The Postal Work Stoppage, March 17-26, 1970

7/30/2019 The Postal Work Stoppage, March 17-26, 1970

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Description of document: The Postal Work-Stoppage, March 17-26, 1970 (US

Army Operation Graphic Hand), 1970

Requested date: 10-January-2009

Released date: 08-May-2009

Posted date: 16-September-2009

Title of document The Postal Work-Stoppage, March 17-26, 1970

Source of document: Department of the Army

U.S. Army Freedom of Information and Privacy Office

Casey Building, Suite 1447701 Telegraph Road

Alexandria, VA 22315-3905E-mail: [email protected]

Note: This is a separate and distinct report from another US Army

Graphic Hand report also available here.

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THE POSTAL WORK-STOPPAGEMARCH 17.26, 1970

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CONTENTS- - - -Section 1. Introduction

2. Pre-Strike IntelligenceA. Militant Activities of Employee U ~ i o n sB. Employee Agitators or Militant LeadersC. OUtside Groups Advocating or PromotingPostal StrikeD. Employees Connected With Outsid: Groups

3. Contingency Policy and InstructionsA. Strike DefinitionB. ; Legal BackgroundC. Interpretation of ActivityD. .POD PolicyE. SecurJ. tyF. SeTvice Investigations

Criminal I n v e s t i ~ a t i o n sB. Field Organization

4. Strike Meetings. Concrol Center Activation6. B o ~ Threats, Evacuations, Hours Lost7. Expansion of Strike in Northea8t8 . Security ... Post Office Department9 . Security - Field Establishment . ,

.. < tI': .10. Hew 'York Area .. Marcn 18 and 19

J. ; ."11. Exf'BOSion'of Strike Nationwide . . 1.' t12. .Civil Court Acti9ns

PAGES

34-6

7-10

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14-151617-18.19-20212223-29


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CONTENTS {con:inued)

Section 13. Criminal V i o l a t i ~ n s by Employees 3014. Degree of Involvement and Impact of Outside Groups 31-3715. Unusual Disruptive Incidents. Acts of Violence,Property Damage or Suspected Sabotage 3816. Mail Embargoes }17. Courier Service18. Efforts to Resolve Strike 5119. Response to Efforts to Resolve Strike 52

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20'. Military Liaison21. Use of Military Personnel22. Contingency Plan for D e l i v e r ~ of Government Checks 586023 . Final Stages of Strike .61 .24'. Special Interest Mailbandling Problems 62-6625. Other Special Interest Items 67-70

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INTRODCCIlON

Contingency. situations involving the Bureau of the Chief Inspectorhave been handled in the past by personnel of various Divisions inthe field and at th e Bureau. The degree of participation Hasdirect ly related to the location and peculiari t ies of the contingencsi tuat ion. Involvement might include coordination 'uith postln3.stersin establishing security p r e c a ~ t i o n s for personnel, fac i l i t i e s , maigathering of intell igence, coori inat ionHith local, sta te , federal omilitary agencies, developing necessary evidence for use in result incriminal prosecutions, or anyone of several other areas within thejuri 'sdic tion of the Bureau of the Chief Inspec t)?r.I t became apparent to Chief Inspector W. J . Cotter that the resourceof the Bureau were not uti l ized in many contingencies unt i l the unexpected event h ~ d happened and organization of the directly involvepersonnel in the f ield and at the Bureau was of necessity effected uemergency conditions.To reduce the requirement for eQergency arrangements to cope with cotingency situation;:; such as strikes, 'tl7ork stoppages, natural disastedemonstrat:ions, r iots , plane crashes-, e t cetera, the ContingenciesBranch of the Bureau was established in September 1969. The purposethe Branch is to organize for the handling of and to coordinate a l lInspection Service matters during emergent or contingency si tuat ionsPlans were developed under which the Bureau s ta f f and the DivisionHeadquarters personnel maintain a continuing state of readiness to aquickly and effectively should the need ar ise .

, 'The operation of the Contingencies Branch was put to i t s f i r s t majot e s t beginning in February 1970. Contingency Intelligence obtainedby f ie ld Inspectors indicated efforts 'were being made to ini t ia te as t r ike against the Post Office Department. Various branches of theNational Association of Letter Carriers were holding meetings for thpurpose of discussing and promoting wildcat strike ac t iv i t ie s butwere not being supported by the Dembership iq sufficient numbers tomake such ac t iv i t ie s successful. I t was apparent, h O ~ l e v e r , that i twould only bea matter of time before the promotion generated the

r- ' necessary favor of the employees and the strike in some form wouldevidence i t se l f in spite of the effor ts of the national officer-of tcar r ie r union to discourage such action by threatening expUlsion frothe national association.

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PRE-STRIKE INTELLIGENCE

A. Militant Activities of Employee UnionsDuring February and the e a r ~ y \veeks of March 1970, concentratedattention was given in the 15 Divisions tOvlard gatheringinformation relative to activit ies of employee organizationsfrom which an assessment' of the seriousness and scope of th estr ike potential could be made. Inspectors contacted in te l l i -gence units of local police, sheriffs ' offices, FBI, otheragencies having interest in subversive and militant act ivi t ies ,as well as postmasters, postal supervisors and confidentialinformants. The reports from throughout the nation indicatedthe movement was principally in th e metropolitan New York Cityarea..Employees in New York City were pressing for a str ike becauseof the discontent generated by the delay'of Congress and th eAdministration; to act on a postal pay raise . Officers of NALCBranch 36, involving Manhattan and the Bronx, along withoff icers of the National Postal Union. were attempting toexert restra int on the members bu t these efforts were booed,hooted and shouted down a t meetings. Strong differences ofopinion existed with f i s t fights and disorders resulting a tmany o f the meetings.,Brooklyn employees were similarly discontented. President JackLeventhal 'and the local NALC Branch 41 advised unofficial lytha t support would be given Branch 36 in th e event of a str ike .PreSident Benjamin Zemsky's Loc,al 251, United Federation ofPostal Clerks posted notices on bulletin boards stat ing theywauldsupport the NALe decision. President Harold Fosters' localo f the Brooklyn Postal Union indicated sympathy with the NALehut. made no definite commitments .OD Long Island, Jamaica and Hicksville locals of th e NALeadvised that i f Branch 36 voted to str ike , they would join inthe act ivi ty . Flushing, Long Island City and the larger ci t iesLnthe upstate area had, displayed no init iat ive towards. prOUlOting any type of work stoppage.In the rest of the country, Tony t-iontanez, President of the

K t a m i ~ Florida local of the NALe threatened during television1Aterview on February 22 and 27 that a strike would be effectedJ. a pay raise was not quickly passed by Congress. The carr iers" a t Stamford, Connecticut were actively planning a work stoppagebut no dates were se t . , In Saint Paul, Hinnesota, which i s a.''ailread center , a very strong union community, and l isted as the

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nintb highest cost of l iving area in the country. Theempli.,oyees 'tlTere res t le ss , Although no organized effor ttowards a strike had been in i t ia ted, they le t i t be knotmtha t the example set in New York CitY;'tvould undoubtedlybe ~ o l l o w e d . Duluth, Minnesota, also a strong union town,reported employees were ,averse to active ly supportinga str ike once effected. Information from major ci t ies suchas Detroi t , Chicago and Sgn Francisco indicated no con-certed action relative to tne strike was underway.

B. K ~ p l o y e e Agitators or Militant LeadersInformation furnished by field Inspectors showed that withonly ia few exceptions, the employee unrest was not the result_,_o f agitat ion by the union off ic ia ls . Instead, 'dissension ___..__,appeared to be a growing sweli of emotion within the rank andf i le membership of the NALC in New York City. Union off ic ia lsin the New York metropolitan area were inclined to follow th e_ t i ona l association which stressed working with the adminis-t ra t ion for a pay raise t ied to a modified postal reform b i l l .In March 1970, the union leadership in New York City and other~ ci t ies were given mandates by the membership to adopt thest r ike position or lose control as leaders.lhe exceptions involved Akro'n, Ohio where during the absence ofthe local HALe preSident, Secretary John B. Carney was instru-~ l in setting up a str ike vote meeting. In Hicksville.'1Ie.w York Local 2530 NALC president. Howard Speedling, promoted'h is local to in i t ia te a strike and sought the support of otherLong ls land locals early in March. Be was unable to gain theSttpport unti l af ter Branch 36 of New York City voted to strike.

