Demanding better working conditions, higher pay and a shorter workweek, unionized professional air traffic controllers declared a national strike on August 3, 1981. Only 1,500 of the 13,000 striking members returned to work within 48 hours as ordered by President Ronald Reagan, who declared the strike a "peril to national safety" and a violation of federal law. On August 5, President Reagan fired all the controllers who had ignored his order and brought in non-union replacements. Those fired were also permanently banned from federal service. The nation experienced a 20% drop in air traffic and the union was decertified 2 months later.