.svg) | |
| Long title | An act to improve and modernize the postal service, to reorganize the Post Office Department, and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Enacted by | the91st United States Congress |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub. L. 91–375 |
| Statutes at Large | 84 Stat. 719 |
| Legislative history | |
| |
ThePostal Reorganization Act of 1970 was a law passed by theUnited States Congress that abolished the thenU.S. Post Office Department, which was a part of theCabinet, and created theU.S. Postal Service, acorporation-like independent agency authorized by the U.S. government as anofficial service for the delivery ofmail in theUnited States. PresidentRichard Nixon signed the Act in law on August 12, 1970.[1][2]
The legislation was a direct outcome of theU.S. postal strike of 1970. Prior to the act, postal workers were not permitted by law to engage incollective bargaining. In the act, the four major postal unions (National Association of Letter Carriers,American Postal Workers Union,National Postal Mail Handlers Union, and theNational Rural Letter Carriers' Association) won full collective bargaining rights: the right to negotiate on wages, benefits and working conditions, although they still were not allowed the right to strike.[3]
The first paragraph of the act reads:[2]
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. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people.
The Postal Reorganization Act (at39 USC 410(c)(2)) exempts the USPS fromFreedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure of "information of a commercial nature, including trade secrets, whether or not obtained from a person outside the Postal Service, which under good business practice would not be publicly disclosed".[4]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
 | This United States federal legislation article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