~ J t s i d e Groups Advocating or Promoting Postal StrikeTbepossibi,l i ty of outSide groups taking advantage of the dis-sat is fact ion of the postal employees to further their 'ownimaae ~ s given attention. Previously on July 15, 1969. theBevYork Students for a Democratic Society Labor Committee held 'a meeting to support the Kingsbridge and Throggs Neck Stationsemployee work stoppage in Bronx, New York. ' In ~ g u s t 1969,cl.r:c:ulars t i t led "Organize to Win a Strike" w e r ~ d i s t r ~ b u t e dshowing a return address of the Manhattan and Bronx ConcernedPostal Workers, clo Cam'PGLigner', Box 49, Washington BridgeStation. This box was rented to the SDS Labor Committee by a,EbL11is Dillon, 647 W. l48th Street , New York City In t:h.e weeks immediately preceding the March 1970 work stoppage.I:bexe WS1;'e no reported a ~ t i v i t i e s py any of the revolutionary or8 U ~ r s i v e groups actively promoting the postal s t r ike . This

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condition changed-substantially, hOHever, af ter the str ikewas effected and th e activi t ies are detailed later in thisreport .D. Employees Connected with Outs.ide Groups

In the event the wo;:-k stdp?age developed, it Has impo]:tantto know i f any postal employees ;ere active in reactionarygroups. Current inforIpation, '-las reviewed and updated. I twas established that several employees were prominent insuch organizations. The details are as follows:Brooklyn, New york'- Regular Carrier, Barry Cohen, a memberof the SDS, had attempted to organize a postalemployees group at the Midwo0d Station where he

i s assigned for duty.Saint

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Paul, Minneapolis - Regular Clerk, Carol M. Ferguson,was, .ident"ified as an ac t;i.vist in, the Young _. ; Socialis t Alliance and a m e : n b ~ r of the Socialis t~ W o r k e r i ~ Party. -- : ,

Denver, Colorado - Regular Mailhand1er, Al Sanchez, is .anact ivist in the Crusade Fot Justice, and-organizerfor the International Socialists and was in aleadership position of the la t ter organizationa t a meeting on March 24, 1970 in San Francisco,California.

San F r a n c i s c o ~ C a 1 i f o r n i a Carrier, Peter Hoagland i s anact ivist in th e International Socialis ts and waSarrested on l-Iarch 26, 1970 for obstruction of acpurt order (Title 18, Sec. 1509)._Employee Peter.Hodges i s an ~ c t i v e member of th eInternational Socialis ts .Employee Gene Kick1er i s an active member of th eInternational Socialists

.... _ . . . _._t._ .____ ~ ' ' ' . . _ _ . "'_,'. Career Clerk Laurence J . Swain, :,2nd Vi


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CONTINGENCY POLICY and INSTRUCTIONS

On r-ra'rch 13, 1970, a bulletin was sent to a l l f ield personnelof the Chief Inspector 's Bureau providing the followingpolicy statements and instructions to be observed in conjunct ion with the material contained in the Contingency Plan ForWork Stoppages (July 1968), the S u p p l e m ~ n t to ContingencyPlan for Work Stoppages 0-4-70) and Executive Order 11491Section 2 (E ) (2 ) in e y ~ n t the strike was effected:Strike Definition

The distinguishing characterist ic of a str ike is theconcerted action of two or more employees to withhold theirservices from an employer.Lega.l Background

A three-judge Federal court ruled 10-30-69 that thestatutory prohibition against Federal employees assertingthe r ight to str ike against the Government is unconstitutionalThis opinion did not concern the const i tut ional i ty of th es ta tu te that prohibits p ~ r t i c i p a t i o n in a str ike against theGovernment.

, Interpretat ion of ActivityImplici t throughout a work stoppage si tuat ion are many legali ssues . Calling a refusal to work a "str ike" ID'.lst be a mostcareful-judgement and such decisions are reserved for Headquar ters .

POD p .:>1ic::yThe immediate concern of the Pos t Office Department i s tominimize any inconvenience to the public. Therefore, in theevent of a work stoppage, we will to the maximum extent ofour resources attempt to ~ i n t a i n essential postal serviceand functions at their normal level. We will try to containand hopefully resolve tqe si tuat ion. We will take no action. which :oay reasonably resul t in violence or hazard the safetyo f employees, the security of the mails, or the safety ofbuildings and equipment. We will keep the public ful lyinformed on the ' issues involved as we know them, on the typesof postal service available, the conditionS' for postal

s e r v i c e s ~ and ~ u r progress totv-ards settlement. Further, wewil l keep . ~ contact with the national leaders of a l lemployee unions, particular ly, those whose m e ~ b e r s may be invo lved in the work s t o p ~ g e . Our .aim in a l l these actions is.7 f


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to demonstrate our desires to end the stoppages as quicklya ~ possible and with the leas t amount of disruption or

h a r ~ s h i p to the public or e ~ b i t t e r m e n t of employee relat ions.As a work stoppage c o n t i ~ ~ e s , th e m ~ i l and service si tuat ionwill be reassessed and s e r ~ ~ c e s extended or limited as necessary. Further, \,18 will, ~ t e r m i n e the feasibi l i ty of obtainingreplaceoents for absent ec?loyees.

E. Security1. ecuri ty of Mails. During period of work stoppage increasedsurveillance must be given to the protection of mail in thepost office or in public places avlaitfng pick-up., Arrangements must be m ~ d e for protection of mail awaiting dispatchon post ' office platforms, bus terminals,raih..ray. stat ions,airpor ts , piers, etc . Inspectors will assure ' the ~ d e q u a c y

of protection given to n ~ i l in custody of contractors or instorage a t federal faci l i t ies other than the post office.Care m u s t , ~ l s o be taken regarding possible receipt in theJX!ails of disruptive devices ranging from stink bombs toexplosives.2. Security of Emplaxees. E m ? l o y ~ e s safety shal l supersedeany other consideration. Employees will not be requested

to enter on any premise or perform any duty which theysincerely believe might resul t in bodily harm. Arrangementsmay pe necessary to assure the i r orderly and safe entrancean d departure. Transportation at government expense isauthorized as may be necessary to supply certain local i t ieswith needed manpower.

3.. Securi ty of Postal Funds, Property, Equipment, and Buildings.Inspectors will coordinate with Postmasters to assureadequacy of actions taken.to assure security of postalpropert ies. Additional e ~ p l o y e e s may have to be detailedto duties as guards , p a r t i c u ~ a r l y in si tuat ions 'where patront raf f ic in lobbies and postal roadways is increased.

F. Service Investigations1. Inspectors are requested to confer. discreet ly and withoutfanare, with. ins tal lapon heads to become familiar with

, the i r preparations and local emergency organizations, andto evaluate the adequacy of advance planning

2 . ,In the event of an actual work stoppage 7 Inspectors willmove promptly, in coordination with in$tal lat ion heads,ins ta l la t ion security forces and local law enforcement, asappropriate . to ensur,e that: in i t i a l security measures are


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sat isfactory and t h ~ t c e r ~ a i n c O f f i ~ u n i c a t i o n s are established to permit prompt res?onse by this Service shouldbreakdoims in security rr:2..:::erialize.3. As required, Inspectors will also ass is t ins tal la t ionheads Regional personnel in developing and imple

menting alternative methods of process ) storing, transporting and delivering mails during a work s t o p p a g e ~similar to the support ' ~ ; e rO-.ltinely provide in anyemergency situation affecting the P ~ s t a l Szrvice, ~ . g . ,fo11o'''ing a natural-disaster .

G. Criminal Investigations

1. InSDectors \nl l direct attention 'to th e development of a l lfacts and evidence to establish prime i n v e s t i g i : d : : ~ 6 n s 'C:fw..0El< ___ 'stoppages, participants and conspirators in work s ~ o p p a g e s ,and those responsible for secondary criminal act ivi t iesflowing from work stoppages, e.g. , obstruction of the mails.

I n s ~ c t o r s should establish 'V7hether s t r ikers , p.9.rticularlythose who be engaged in picketing, are in or out ofpostal uniform. The names of a l l postal and non-postalwitnesses should be developed. Bearing in mind that one ofthe most cr i t ical areas in investigations involving massact iv i ty i s positive identification of partfclp9.nts andtheir respective responsibility fo r specific overt acts ,p30tographs, including motion pictures, should be taken to-'the'maximum extent feasible. A thorough development of a l lavailable evidence i s essential . to support any administrativeo r criminal actions which may. required f o l l o ' ~ i n g Headquarters ' assessmant of the aggregate evidence.- . . - . ~ .. . ..2. When Inspectors establish non-criminal act ivi t ies involvingwork stoppages by postal employees which warrant disciplinaryaction, an Investigative S ~ r y should be furnished thePostmaster in the usual ~ 4 n e r with a copy to the RegionalDirector . ' When evidence of criminal a c ~ i v i t i e s involving

~ w o r k stoppages by postal. employees i s d e v e 1 o p e ~ , Inspectorswil l submit drafts of proposed le t ters of adverse actionand proposed presentation le t ters to the V. S. Attorney,through the Inspector in Ch9.rge, for Bureau clearance, prior toissuance. Violations of 18 USC 1701 by employees or otherswil l continue to be presented to U. S. Attorneys by Inspectors,without advance approval.

