News & information

The 2014 NALC Convention in Philadelphia approved a resolution to observe July 26 as “Postal Heritage Day.”

The resolution, introduced by San Francisco Branch 214, noted that the U.S. Postal Service traces its roots to an act of the Second Continental Congress on July 26, 1775, establishing a United States Post Office and naming Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general.

Also pointed out in the resolution is that the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970—a direct result of the Great Postal Strike in March of that year—further affirmed USPS’ constitutional DNA.

“The Post Office has been the governmental agency that interacts most with the citizenry,” the resolution stated, “a basic part of the infrastructure of this country.

“The Postal Service is a national treasure,” the resolution continued, “that belongs to the people of this country, that should not be crippled or dismantled, and whose artificial financial crisis was caused by legislation advanced by business interests and prolonged by federal budget politics.”

According to the resolution, many groups already hold public events on this July 26 date in defense of USPS as a public institution.

“This union knows well that the Postal Service is a vital institution belonging to the American people,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “We support events and campaigns, on our own and in alliance with others, in defense of the Postal Service—on July 26 and whenever else the opportunity arises.”

General Resolution 2: Observe Postal Heritage Day July 26
—among the resolutions approved en bloc by NALC’s 69th Biennial National Convention on July 21, 2014.

Whereas: The U.S. Postal Service traces its start to an act of the Second Continental Congress on July 26, 1775, which established the “United States Post Office” and named Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General; and

Whereas: The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 (a direct result of the 1970 strike) states that “The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people;” and

Whereas: The Post Office has been the governmental agency which interacts the most with the citizenry, and which has always been held in high regard; and

Whereas: The Post Office has always been a basic part of the infrastructure of this country, playing a vital role in its economy, and has provided jobs to millions of Americans; and

Whereas: Post offices have played a central role in their communities, and the many historic Post Office buildings embody both architectural and artistic features, such as WPA-era art celebrating labor, which are part of America’s cultural legacy; and

Whereas: The Postal Service is under attack — from antigovernment ideologues who hate public service, from privatizers who want to acquire postal operations, and from postal management, which wants to degrade service to the American people and sell off historic buildings; and

Whereas: The Postal Service is a national treasure that belongs to the people of this country, that should not be crippled or dismantled, and whose artificial financial crisis was caused by legislation advanced by business interests, and prolonged by federal budget politics; and

Whereas: Union and community groups have since 2012 been organizing public events in defense of the Postal Service as a public institution on the birthday of the Post Office, July 26, and opposing privatization of this vital public service; therefore, be it

Resolved: That the National Association of Letter Carriers shall go on record supporting the celebration of “Postal Heritage Day” on July 26, recognizing that the Postal Service is a vital institution belonging to the American people, which should be protected as a public service, a public asset, and a national treasure; and be it further

Resolved: That this union, and its officers, branches and members, are urged to support events and campaigns in defense of the public Post Office, both on our own, and in alliance with others, on July 26, and whenever the opportunity arises.

Branch 214, San Francisco, CA

Approved by the Executive Council