In 1941, Ronald Reagan was a proud member of the Screen Actors' Guild. He served on its board, was elected to the vice presidency, and from 1947 thru 1952, he served as SAG president. His next stint as president was less appealing.
The highlights of this period of time included huge management disputes with labor (during which Reagan successfully bargained for better pay and benefits, especially for lesser role actors) and of course, the McCarthy era anti-commie witch hunts and blacklisting.
Black listing was Washington's way of controlling Hollywood.
In 1947, Congress began its first rectal examination of writers, actors and directors, claiming that too many were communist supporters or communist party members. This led to some famous (in their day) actors, actresses and some of the top writers being banned from working in Hollywood.
By 1952, HUAC (House Committee on UnAmerican Activities) was flying high. SAG (under Reagan) had tried, with little success to stand up to Congress/ But as the numbers of actors and writers who were being held in contempt of Congress grew, a feeling of fear and paranoia grew throughout the industry.
Reagan himself made his views clear. Despite being violently anti-communist, even in his early days, he hated how Congress was red-baiting and attacking so many of his friends and compatriots, "I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged, by either fear or resentment of this group, that we ever compromise with any of our democratic principles through that fear or resentment."
One can only imagine how today's NeoConmen, Tea baggers, and anti-union GOPers would act in those days.
By 1957, the Blacklisting began to crumble. Reagan was the default candidate for SAG presidency. Alfred Hitchcock took direct aim at the list, by hiring assistant producers, directors and actors for his incredibly popular TV show. Otto Preminger raised his middle finger to the HUAC and announced that he was using blacklisted scriptwriters for Exodus.
By 1959, Reagan had taken a strong jump to the right, becoming ever more supportive of management vs. labor, until SAG eventually forced him out of the union.
After 20 years of attacks, the union label was wearing thin. In 1980, unions' reputations were lower than they had ever been measured. 1980, of course, also ushered in Reagan's presidency, and with it, ever more strident attacks on unions and union membership.
Reagan famously fired 13,000 air traffic controllers union, putting the flying public at horrible risk. But it solidified him as a hero of the management and uber rich classes.
Since 1980, following the script offered by Saint Ronald, the GOP has become ever more anti-union. Given the GOP's original roots, it is quite shocking. in 1854, the GOP was pro modernity, anti-slavery, pro worker's rights, and against the idea of huge land holdings pushing out the little guy. Despite numerous rumors to the contrary, Reagan was NOT personally involved in the GOP's founding in 1854.
Something weird happened to Reagan, quite probably in 1957. For reasons that biographers may never discover, his strong support of unions gradually changed to utter disdain and disgust with the common worker. Perhaps the riches he earned supporting big business (and they were huge) polluted his brainwaves, and like other nouveau riche, rubbing elbows with the haves and have mores, made him forget his roots. Perhaps he believed that communism and union activities were somehow linked. Perhaps, he was just a shallow, mentally lazy, greedy, SOB who pissed on HIV sufferers, spat on affirmative action, defecated on women's rights, especially their reproductive and wage issues, and vomited on education.
But he wasn't always like that. During very trying times, the early Reagan stood up to HUAC and to management, and earned the support of union folks everywhere. Imagine how different the world would have been if he had retained that early sanity and support of labor.
Still, it can be fun to trip up young TeaBaggers by reminding them that Reagan was pro-union, anti-management. At one time.