H. Field Organization 1 . Inspectors in Charge will design9.te a m ~ m b e r of Divisionmanagement or an Inspe-!!tor(s) to coordinate Inspection S e r v i c ~ac t iv i t ies relating to work stoppages by postal emplQyees .,.


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Cognizance should be t a ~ : e t l of the geographical and postalp o p u l a t i o ~ composition cf th e Division in mgking thesedesignations. Inspacto=s will channel intel l igence bythe most expeditious means to the D03icile' Coordinator.The l a t te r ,.,ill report conditions in the Domicile areato the designated m ~ m b e r of Division management or Inspec:..to r who ~ , ] i l l prepare a Division SUT.r:;3.ry, for:- transmissionto the Chief Inspector by ARS. The frequency of r e p o r ~ s

~ l l , of course, be governed by exis t ing conditions butwe wish to emphasize the positive requirement for timelyreports , e .g . , in an 'active' si tuat ion summaries a t leas tdaily are expected 2. Domicile Coordinators ~ r i l l keep Postmasters ful ly informed

an d Division management . r i l l provide Regional Directorswith timely reports of a l l s ignif ican t developments.

3. In the event of an actual work stoppage, Domicile Coordina-tors are responsible for promptly reporting the scope ofInspection Service tasks so adequate Inspector manpower Canbe t imely deployed by th e Inspector in Charge to carry outour security and invest igat ive responsibil i t ies

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STRIKE '''1EETING

_ ~ m p l o y e e s of Branch NALC, involving carriers,in Hanhattan and Bronx of Ne\v York City, held a meeting onMarch 12 and' gave their branch officers a mandate to cal la special m ~ e t i n g on Tuesday, Harch 17 a t Hanhattan Center.The purpose of th e ~ e e t i n g . w a s to take a strike vote todetermine i f the membership was willing to go out on str ike .The voting would be by voting machines between 6:00 pm and'9:00 pm. '.Inspectors a t the scene reported the doors of ManhattanCenter opened a t 6:25 pm a::ld some confusio


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CONTROL CENTER ACTIVATIONResponding to the str ike vote in Net" York, Bureau Headquartersactivated th.:= Control Center a t 11:00 pm on Harch 17, 1970.

L i k e ~ , r i s e , Inspectors in Ch3.rge placed their Divisions in readiness by manning the Division Headquarters Control Centers on a24 hour basis and either alerting or activating Domicile ControlCenters as local conditions yarranted.Information furnished by th e f ie ld ~ ' l a s processed and briefed bythe Bureau Control Center for the information of the ChiefInspector and the Postmaster General. Copies of messages fromthe Chief Inspector to Inspectors in ~ h a r g e , from the Bureau ofOperations to Regional Directors and the General Counsel toRegional Counsels were provided the Control Center as informat ion.The act ivat ion process a t the Divisional level was immediate a tthe 15 Headquarters but waS given less than 24 h o u ~ coverage a tsome Domicile Control Centers because of the absence'of work-stoppages. Basfod on necessity, th e coverage by Divisions wasas fol,lows:DivisionAtlantaBoston

--- CluittanoogaChicagoCincinnatiDenverFort WorthKansas Ci ty .New York

Field Control CentersFlorida. Georgia. N.C. & S.C.Bridgeport. R ~ r t f o r d , New HavenNone (No str ikes)Detroit , MinneapolisAkron, Cleveland. Tqledo, CincinnatiPhoeniX, Tucson, Sal t Lake City and

AlbuquerqueNone (No strikes)None (No str ikes)Brooklyn, Bronx, Jamaica, Flushing.Mineola, S.mith!=OtVIl, Yonkers J Newburgh,Albany. Syracuse. Rochester, BuffaloPhiladelphia Newark. Jersey City, PittSburghSaint Louis None (No strikes)Saint Paul MinneapolisSan Francisco. Los AngelesSeatt le None '(No str ikes)Washington None (No str ikes)

Coverage-24 hours24 I I2.4 n2.4 u24, n

24 f I24 "

-24 I t24 n

The operation of the, Bureau Control Center during the prolonge?period of the str ike disclosed several conditions which warrant, improvement for future o p e r a t i o n s ~ As a resul t of th is experiencethe follOwing recommendations are made: ..


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Staff COGplenentThe f o l l o ~ ; L T l g 2..ssign.11.ents should be on a standing basis. Inthe event of any contingency and in the absence of the Directorat the t k a of a. contingency, the activation process will beinitiated. a t the directioJl of the Chief Inspector by the Assist&"Director of Tour Assistants.Director of Control CenterA s s i s ~ ~ t DirectorTour Assistants

:S t e n o & r ~ p h e r - File Clerk

-- -.eport Brief' FO'I7!.13.t '

!Director, Contingency Branch-Director, Audit Inspections Branch-Director, Security InvestigationsBr.:a.nch-Director. Personnel InvestigationsBranch-Director, Internal Thefts Branch-Director, Burglary & Mail TneftBranch.Admiriistrative Staff Assistant toDirector; S1, I &C Division

Develop a printed sheet for recording information received by., telephone and for briefing messages' by ARS.'Equipment

1. ' l \ ~ o telephones located in Contingency Branch2. Folding table for contingency operation3 . Filing cabinet and sufficient, suitable folders for

i l ~ g m ~ s s a g e s according to source.4 . lWo typeHri ers, one adding' machineS. Electrified map of sufficient size to graphically,plot conditions6. Radio7. Television

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,-. threats t-Iere received at th e Net .. York General P:)st Office.Threats increased daily thereafter and th is ac t ivi ty t:asexperienced in several Divisions during the strike period. Noactual bombings materialized but substantial delays in mailprocessing and loss of manhours resulted. The following inforrn:lt ion ShOHS the scope and imgort of t:he threats .

Division Location No. Threats Evacuations Hrs.LosAtlanta Atlanta 3 0 0Miami 3 3 45Gainesville, Fla. 1 0 0Tallahassee, Fla. 1 1 15

. Boston

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Prudential Station, BostonBoston - ~ f u i n OfficeBoston - South Postal AnnexBack Bay AnnexPost Office Truck TerminalMalden Branch

~ Cambridge "A" Branch, BostonCambridge Branch 38, BostonPawtucket, Rhode Island'---Belden Station, Norwalk, C o n n ~New Haven, ConnecticutBristol , ConnecticutWindsor, Conn,ecticutChattanoogaChicago

Main OfficeSCl, South SuburbanDetroit,MlchiganRoyal Oak, MichiganCincinnati

1116121111111'2None

4461None

017121111110,0

o1o1

....

01,6646.63713440

22421451000

405,600190250

~ ~ r D e ~ r 3 0 0(One made by Regular Clerk, Samuel Carter, Denver Terminal Annex..Fort W:n:th Houst:on , IThibodaux 1New Orleans 11Kansas City_ None

14_ ... _-",,... . _ :- __ ., _ _ . _ ~ . _ . _ ..____ .. _._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . ~ - ,_ __ ' _ ....,_ ... _'. - . _ ' _ " ' ; _ : : : - ~ r ~ _ .. ' c '" ____ ,__

...

1 0314501,855

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DivisionNew York

Philadelphia

Saint LouisSaint PaulSan Francisco

w w 1 __ _

. SeattleWashington

LocationBronxNew York CityBrooklynFlushingRockville Cen.Valley StreamFar RockawayHamburg

Hackensack, NJOrange, NJCamden, NJSaint LouisSaint Paul;San Franci sco .Los Angeles

No. Threats EvacuationsU n k ! i o ~ : n 314 recorded 0250 estimated 02 01 01 11 11 01 0

11121

22

2o

ooSpringfield, Ore 1 oWashington 17 2'N. Virginia SCF 8

Post Office Dept. Bldg. 1 o

15

..

