Amity Shlaes

What happened in 1919 when he was a new governor, say a freshman governor, was that it wasn't just a union that went on strike. It was a public sector union. Public sector unions are different from private sector unions, and there are different reasons for supporting them or being more skeptical about them.

What he saw was that there was a conflict between public service, which is what public workers render, and public sector unionism. And it was a very compelling story because it was the policemen of Boston who happened to be the union who went on strike in an era when public sector unions were becoming common, where there were strikes and general strikes in cities such as Seattle.

What he saw was that there was a conflict between public service, which is what public workers render, and public sector unionism. And it was a very compelling story because it was the policemen of Boston who happened to be the union who went on strike in an era when public sector unions were becoming common, where there were strikes and general strikes in cities such as Seattle.

What he saw was that there was a conflict between public service, which is what public workers render, and public sector unionism. And it was a very compelling story because it was the policemen of Boston who happened to be the union who went on strike in an era when public sector unions were becoming common, where there were strikes and general strikes in cities such as Seattle.

And the policemen had every reason to complain. They were underpaid. There was inflation. There were rats in the station houses chewing on their helmets. They were asked to work too much. They had to share their cots in seriatim in different shifts with other policemen. And so they went on strike. The problem was their contract said no strike. So what do you do then?

And the policemen had every reason to complain. They were underpaid. There was inflation. There were rats in the station houses chewing on their helmets. They were asked to work too much. They had to share their cots in seriatim in different shifts with other policemen. And so they went on strike. The problem was their contract said no strike. So what do you do then?

And the policemen had every reason to complain. They were underpaid. There was inflation. There were rats in the station houses chewing on their helmets. They were asked to work too much. They had to share their cots in seriatim in different shifts with other policemen. And so they went on strike. The problem was their contract said no strike. So what do you do then?

And by the way, everyone knew that when they struck, this is just after the war, tumultuous time, the middle, by the way, of a pandemic, in that case, the influenza, everyone knew there would be violence if the police went on strike. They did. And Coolidge backed up the police commissioner. in firing the men for violating their contract.

And by the way, everyone knew that when they struck, this is just after the war, tumultuous time, the middle, by the way, of a pandemic, in that case, the influenza, everyone knew there would be violence if the police went on strike. They did. And Coolidge backed up the police commissioner. in firing the men for violating their contract.

And by the way, everyone knew that when they struck, this is just after the war, tumultuous time, the middle, by the way, of a pandemic, in that case, the influenza, everyone knew there would be violence if the police went on strike. They did. And Coolidge backed up the police commissioner. in firing the men for violating their contract.

He said a line that reverberated across the land, there's no right to strike against the public safety. by anybody, anywhere, anytime. There are limits to striking, and that's the problem with unions in the public sector sphere. This sort of foreshadows Ronald Reagan's decision about the air traffic controllers, PATCO. Always a difficult decision.

He said a line that reverberated across the land, there's no right to strike against the public safety. by anybody, anywhere, anytime. There are limits to striking, and that's the problem with unions in the public sector sphere. This sort of foreshadows Ronald Reagan's decision about the air traffic controllers, PATCO. Always a difficult decision.

He said a line that reverberated across the land, there's no right to strike against the public safety. by anybody, anywhere, anytime. There are limits to striking, and that's the problem with unions in the public sector sphere. This sort of foreshadows Ronald Reagan's decision about the air traffic controllers, PATCO. Always a difficult decision.

And by the way, these policemen were Coolidge constituents. There was a whole dissertation written about how immigrants voted for Coolidge. These policemen were Irish-Americans, and they liked Coolidge, so they expected him to back them up. And he wrote his family kind of miserably, I'm not sure I'm going to win the next election, but this was the right thing to do.

And by the way, these policemen were Coolidge constituents. There was a whole dissertation written about how immigrants voted for Coolidge. These policemen were Irish-Americans, and they liked Coolidge, so they expected him to back them up. And he wrote his family kind of miserably, I'm not sure I'm going to win the next election, but this was the right thing to do.

And by the way, these policemen were Coolidge constituents. There was a whole dissertation written about how immigrants voted for Coolidge. These policemen were Irish-Americans, and they liked Coolidge, so they expected him to back them up. And he wrote his family kind of miserably, I'm not sure I'm going to win the next election, but this was the right thing to do.

In fact, President Wilson backed Coolidge up because Wilson, too, had his doubts about vast strikes by public sector unions in the United States and mayhem. And Coolidge instead became popular for this decision, though not sadly with the policeman. He wrote later, without a doubt, it was my move on the Boston police, as bitter as it was, that put me on the national stage.

In fact, President Wilson backed Coolidge up because Wilson, too, had his doubts about vast strikes by public sector unions in the United States and mayhem. And Coolidge instead became popular for this decision, though not sadly with the policeman. He wrote later, without a doubt, it was my move on the Boston police, as bitter as it was, that put me on the national stage.

In fact, President Wilson backed Coolidge up because Wilson, too, had his doubts about vast strikes by public sector unions in the United States and mayhem. And Coolidge instead became popular for this decision, though not sadly with the policeman. He wrote later, without a doubt, it was my move on the Boston police, as bitter as it was, that put me on the national stage.

Absolutely. I would just quarrel with the term pro-business because there's one kind of pro-business, which is you go out with a company and give it a sweetheart deal.