About NALC

The Beginning

The Beginning

Free city delivery of mail was established in 1863. In the years that followed, letter carriers found themselves working 10- to 12-hour days, seven days a week. The fight to achieve legal recognition of an 8-hour day, successfully concluded in 1888, clearly demonstrated what could be achieved when letter carriers banded together and reached out beyond their local area.

This idea was behind the official call, issued by Milwaukee letter carriers, to meet in August 1889. The date was chosen to coincide with the reunion of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans from the Civil War, an event that was scheduled to be held in Milwaukee. The hope was that the lower rail fares available because of the reunion would increase attendance and make the meeting truly national.

For the event, 60 letter carriers showed up in Milwaukee on August 29 in the meeting room above Schaeffer’s Saloon. The following day, these delegates passed a resolution officially establishing the National Association of Letter Carriers.

A look at the delegate list shows the NALC had a national range from the start, with representatives from San Francisco to Buffalo. But the schedule, in conjunction with a meeting of union veterans, meant the states of the former Confederacy weren’t well represented. And the large cities of Philadelphia and New York, which had been so central to the fight for the 8-hour day, were conspicuous by their absence.

The next year saw letter carriers in attendance from the north and the south, from small towns and big cities alike, united and ready to move forward.  New York City letter carriers convened a meeting on July 4, 1890, to which they invited representatives of the fledgling NALC. In Wendell’s Assembly Rooms on 7th Avenue, supporters of the NALC made their case. Central to their argument was the contention that “an instrument to do national legislative work is a necessity”—a statement that still resonates today. A resolution urging all cities to bring their local associations under the NALC passed after serious debate. 

NALC logoThe first convention, which took place a month later in Boston, was attended by 68 delegates. By that point, the NALC encompassed 52 branches representing 4,600 carriers. Each subsequent issue of The Postal Record documented steady growth in the number of branches, as the NALC reached into every region, every state—anywhere letter carriers were delivering mail.

Those involved in these early years were conscious that the union needed some sort of badge or emblem so that members would have an easy way to identify each other. A committee was established at the convention in Boston to select an appropriate image.  The resulting design was formally adopted in January of 1891: a hand holding a letter addressed “USA” within a circular border inscribed “National Association of Letter Carriers.”  The design has served the union well, as it steadily grew in the years that followed; it remains the NALC logo today.

Delegates to the 1889 Milwaukee Convention

First Name

Last Name

City

State

RD

Fairbanks

San Francisco

CA

PA

Duggan

Denver

CO

CD

Lewis

Meridien

CT

AL

Barlett

Meridien

CT

Wm

Seymour

Meridien

CT

JB

Hodge

Chicago

IL

Jas G

Mullins

Chicago

IL

Joseph A

Fagan

Englewood

IL

FA

Wilkinson

Englewood

IL

CP

O'Neil

Englewood

IL

AV

Arnold

Springfield

IL

JJ

Redmond

Chicago

IL

RR

Sampson

Chicago

IL

TJ

Wiehman

Chicago

IL

Irwin L

Miller

Chicago

IL

JJ

Simmons

Chicago

IL

Sam D

Brown

Ottawa

KS

HR

Evans

Louisville

KY

Larris

Gaebel

Louisville

KY

John

Baker

Louisville

KY

Adam

Kraher

Louisville

KY

J

Price

Louisville

KY

John

Stewart

New Orleans

LA

Geo A

Blunt

Worcester

MA

Geo H

Marden

Boston

MA

Julius

Caesar

Grand Rapids

MI

EJ

Sigler

Grand Rapids

MI

WH

Wood

Detroit

MI

Wm J

Daly

Detroit

MI

AB

Foster

St. Paul

MN

Thos

O'Dea

St. Paul

MN

FW

Campbell

Minneapolis

MN

Ben F

Cooper

St. Louis

MO

HM

Day

St. Louis

MO

Geo J

Kleffner

Omaha

NE

Geo V

Hall

Lincoln

NE

Harry

Cummer

Buffalo

NY

Chas F

Gehring

Buffalo

NY

Nelson G

Lovelace

Rochester

NY

Chas E

Young

Massilon

OH

WT

Willis

Mansfield

OH

FS

Trafton

Cleveland

OH

FL

Saxton

Cleveland

OH

FE

Mobus

Huntingdon

PA

Thos E

Africa

Huntingdon

PA

John J

Goodwin

Providence

RI

Wilmot

Dunn

Nashville

TN

Lewis L

Brown

La Crosse

WI

D?

Lewis

Racine

WI

Wm W

Meinecke

Racine

WI

EE

Finney

Oshkosh

WI

Frank

Finauf

Racine

WI

Clarence

Howard

La Crosse

WI

Max W

Hech

Racine

WI

Chas S

Glaw

Racine

WI

Ira

O'Dell

Milwaukee

WI

Harry

Lorsh

Milwaukee

WI

TJ

Murray

Milwaukee

WI

EA

Augustus

Milwaukee

WI

AF

Dallman

Milwaukee

WI