Hrs. LostUnknm-moooo2515oo

Unknownoooo.1,949

838

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EXPANSIml OF STRIKE IN NORTHEAST

The s.}l!lpathy fe It by the fe 11m1 employees of Branch 36 membersthrocghout the area and nation evidenced i t se l f on Harch 18.B r o o ~ l y n l e t te r carr iers advised they ~ v o u l d follow Branch 36; theNational Postal Union in Nev' York City stated they v10uld not croscarr ie r picket l ines and voted ovenlhelmingly to support th e strikCarriers scheduled on Tour 1 of Barch 18 at GPO and stationseffected the strike by not reporting or leaving the ir assignmentsa f t e r reporting. Postal Inspectors responded in sufficient numbea t ~ : 3 0 am to monitor conditions a t a l l major area instal lat ionsand. provide on the s ~ o t intel l igence for Departmental off ic ia ls .Pickets were se t up at.6:00 am and mail service ground to a hal tM.anha.t:tan and the Bronx. Najor area off ices on Long Island followan d became vir tual ly inoperational. Brooklyn carr iers and clerksin an impromptu meeting held early on March 18. supported Branchan d d id not report for duty. No problems generated from the pickThey did not interfere with employees or supervisors desiring toreport fo r duty. However, private and government contract vehicldrivers carrying m a ~ l , in addition to employees in large numbers,honored the picket l ines, and metropolitan New York postal serviceceased to function. .'TUa s t r ike spread into New Jersey by 8:45 am on March 18 whenemployees a t Paterson walked out and th e office vIas completely shdOwn:_ During the day, additional offices in Long Island, WestcheCounty of N e ~ 1 York State . in Connecticut and New Jersey were closdown. Offices in the midwest, such as Saint Louis and Cincinnatiand others throughout the South and Southwest, s,tarted having strvoce meetings but the results were to.abide by the policy of theiNational Officers to remain on duty. National President of the NJames Rademacher. was unable to control or influence the membershis organization in the Northeast section of the country. To solhis pOSition, he called a meeting of branch off ic ia ls from 300 oflar .gest post offices throughout the country. The purpose of this

m e e ~ g . i n addition to strengthening his pOsition, was to determthe c ~ r s e to be taken by the National Organization. The meetingset': or l-Iarch 20 in Washington, D.C. During the evening of MarchMeeropolitan New York area aff i l ia tes of the National Postal Unioheld meetings to f o r m a ~ i z e their participation in the work stoppaby bDolding str ike vote meetings.

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OFFICE D E P A R T l ' L ' . ~ N T

Protect ion of the Post Off ice D ~ p : 1 r t m e n t build ing i s the respo:1-",bi l iey of the' General S ~ r v i c e s Adminis t ra t ion. An understand if ' ;::exist.s with the Hetropol i tan E'olice Department tha t pol ice o f ~ ~ - svrill assume repons ib i l i ty for v io la t ions occurr ing outs ide thebuilding and wi II en te r the building only ,,,hen spec if ica l ly' requested to do so . .The GSA pr:-otection service provided by the build ing guard for::ecinimal a t a l l t imes and a t ~ ; r o - o r - t h r e e man co:nplement during c: ;',zda.y b ~ s i n e s s hours me.kes build ing secur i ty a physical i m p r a c c : : : : ' ~ . : : ' l i ty.The f ac t t ha t the bui lding h'1s 14 entr'1n_ceswithout guard c o n : . ' .. :':1d.3iised"oy ' the public an d employees means. t h a t protec t ion is ' lynegl igi lJ le:"The' :only 'b,ui lding entrance under any guard obse>;',

y Z d U r i n ~ business hours i s the north ce n entrance _ ';vhich . i s ~ . ; : ,- . ) lyt h e l ~ a s r p u b l i ~ - ; s ~ d " e ; t ~ - a . n S _ ~ , ..tg . , the_b,uilding. Like,Iise, a , : : ~ m' - - force- for ass ignment "to -th i s build during non-business ho'_ -:Jes:-Dot-per-rift t i g h t e n ~ 2 f ' s e c u r { ~ y _ 2 r o c e d ~ ! : ~ s suchas-- . is-warrantedsens i t ive . ondit:cons ' induced s e r i o u ~ emerge,I1cy c()r.td.it_ions.

Acting an the premise tha t a l!l9.jor ,jork stoppage of the U9.ture 8,":"'-=extent t ha t developed a t Ne\v York City on Harch 17 and spread tG ~ t h e rareas could lead to a possib le confronta t ion p o ~ i n g dangers to r ~ ~ & r t mental pos t a l of f i c i a l s , securi ty act ions were i n i t i a t e d . This ~ ' , ~ . 3

-par t icu la r ly indicated by" the rs.sh of te lephoned bemb thr:eat ca.':'".:;received i.fl vTashington. D.C. on Harch 19. Such a c a l l was. race::' -:::.dby the Pos t Off ice Department operator shor t ly af te r 10:00 a E . ~ 3 " ; .personnel were not i f ied and a mobil iza t ion of the guard force :. building maintenance personnel to tute a build ing searcr:resu l ted . As an immediate measure E'osta1 Inspector s and s e l e ~ 'personnel o f the. Bureau of the Chief Inspector gave immediatto sensi t i .ve areas including the Benjamin Frankl in Postalrecept ion and cor r idor areas around the PHG1s off ice and exec:off ices a t tached the re to . the bui ld ing cafe t e r i a an d the Phi:

:,:::ionthe

Exhibiti.on Room. So fa r as i s k n o \ , ~ , th is i s the f i r s t bombever received r e l a t ing to th i s build ing and. the exper.ience 0 .c lear ly ind ica ted the necess i ty of developing an order ly and

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-19,___ hensive procedure fo r future searches of t h i s type to be c o , i . ( ~

GSA personnel . Continuing a t ten t ion i s being given to l i a i se .GSA and the d e v ~ l o p m e n t of adequate an d pos i t ive plans and TIE ..

by

to insure t l la t search teams ':olill be formed pro:nptly i n s t i .the necessary search and secur i ty measures .The es tabl ishment a t th is Headquarters of an Operat ions Co.n;Jan:::as tv--ell a s a combined contingenCies and in te l l igence gather ing .-;..(!OmIll'.lnications opera t ion in the Bureau of the Chief Pos ta l I n s t : = - ~ '

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. during th e Heekend of Harch 21 and 22 necessitated a sizeable ~ . ; o r kstaff \vithln the Headquarters Builcing. On a nC:lllal Saturdaymorning, only one GSA guard is assi6ned to this Headquarters Building.Two guard members are assigned for ~ = k i n g control. Request was madeof GSA for assignment Nithin th e building of se-;.::ral additional guards

.and they Here a s s ~ g n e d .In view of the general situation i t waS deemed advisable to close thePhilatel ic Room on Saturday March 21. One particularly vufnerableopening was the loading platform serving both the Postal Station and'Building Service. An elect r ical ly pperated overhead door waS securedby the immediate ins ta l la t ion of a ke y locked cover plate for the,control switch.At the beginning of the emergency continuing thereafter , carefulobservation \


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SECURITY - FIELD ESTABLISHrffiNT

ThroughoLlt Harch 18. the Inspection Service ini t iated steps at a llpostal insta l la t ions to aSSure that mail matter, faci l i t ies . personneland equipment exposed to th e Hork stoppage were secure. Examples ofattention given ~ r e :a. At 24 hour and large postal installat ions, steps were takento reduce the number of entrances used and arrange forguards a t those deSignated for use.b . Inspectors circulated 'in lobby areas to assure patron t raff ic~ w a s not interferred with by groups or indiViduals, to counselover-zealous employees in picket l ines outside th e office andi f necessary, remove trouble makers i f the situation requiredsuch action to preserve order.c . Effected the required security of workroom areas to prevent

any attempts a t sabotage.d.

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At smaller stations where only one supervisor was on duty,,.arranged fo r surpluS! supervisors to be'assigned to provide a tleast two a t each station. . IArranged to have installat ions which were closed during the nightto be well illuminated and patrolled regularly by Inspectors,guards or police, giving part icular at tent ion that dock areas werclear and doors secure.In New York City, the police moved a communications van to theGeneral Post Office t'hrough which coordination between theInspection Service and several ~ u n d r e d p o l ~ c e m e n could be maintained throUghout the borough.

g. Due "to the "ever increasing demands being made on the InspectionService, the Chief I n s p e c t o ~ deployed eight Inspectors from theBoston Division, nine from the Atlanta Division and ten from th eFort Worth Division, with an Assistant Inspector in Charge fromthe Cincinnati Division, to assis t with str ike related work inNew York Ci.ty.

h. Guidance was provided relative to designating storage areas a ta i r mail f ie lds , railroad platforms, yards. marshalling areasfo r f lexivan and containerized shipments. Appropriate measureswere taken to achieve maximum security."

i. Assured tha t a thorough inventory of vehicles w ~ s maintained topreclude any being abandoned. To the greaj::est ext:ent pOSSible,vehicles w e r ~ concentrated in deSignated storage areas which were

~ t . r o l i e d to preveiit' m a ) . i c i o u s . _ d a ~ a g e .


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j. Large buildings having collection sack racks ,.;rere visitedand arrangeUlents made ,,:Ii th bUilding r...anagement to providesecuri ty.k. Coilections from st ree t bo:.;;es "tllere Ul3.de by supervisors in

their privately owned vehicles and police Here provided "tvif::h'a telephone number to call i f a box overflowing with mailwas noted.

