New York City Postal Workers Essay

On March 18, 1970, history was made in America. Thousands of New York City postal workers expressed their frustration with Congress by simply refusing to work. Even though the strike was birthed in New York, postal workers from many other states also shared the same anger and concerns. Despite the miles that separated them, nearly 200,000 postal workers from 30 major cities joined the strike. Prior to 1970, the United States Postal Service was known as Post Office Department and was also managed by the federal government. Any changes, concerns, or suggestions had to be reported and passed through Congress. Congress acted very slowly to improve any concerns they had, so the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, had their work cut out for them.
Postal wages were not increased in a consistent manner, so due to this many of their full-time employees lived below poverty level. From 1967-1969, postal employees did not see not one pay increase. Even though Congress was generous when it came to their pay increases, they simply ignored the post office’s request. Even when certain commission’s suggested that these workers deserved the same collective bargaining rights that private-sector workers under the National Labor Relations Act were given, Congress simply denied that request. The strike officially began when New York City postal department workers joined together and simply refused to work. Since the country operated primarily through mail at that time, many businesses, homes, and even the court system were greatly impacted by the strike. It was at that moment that the country felt the impact the post office had on their everyday lives. Businesses were unable to send or receive mail. Many banks had no money coming in or out. Even Wall Street was greatly affected by this strike. Even though we live in a digital world now, back in the 1970’s they just weren’t able to operate the