I reinforced Reagan’s precedent that workers’ right to strike is contingent on the effect to the economy that the strike would have, which is a blow to the strength of unions and to the possibility of a general strike, regardless of the results achieved for this set of workers. Not to mention that we don’t know if the unions could have got an even better deal if they had successfully engaged in the strike. Making good on his word helps to soften the blow, but it doesn’t erase it entirely