1. Registered mail was tdthdrawTI from incoming mail receiptsscheduled for storage, f r ~ m dispatches made up to stationsand branches and to post off ices ,,,here i t tvas known Star .Route drivers would not cross existing picket l ines.Registers v ~ r e transported to stations by supervisors andpatrons were notif ied by telephone of regis ters , special 'delivery and perishable ar t ic les on hand which could be ..called for a t their convenience.

m. Provide convoy service on shipments of salary checks an dhigh value registry s h i ~ e n t s . '

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N E \ ~ YORK AREA - Harch 18-19

Inspectors gathered evidence to support violations of criminals tatu tes by persons agita t ing, aiding, abetting, commanding andinducing the postal str ike. Assistance was provided th e U. S.Attorney's Office-relat ive to preparing injunctions andres t ra ining orders and Inspectors ,vere available to ass is t in thein the serving of the orders 'Vlhen they were authorized by th efederal cour t star t ing late on ~ i a r c h 18. The temporary restrainingorders issued by federal judges in Hanhattan and Brooklyn on Harch18 were ignored and th e number of employees reporting to duty inmetropoli tan offices diminished to a very small percentage.The Army made a firm offer on March 18 to furnish personnel andvehicles to process a l l le t ter mail and off ic ia l mail as well as. provide shut t le service between JFK Airport Mail Faci l i ty and Postal-Concentration Center of New York City. They advised Building 179 a tJFK could be used for disbribution purposes provided th e employeepickets did not interfere. The Army inquired whether the Post OfficeDepartment had any objections to the NALC off ic ia ls being contactedre la t ive to making Amicable arrangements. A decision was made to holdthe af fe r in abeyance pending th e outcome of the clerk union meetingsbeing. held during the evening.injunctions were- served on officers of the Brooklyn and Manhattan-Bronxca r r i e r unions. Picketing by carr iers ceased but was almost immediately_ ~ by .embers of the clerk craft .

~ t s i d A groups such as the Progressive Labor Party, Vietnam Peace ParadeComaLttee, The Committee for Self-Defense of the Working Class, YouthAgainst War an d Fascism and the Students for a Democratic Society nowbegan:. dis t r ibut ing leaflets and propaganda l i terature in the areas ofpicketing. These were adroit ly prepared to indicate support for thes t rke and a t the same time justif ied such action as necessary againstthe &overnment.

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EXPANSION OF s n . I E NATIONIHD!::

On Harch 19" the s t r ike act ion expan::ed to 59 He,", Jersey, 13 New Yorkand 2 Connecticut post off ices . O..1t:side of the Northeast seaboardarea , Buffalo, New Y o r ~ ; 17 s ta t ious of Philadelphia ; Chester , Pa. , andAkron, Ohio voted ' to s t r ike . Hore ar.d more indicat ions vlere receivedfrom Inspectors in the mid'ilest and west that s t r ike votes ~ v e r escheduled. and sentiment appeareq in favor of s t r ike ac t ion .Conditions worsened on }larch 20, with large off ices such as Chic'ago,Minneapolis" Sain t Paul, Cleveland; Detroi t , Hilwaukee, Madison and alarge number of small.er f i r s t class o f f ices in . I l l ino is , Michigan,Ohio and Wi.sconsin being shut dovm by s t r ikes . The Manhattan-Bronxvote of March 20 was to remain on s t r ike . '

. March 21, ca r r i e r s a t Denver, Duluth,_Pittsburgh, and San 'Francisco,, as wel l as e igh t smaller f i r s t c lass off ices in Cali forn ia , voted tos t r ike . Addi t ional off ices in Michigan, I l l ino iS , Ohio, Pennsylvania,New Jersey and New York joined the st r ike ..Strike vote meetings had been or ~ ~ r e being held a t many of the large,post offic.es in t ha t port ion of the country general ly south . .?f a , ._ " _ "V paral le l - l ine-miming from Philadelphia; Cincinnati , Denver to Los ,..

: 4 n g ~ l e s bu t al1 had'taken a "moderate stand of not s t r ik ing or -ao:farngby the df.c.tates of the nat ional organizat ion. ' - . - - - - ------

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CIVIL COUtn ACTIG:lSIn eight Divisions, Insp3ctors ,-let! securing and presenting to th eu.s. Attorney necessary i n f o ~ , a t i o n and documentation for restrainino

""rders and in junct ions against union organizations and officials thatwere on strike.o 'A r e v i ~ w of the act iv i ty and actions in affected Divisions follows:Boston:

In5pector R. W. DeLong assisted R ~ g i o n a l Counsel John T. Farrel l , J r .and Assis tant U n i t ~ d States Attorney Richard L. Winter a t Bridgeport,Connecticut on lvlarch 20 , 1970. Hr. ~ H n t e r and Nr. Farre l l preparedmotions an d supporting documents for applicat ion of a TemporaryRestraining Order enjoining the st r ike of postal employees and for aPreliminary Injunct ion. Chief Judge vlilliam H. Timbers issued. /temporary rest .raining orders at,y5:45 pm }farch 20 against 16 branches

! / of the NALC and the i r president" in Connecticut. Inspectorsaccompanied Deputy United States Marshals in serving the restrainingorders on the presidents and the branches. On the morning ofMarch 21> 1970 i t was found that a l l branches in Fairf ield Countyon whom res t ra ining orders had been served ~ 7 e r e par t ia l ly complyingin that a l l picket signs disappeared and picketing ceasedo~ ~ p 1 0 y e e s continued to gather in groups and to mill around postoffice areas without forming picket l ines.On Tuesday, .March 24 , 1970 Regional Counsel John T. Farrel l , Jr .and United States Attorney SteHert H. Jones represented the PostOffice Department before Judge Timbers for the hearing on motionfor preliminary injunct ion. All branches and clerks ' locals inConnecticut, with the exception of those a t Hartford, returned toduty on th i s date . .Federal JudgeT. Emmet Clarie , U.S. Dist r ic t Court a t Hartfordf ined Local Branch 86 $2,500.00 and Branch President James J .Godfrey $3:00.00 ror contempt of court . The fines were paid to the. Registry of the court.on April 8. On April 9, Attorney M. G. Ratnerrepresenting the NALC entered a motion that a stay of execution bemade for t.he purpose of retaining the fines in the Registry of thecourt pending application to th e President of the United States fo.ramnesty o r pardon. Judge Clarie handed down a decision on the samedate that th2 defendants should have the r ight and opportunity-to .petiti .on fo r executive clemency according 't o Article I I , Section 2,of the Consti tut ion of the United States . The writ ordered thethe fines to be held unt i l l O : 0 0 - - a m , - J u n e _ ~ 5 ? 1970. *Assistance was also rendered the United StateS" Attorney and RegionalCounsel a t Providence, Rhode I s l and . -On Sunday afternoon, March 22

* On June 10, 1970, a six-month stay of execution for the contmpt fines. was denied by the. :court. An appeal wi,th th e Sec-ond U.S. CircuitCourt of Appeals in New York, NY has been made.

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a temporary res t ra in ing order aga ins t the walkout by Branch 15of the National Association Let te r Carr ie rs was i ssued byChief Judge Edt,nrd tL Day and hearing \;as s e t for 2:0n Harch 23, 1970 the names and addresses ofemployee union of f i c i a l s \'Jere furnished the United Sta tes Attorney 'sOffice fo r the purpose of preparing temporary injunctions . Theseinjunc t ions Here not served, hm.,rever, since the eraployees a tCleveland voted to return to duty.At Akron, prel iminary l ia ison vlith the of f ice of the United Sta tesAttorney \Vas made by Postal Inspectors on ~ 1 a r c h 21, 1970 lookingtoward the issuance of a temporary res t ra in ing order . The ac tua lissuance of th i s order was delayed pending decis ion on par t ofthe Jus t ice Depart;ment a t the Headquarters leve l . On Harch 24, thepostmaster a t Akron was'driven to Cleveland, by Inspectors where hef i l ed h is complaint with the United Sta tes Attorney and temporaryres t ra in ing o r d e r ~ w e r e issued covering the pickets a t the var iousposta l uni t s a t Akron. Service of the orders "laS made' by Deputy -_. --U; s. Harsha1s from Cleveland with the ass:i.:;;ta:-nce 'of Akron Inspec tors .At Toledo, Ohio, loc,a! Assistan ' t U:"S : ' A t t o ; ; ; ; y ; - ; i ~ i t e d the Inspecto; 'off ice to determine the ' scope of the ac t iv i ty an d offered t he i ra.ssistance . After they contacted the U. S. Attorney, they were

_ ~ d ' ; i s ~ d ' t h e y - s h o ~ T ~ r proceed ' ~ , ' i t h legal action ag'ainst ~ h e p i c k e ~ s . Inspectors ass is ted the Postmaster and U. S. Attorney pre-parl.ng' - 'an a f f idav i t fo r use in temporary injunct ion procedure. A t o t a l v iapproximately 30 t e ~ p o r a r y res t ra in ing orders were issued and shor t lythereaf te r picket l ines began to diSintegrate . .The temporary res t ra in ing orders proved to be very t imely and effect iv

