exhibit 4

The Great Postal Strike

From "Collective Begging" to "Collective Bargaining"

Until 1970, postal workers had to beg for every benefit they could get. By March 1970, postal workers had had enough and used their collective power to stop the mail in a historic and momentous strike.

The 8-day illegal wildcat strike began in New York City and spread to involve over 210,000 postal workers in 33 cities.

The week-long stoppage proved victorious and resulted in collective bargaining, vastly improved wages, and other benefits that assured a better life for successive generations of postal workers.

Meager pay led to worker discontent. In 1970 postal pay started at $6,200. After 21 years of service the top pay was capped at $8,400. Many postal workers worked extra jobs and qualified for public assistance.

Library for Congress

Leading Up to the Strike

Amid an era of rising worker militancy and the growing civil rights movement, postal workers led a number of slowdowns and sickouts throughout the 1960s, including notable events in Chicago and Newark.

Without collective bargaining rights, the workers’ recourse had been to plead to Congress for raises and better working conditions, hence the term “collective begging.”

Striking postal workers at a union meeting in New York in 1970.

The Final Spark

On March 12, 1970, Congress voted the President a 100-percent pay raise, themselves a 41-percent pay raise, and offered postal workers a 5-percent pay raise after years of stagnant wage increases.

Workers’ outrage, combined with the frustration of pent-up grievances, spread like a wildfire. Irate letter carriers of New York City Branch 36 voted to strike, and set up picket lines. Manhattan/Bronx Nation Postal Union president Moe Biller advised that good union members do not cross picket lines – and the strike was on.

The pace and severity of the strike stunned the nation. By March 20, 1970 – three days into the strike – workers at over 670 postal facilities in over 30 major cities in 13 states had struck. Most mail, particularly in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast stopped moving. This map shows the areas affected most.

The wildcat strike quickly spread to 33 major cities, with 210,000 postal workers walking off their jobs. It was the largest strike in history against the U.S. government.
Workers held firm even as their national union leaders urged an end to the strike and as President Nixon threatened termination, deploying 25,000 troops to “move” the mail.

Without the workers, management’s efforts to move the mail and break the strike completely failed. The mail system of the country stood still.

Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

On March 22, President Nixon ordered all postal workers back to work. There was talk that those who didn’t return might be jailed, fined, or fired.

In New York City only 347 out of a total of 10,729 responded to the President’s order to work their shifts at the General Post Office.

In response, the President mobilized the National Guard in a futile attempt to break the strike and move the mail.

United Press International

The heroes of the Great Postal Strike of 1970 defied unjust laws to fight for dignity and a livable wage. Their victory laid the foundations for the APWU and for good union jobs within the Postal Service.

A lone supervisor in Chicago attempted in vain to do what typically was done by 14 workers. Yet, his sorted mail had nowhere to go.

The IMPACT

The strike was front page news, bringing attention to the plight of postal workers. Time Magazine reported that mail “began piling up by the ton.”

The movement of letters, business mail, and financial transactions ground to a halt. Wall Street – the center of finance capital – stood still.

The Outcome

The strike was victorious. Full collective bargaining rights, including over wages and benefits, were won. The strike led to the first Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated with all the postal unions and postal management.

The number of years to reach top pay step was compressed from 21 years to eight. Congress approved a retroactive 6-percent wage increase with another 8-percent in August of the same year.

Postal Strike Grips the Nation

After years of mistreatment and low pay, postal workers staged a wildcat strike in March 1970 that was front page news.

The walkout, which lasted about a week, shut down the nation’s mail system. Postal workers won full collective bargaining rights and secured major improvements in pay and working conditions following the strike.

The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970

The strike led to the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 (PRA). The PRA gave full collective bargaining rights to the postal unions and eliminated congressional meddling in postal affairs.

However, it also created a “business model” for the USPS, requiring it to break even each year. That “business model” became outdated with the advent of the internet, e-commerce, and reduced mail volumes, and has led to financial challenges and sacrifices in quality service.

The Postal Reorganization Act also denied postal workers the “legal” right to strike and established a “comparability in wages” criterion, comparing postal pay to similar work in the private sector. Postal management has used this provision in negotiations and interest arbitration to try to reduce postal worker wages.

exhibit 5

Formation of APWU

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