The U.S. postal strike of 1970 was a groundbreaking two-week strike by federal postal workers in March 1970. President Richard Nixon called out the U.S. Armed Forces and the National Guard in an attempt to distribute the mail and break the strike.
The strike led directly to passage of the Postal Reorganization Act, which modernized the postal service and provided for collective bargaining for postal workers.At the time, postal workers were not permitted by law to engage in collective bargaining. Striking postal workers felt wages were very low, benefits poor and working conditions unhealthy and unsafe. The U.S. Post Office Department's management was outdated and, according to workers, haphazard. Informal attempts by workers to obtain higher pay and better working conditions had proven fruitless.