. in hal t ing fu r ther ,picketing a t Toledo. They also were t ive in. - Akron, but would have been more benef ic ia l i f they had been i ssuedsooner .Chicago:

Close ' ' l ia ison waS maintained with the -Reg'ional Councel a t Ch"icago-and-Minneapolis an d information was exchanged on a continutng- 'bas is .Close l i a i son \"3.S maintc;tined with the U. S. Attorneys in a l l j ud i c i a l

d i s t r i c t s in the Division. Injunct ions andlor res t ra in ing orderswere obtained a t Hilwaukee and Hadiso'n, Hisconsin . The same pro.::edurewa s follmved in the Chicago an d Detro i t areas . In the Greater Detro i tarea,- Greater ' Chicago area , and Madison, ~ . J i sconsin, the orders ",ere' ac tual ly served by E'ostal Inspectors in coop:;!rati,on ,'1i th the U. S.Harshal l and U.S. Attorney's Cl:t:fice.,

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Denver:Restrc.ining ord::ors 1;2ce obtained ins t Hnits of the NationalAssociation of Let terCa=r iers at ieach of th e perimeter off icesin the Denver> Colorado IIe tcopoli tan area affected by the \vorkstoppage . These included Arvada Local 4405, Aurora Branch 5996,Broomfield Brans:h 5135, EnglevlOod Branch 4600, Golden Local 1982,Lit t le ton Branch 2323 and Hestminster Local 4501. Restrainingorders ~ . ; e r e also served on the United Federation of P;)stal ClerksLocal 4219 a t Arvada, Colorado and on three local unions of theDenver, Colorado office. These "Jere NALG Local 47, UFPC Local229 and Local 25 of the ~ ~ i l H a n d ~ e r s Division of Labors Inter -national Union of r!orth Awerica, Denver Postal Union of theNational Postal Union. In a::ldition, a shaH cause oeder forcriminal contempt ~ . , a s issued against Richard Tungseth, VicePresident NAte Local 4405, a t Arvada, Colorado. H:arings in a l lof these act ions were continued unt i l Hay 11, 1970. The timing6f the act ions was apparently effective and it i s believed tha tthe actions contributed to restoration of norwAl postal servicein the D-=:nver, Colorado area. Assi stance ~ l 3 . s furnished the U. s.Attorney a t Denver, Colorado and the Denver Regional Counsel inidentifying the organizations and i n d i v i d u ~ l s involved.

New York:The i n i t i a l cour t action \V'as taken a t 1440 on l-Iarch 18, 1970, whenthe United States Dis t r ic t Court for the Southern Distr ic t of Ne,.;>York entered an order granting the United States t application for apreliminary injunction against Branch 36, National Association ofLet ter Carr iers , AFL-CIO, John Doe and Richard Roe. The order wasimmediately served on President Gustave J . Jopnson of Branch 36 andother off icers of the Local. "Inspectors working with the U.S. Att.orney's off ice were obtaininginformation of a f inancial nature relat ing to Branch 36 since itwas apparent the membership did not intend to return to work, \-70u1ddefy the injunctions and f ines against the union t reasury andof f ic ia ls would have to be considered by the court fo r the contemptshown. . Show cause hearings were scheduled in Manhattan andBrooklyn federa l courts for } ~ r c h 23.The work stoppage continued and on l-Iarch 23 and 24, 1970, there wasfur ther act ion in the Southern Dis t r i c t Court wnen the UnitedStates Attorney asked for an order pursuant to Rule 14 of the CivilRules of the Court providing that Branch 36 and the officers andagents naQed in the order to show cause why they should not be heldin contempt of court for violation of the order fHed by JudgeInzer B. Hyatt:.


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A number ~ , l i t n e s s e s ,;ere called including th e Regional Director,the Regional. Counsel, Inspectors some of the off icers of Local36.

On } ~ r c h 24 , Dist r ic t Judge Frederick van Pel t Bryan rendered thedecision tha t Branch 36 and i ts ,President would be considered to bein contempt i f th e employees did not return to \'lork as of 1700 onMarch 25 , 1970. Since the s did return to 'Hork, no fur theraction has been taken by the'Dis Court. On Harch 26, 1970,copit;s of ia l communiccltions "Jere delivered through theUnited States Attorney to the court showing under the Postmaster1ssignatures a t Bronx and New York, N.Y., tha t employees had, in fact,returned to duty.Between March 18 an d 23, 1970, Postal Inspectors served copies ofthe injunction to the Officers and Station Delegates of Branch 36,NALC. The Assistant United States Attorney in charge of this c iv i lact ion, Hichael Hess, and this Service kept communication l ines openconstantly during t!le period of time tihen the possibl.e work stoppagef i r s t became evident. This l iaison continues to date, and i t wil lnot be discontinued i unt i l the emergency i s defini tely over.While the preliminary injunction \.;'as t imely, it had l i t t l e effec ton the employees '",hostayed awa.y from ,.;'ork due to the s t r ike . I twas not unt i l the threat of rather heavy f ines was imminent tha t thereturn to work movement star ted. Perhaps the fact that the pOSitionof l e t t e r carr ier , clerk or mail handler i s so low in the overal lpay scale in the New York, N.Y. area leaves these employees with afeel ing that it would be jus t as well to lose their pOSitions as tocontinue on a job where the salary,according to the United StatesDepartment of Labor s ta t i s t ic figures, is too low to support a familyof f o u r ~ Postmaster John R. Strachan, on April 15, 1970, advisedthat over 1,000 carr ie r vacancies existed in his organization on tha tdate. I t i s possible mail service may be severely disrupted unlessa means to f i l l these vacancies is forthcoming. This i s strongevidence of the p r e s ~ n t labor problem in the New York, N.Y. post off iceLate in the work stoppage period th e injunct ion against Branch 36.MALC, John Doe and Richard Roe) \.;as also serVed on the Officers andmembers of the Executive Committee of the Manhattan-Bronx PostalUnion. No ;further action was taken, fo r the members almost immediatelywent back to work when the Letter Carriers in Branch 36 complied withthe preliminary injunction issued against tha t branch a t an ea r l i e rdate.

(Brooklyn.) N.Y.) The United States Attorney';' office in th e Eastern Dis t r i c t of NewYork was requested on the morning of Narch 18, 1970. to deSignate anAssistant U.S. Attorney to handle an y legal action in conn'ection with

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th e work stop?age at th e B ~ o o k l y n , N.Y. post off ice . Assistant. U.S. Attorney Lloyd Baker cal led and advised that he had beendesignated' to handle any legal action and he in turn HaS informedtha t Assistant V.S. Atto;:-ney Hess in the Southern District Hashandling t:he matter. Hr. Baker and another Assistant U.S. Attorneywent to tieH York and conferred ~ v i t h the U.S. Attorney for theSouthern Dis t r ic t , . Later in 'the day Mr. Baker advised that aRestraining Order would be sought in Brooklyn against Branch 41.NALe, and others and that Judge T,ravia ~ v o u l d sign the Order. Namedin the Order would be Brooklyn, Flushing, Jamaica, Long Island City,Hicksville and Mineola .

A Temporary Restraining Order 'Vias obtained and served a t about 10:00 aon the morning of March 19, 1970 on Vincent Scollo, Vice President ofthe Brooklyn Letter Carriers Association, Branch 41. National Associat ion of Let ter Carr iers . Shortly af te r the Restraining Order wasserved. the carr iers stopped picketing in front of the General PostOffice and a t the s ta t ions . Members of the t'VlO c Ie rks' organizationsof Brooklyn continued picke A hearing vias held a t 10 : 00 am onMarch 1970 i n ~ c o n n e c t i o n with the Temporary Restraining Orderserved on the Letter Carriers organization in Brooklyn and la ter inthe day, a Restraining Order was served on Harold Foster , President othe Brooklyn Postal Union and Banjamin Zemsky, President of the UnitedFederation of Postal Clerks, Local 251. Short:ly af te r these orderswere ser'i7'ed, the clerks stopped picketing a t the General Post Officeand the stat ions in BroQklyn.The Uniteil States Attorney prepared Show Cause Orders on March 22, 19returnable on Wednesday> Harch 25. 1970 and these orders tvere servedby Postal Inspec.tors on Jack Leventhal, Benjamin Zemsky and VincentScollo on ~ ~ r c h 22, 1970. Harold Foster was served on the morning ofMarch 2 3 ~ : 1970. These orders were looking to have a fine imposed onthe unions and the union presidents for contempt of court .

