Postal Workers and the Rise of Collective Bargaining

Abstract

This chapterprovides some deep historical background for the strike. It examines labor in the early post office (that was all white by law). It follows the emergence of the first postal unions after the Civil War and their relationship with the federal government. From there it focuses on the early 1960s and partial collective bargaining rights granted to government workers under President John F. Kennedy’s Executive Order 10988, which led to rising expectations of more labor rights.