ends

Aug. 5, 1981, President Reagan fires striking air traffic controllers.

April 9, 1960: Screen Actors Guild President Ronald Reagan and actor Charlton Heston shake hands with Charles S. Boren and Columbia Vice President B.B. Kahane on a tentative agreement to end the 33-day film strike. In 1981, President Reagan said he had no choice but to fire thousands of air traffic controllers because they took an oath not to strike. “It’s not a case of firing – they’ve quit,” Reagan said. On the jump, the Senate approves the civil rights bill after eight weeks of debate … and Frank Sinatra fires blacklisted screenwriter Albert Maltz for a proposed production of “The Execution of Pvt. Slovik."