(Long I s land) :Relative to the' issuance of in junct ions)against s t r i k i n ~ NationalAssociation of Letter Carriers Branches, immediate action was taken oMarch 18 to obtain from each struck post off ice the branch number andnames and. addresses of officers for reference to the United StatesAttorney in order that injunctions could be issued. As th is informa-t ion was received, i t was relayed to Inspector C a l d ~ v e l l a t Brooklyn, who turned i t over to United'States Attorney.During the late afternoon of ~ ~ r c h 19 a representat ive of the UnitedStates Harshal 's off ice for the Eastern Distr ic t of, Ne", York, visi tedth e Mineola domicile and advised he was attempting to serve restraininorders on officers of NALC Branches a t Min.eola t;tnd Hicksvi l le , N. Y.However, as of midnight, these orders had not been served.

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(Long Island): . . cont 'dThe Inspectors a t the domicile in Nassau County heldthemselves. in waiting on March 23 , 1970 for the possibledelivery of "Restraining Order-stl to union off ic ia ls of thevarious NALC Branches. H O ~ ' / 3 v e r , they were not received.During tbe late morning of Nar;ch 24, 1970) Restraining Ordersissued by the United States Distr ic t Court, Eastern Dist r ic t ofNew York, Brooklyn, N.Y., were received for service on 60 Branchesof th e NALC. Forty of bran'ehes ~ , ' e r e located in Nassau County'an d 20 in Suffolk County. By late evening, off icers of 30 NALCBranches in Nassau County and 19 NALC Branches in Suffolk Countyhad been served. Service of Restraining Orders on th eNALC Branch off icers ,las scheduled for Narch 25, 1970, in theevent the employees of the post offices involved did not returnto work.Postmasters reported on March 25 that ful l or par t ia l complementsof employees had reported for duty a t 28 of the 49 off ices wherework stoppages occurred. Inspector Gaughran a t Brooklyn relayedthe request of the United States Attorney, Eastern Distr ic t of NewYork, to ' discontinue serving restraint orders on NALC Branches andoff icers . Conseqtiently, tenNALC Branches in Nassau County remainedunserved. The af f idavi ts of service were c o m ~ l e t e d by Inspectors .involved and submitted to United States Attorney's off ice , EasternDistr ic t of New York a t Brooklyn, New York.

(Buffalo):The Regional General Counsel authorized the postmaster to obtain anin junct ion against the str iking carr ie rs ' union and furnished a copyof the text used a t New York City for guidel ines .Cooperation was extended the postmaster, Myron F. Blakeney, an dInspectors jo int ly met with Hr. H. Kenneth Schroeder, U.S. Attorneyfo r the Western .Distr ict of New York, who dreH up an order to showca.use and complaint fOT a temporary injuric.tion. This was accomplished-la.te Friday afternoon, but the order was not signed by HonorableJohn O. Henderson, Judge, Western Dis t r i c t of New York,-unt i l Saturdamorning, Harch 2.1. Follovling th e signing by Judge Henderson and .making of suf f ic ient copies, Inspectors served notices on thefollowing. off ic ia l s of Local if03 of the National Association of Let terCarr iers :

.John J . HcGui re, PresidentRobert D. Ohlenschlager, Vice PresidentJoseph J . Walsh, J r Recording SecretaryThe notices were served a t Becker'S Restaurant, 1536 William Stree t ,where the local! s executive officers were ~ a v i n g a meeting. FollOWin- .

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( B u f f a l o ) ~ cont 'dt h i s , papers were served on 22 pickets a t entrances to the GPO. Ina l l cases papers were served without i n c ~ d e n t except that somepicket.'S gave thei r name as "John Doa". H o ~ " e v e r , pictures t>lere takenw'i:l.ich should serve to idc;ntify a l l pickets served vi th stop orders .Within one-half hour, or about. 2:00 pm, aLl pickets l e f t the Scene.Some took p05itions across the s t reet without signs. Approximately150 Tour I I I clerks g a t h e r ~ d a c r o ~ s the s t ree t from the GPO, butdespi te the lack of pickets and a clear dri veHay, only a f e ~ . , r enteredon duty. Notices were not served on pickets a t stat ions as theyc lose a t noon on Saturdays, and picketing had stopped by Mondaymorning.Union off icers appeared in Federal Court Thursday, Narch 26, 1970,when the shm'1 cause hearing '\-7as post poned, and final di sposi t ion ofth e matter i s s t i l l pending.

Philadelphia: ;Full , cooperation and assistance '\-las given United States Attorneysand the Regional Counsel in obtaining and serving, in coordinationwith U.S. Marshals, 52 injunctions and restraining orders. Thosei.ssued a t Newark were obtained on Narch 20, 1970. Some were servedon Saturday, Harch 21 &I}d the balance on the f o l l o ~ . . r i n g Monday. Theywere considered neither timely nor effect ive. Hm,;ever) a t Pittsburghaitd Philadelphia, temporary restraining orders issued on March 21resul ted in almost i ~ m e d i a t e removal of pickets.

Sai.nt: .Paut:Temporary restraining orders were issued' on March 23, 1970, byunited Sta tes Distr ic t Judge Earl R. Larson, Minneapolis, orderingoff icers and members of the MALC branches a t Saint Paul and Minneapolto terminate the' str ike and discontinue picketing ac t iv i t i e s . Carrierpi.ckets a t both c i t ies were removed upon issuance of the restrainingorders , and car r ie rs a t Hinneapo1is began returning to work onMarch 24,1970 .

' \ S i r i - - F r a n c - { s c ; - : - - - = ~ T i m p - ~ ~ a r Y ~ ) { e s t ~ ~ ~ i n i . n g . 9 r d e ~ ~ w e ; ; - i ; s - u ~ d Barch 21,> ---~ - 1 9 i o - : a g ~ i ; s t the NALe, San Francisco; on Narch 23, 1970) against the

same organization a t San Rafael, Palo Alto, San Jose, California. OnMarch 24, 1970, a persis tent picketer, Pe'ter Hoagland, caused thei.ssuance of a Temporary'Restraining Order against him, which heig; nored, an d for which he ~ v : t s arrested on March 26 , 1970. He wasreleased on his recognizance by the United, States Cowmissioner,'Sa.., Francisco, the same day 'and the charges against him have sincebeen dismissed. '

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I.-

As previously detailed in this report , the development of the st r ikewas priQar-ily due to th e spontaneous reac tion of the employees in Ne'YlYork City. Attention in the f ield fai led to establish the st r ike "lasthe resul t of the effo r t s of strqng, nlilitant leadership or organizedagitation.Follmving the s t r ike vote in iTeH York City on Harch 17, f ield Inspectorsbegan-gathering in te l l igence and evidence which could be presented tothe U. S. Atto=ney and would support pr03ecutive action against unionsand e m p l o y ~ e s who assumed dominant positions of l e a d ~ r s h i p during thest r ike . This involved posi t ive identif ication of employees that W2re.actively inst iga t ing, part ic ipat ing or abet t ing the s t r ike.Although the Post Office and Just ice Departments agreed to hold inabeyance any prosecutive action unt i l af te r the work stoppage, l ia isonwith U. S. Attorneys \.]a5 maintained and Inspectors developed the-necessary evidence fo r future consideration. Simplified data sheetswere u t i l ized vlhich- shmved the employee s name, roster deSignation, dutystat ion and tour . unio::l membership, o v ~ r t acts , fai lure to report forduty and dates i n v o l v ~ d and picketing act iv i t ies . The evidence includedstatements, photographs and video tapes.Brief descript ions of th e employees established -to be in vio la t ion of th-strike sta.t:utes 'Nere furnished the Chief Inspector and a f i le i s maintained in the Contingencies Branch.

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iIL

DEGREE OF INVO!J1ENENT AND UfE',.\CT OF OUTSIDE GROUPS

Of the 15 Divisions, only seven experienced involvement by outsidegroups. The degree of involvement varied f r o ~ token efforts involving only a f e ~ p e r s o n s handing out handbi l ls in favor of th es t r ike to major efforts to develop 'TIaSS demonstrations.The impact outside groups had on'the str ike ~ v a s considered minimalin a l l Divisions, prinCipally because the off icers and rank an df i le members of employee organizations refused to associate themselves with the groups. The consistent reaction of th e employeeswas to refuse any part ic ipat ion and assis tance from outsideorganizations and spoke out loud and clear throughout the str iketha t they neither desired or appreciated being identif ied withindividuals or units from outside the postal establishment.A summary of the outside groups and thei r degree of participationby Divisions follm7s:BOSTON DIVISION: ;

Boston, Massachusetts-. )-...23-70. Ap?rox.imately 100 students attended .SDS "Support thePostal Strike" meeting a t Boston University. A f lyer bearing thename of a professor identif ied "nth l e f t i s t movements hadannounced that two postal ~ l 7 o r k e r s would speak--one ten ta t ivelyident i f ied as Carrier James Leary was present and ans,-leredquestions related to str ike causes.

Commencing early in the AM, SDS representat ives handed outProgressive Labor Party l i terature outSide-South Postal Annex.3-24-70. In early/morning, ProgreSSive Labor Party membersbanded out l i terature a t GPO.There was considerable early morning agitat ion by ProgreSSiveLabor Party members distr ibuting f lyers a t h'm, GPO, Back BayAnnex, South Postal Annex, and C ~ ~ ~ r i d g e Branches.

- - . - . - - - - - - - - . - - ~ - - - .. ------- --.--------At noon, about ZOO part icipated in r a t _ i g r 1 s _ ~ p p o s i l : e __GPOproclaining SUS support. National secretary and others ident i f iedwith SDS Boston National Headquarters H e r ~ present. After one hour,the demonstrators I D a r c h ~ d through principal shopping area to theSouth Postal Annex and attempted, ~ ; j i t h o u i : success, to pass handbillsto postal personnel ending tour of duty. Two speakers were alsopresent . Hording on one large banner included. "SDS vs. warmaker,vs . s t r ike breaker".

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o

Harcher3 chanted 9 . b o ~ t u ! 1 d ~ r p a i d postal carr ie rs , H.J.r in Vietnam,_and Army s t r i k ~ breakers. Ne:nbers l a te r har-angued th e assemblagethe bulk of


35/72

.

Th2 'Cor;1.munist sp l in ter group. YO:J.th t: Har and Fascisrr., dis t r ib -uted l i t e r a tu r e support the postal s t r ike .TheSDS-sponsored r a l ly a t Columbia Universi ty fa i led--o ther studentspaid no heed.

,.J e r r y Rubin, recent ly convicted a t Chicago on a n t i - r i o t vio la t ion ,urged suppor t fo r the postal workers during a Black Panther Partyral1y to ra ise ba i l funds.Vic..tor Goltbaum, Pres ident ,of Hun,icipa1 Union of Sta te and Government

E ~ p J o y e e s , pledged moral support to the posta l employee pickets and$5>000.00 f inanc ia l ass i s tance .::OCf,,-i.f r igh ts representat ives "liTe-re noted among croHd of onl(lO_kerswhem the mil i t a r y personnel arr ived a t GPO, New York. Among themwas Bayard Rust in , a He11-knmm c iv i l r igh ts a c t i v i s t .3-2.4-70. About 100 a t tended the f i r s t SDS-sponsored r a l ly a t CityCo11ege of New York. Approximately 125 at tended a second r a l ly - speakers included .SDS and Black Panther Par.ty members."At Queens College, 75 individuals demonstrated

. When the mil i t a r y concluded thei r a s s i g n m ~ n t a t GPO a t about 1: 30 am.th e non-pos ta l student-type agi ta tors attempted to provoke confrontat ion between the mil i ta ry personnel and the posta l employee picke ts .Some 150 SDS members assembled in f ront of GPO a t 5:15 pm., separatedf rom. the pos ta l employees who were stationec. on the s t r e e t to supportth e work stoppage.The SDS-sponsored a demonstration a t City College and announcedano the r a t GPO on 3-25, with the Black Panther Party member speaker aboth r a l l i e s .The Progressive Labor Party (PLP) ad hoc CDrnmittee held a- night t imemeet ing a t Columbia University;. announced plans. to hold a r a l l y a tthe: Univers i ty on 3-25-70, then march to- City Hal l -Park and ChurchS t r e e t Sta t ion for another ra l ly .Many outs ide oroups concentrated on producing handout fi laterial .0

F o ~ l o w i n g i s a descr ipt ion of such groups and a br ief descr ip t iono f t h e i r mater ia l d is t r ibu ted a t New York City and Brooklyn:

a . Victor Gotbaum, c /o Dis t r i c t Council 37, 36 5 Broadway,:t-iew York, N.Y., an d Harry Van Arsdale, c /o Ne,,, Yor-k CityCentra l Labor Council, 386 Park Avenue, Sou.tn, N e ~ ' l York,N.Y.; as the "'Workers League", telephone' 254-7120,

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36/72

d is t r ibu ted c i rcu la rs ca l l ing f , ) r a m:lSS ra l ly anda gen;rnl s t r ike to support the postal "\wrkers.The date of i ssue i s not knmvn.

b . A c i r c u l a r \iliich waS updated, s u p ~ o r t e d the s t r ik ing. Posta l \ ' iorkers and " t ' l ~ S i ssued by the "Labor Divis ion,Youth Against Har & Facism, 58 H , ~ s t 25th St r ee t , Ne,,!York, N.Y., 10010, telephon'2 242-9225 and 675-2520",

A ~ t h i s t ime, the exact nature of t h i s organizat ioni s n o t 'knmm.c . The Vanguard NeHslet ter , P.O. BOK 67, Peck Slip

Sta t ion , Ne"" York, N.Y., 10038, had a c i r cu la r d i s -t r i b u t e d o n ?-larch 24, 1970, ",hich was inflarr.matoryin nature . Post Off ice Box 67, Peck Sl ip Sta t ion , i sren ted to Vanguard Ne,Qslet t e r , 15 5 East Fourth St ree t ,Ne1ii York, N.Y. 10009, vlith the appl ica t ion signed byHarry L. Tanser , Edi tor , same address , telephone 254-7955. The box was opened on Apri l 14, 1969.

d . The Socia l i s t Labor Par ty, P.O. Box 200, Brooklyn,N .Y. 11202, published a ra ther 1m" tempered, non, inflammatory c i r c u l a r ~ Th e date of i t s issuance i s notknown.

e . The S o c i a l i s t Workers Par ty and the Young Socia l i s tAll iance publishe;.d a r a the r s t rongly ,-lorded, four-pagen e w s p ~ p e r during the s t r ike tha t so l i c i t ed subscr ipt ionsto th e paper with payments to be made to "The Mil i t an t ,873 Broadway, Ne';" York, N.Y. 10003".

f . On March 24, 1970, a d is t r ibu t ion was made of a c i r c u l a r ,so l i c i t ing men in the Mil i ta ry Service ass igned to thePas t Off ice to commit vandalism, without the publ i sher sbeing iden t i f i ed . Th e return te lephone numbers were _______,___533-8920, 674-0050, 228-0270 and 228-0450._ ~ r ______ ' ~ ' _ . . ! -

g . The Young Workers Liberat ion League, 29 West 15th S t r e e t ,Seventh Floot ' , N e ~ l Y o r k , N.Y., on Apri l 10 , 1970 , d i s -t : r ibuted c ircu la r s which vJere very e r i t i c a l of the Federa l

G Q " ' ~ e r n m e n t fo r s topping the s t r ike , and they demanded tha tPos ta l Employees have the r igh t to., s t r i ke , and many otherf ea tu res llhicb m ~ g h t be in te rpre ted to be aga ins t the"Establ i shment" .

h . T'I:te Socia l i s t Committees of Correspondence, 'CPO B-ox 1948,New York" N.Y. 10001, on Harch 23, 1970, issued a l e a f l e t. su lPpor t ingthe s t r ike by Posta l Horkers . Telephone numberswere 297-9297 and 898-0080.

3 4...


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1

,r

"

i. The National \{elfJ.re Rights Org2.nization, address unknmm, issued a leaf le t supporting the Letter Carriersin the i r "Fight" for adequate income.

j . The Young Workers Committee to Support Striking Postalvlorkers, address unknO'.m, telephone 924-8620, issueda l eaf le t supporting the str ike of the Postal Employees,and threatening use of l,abor union 10':::a 1 pm.;oers todemonstrate on Harch 24, 1970 bet\'Jeen 1700 and 1900hours against the Government.

k. The ProgreSSive Labor Party, 1 Union Square, Ne\-! York,N.Y. 10003, passed out leaf le ts supporting th e PostalStr ikers and ,solicited subscriptions to the neYlspaperof th e organization named "Challenge".1. The Internat ional Socialis t , 874 Broad,.;-3.Y, Room 1005,New York, N.Y. 1 0 0 ~ ) 3 , telephone 254-7960, on Harch 24,

1970, issued a leaf le t that supported the "Right" ofPostal Employees to st r ike .

m. The American Servicelilan'e Union, 156 Fif th Avenue,Room 538, Ne\-l York, N.Y. 10010, telephone 675-6780,Andrew Stapp', Chairman; and Bob Lemay, NationalExecutive Director, on Harch 20, 1970 J i,seued a leafle t supporting th e Postal Workers Strike.

PHILADELPHIA DIVISION:The Liberation Fighters Coalition, The Socia l i s t Workers Partyand the Young Socia l is t Alliance distr ibuted leaf le ts in Phila- .delphia, Newark, Jersey City and Patterson during the s t r ikeperiod.

Philadelphia; Pennsylvania3-23-70. The Philadelphia ReSistance, ant i -draf t group, a tthe i r meeting: urged flooding postal system with mailings ofunderpaid items and bulk permit matter and telephone books, tobe sent to non-existent addresses. Resistance members f e l t theseact ions would impede the military handling of mail.3-24-70. SDS Labor COlU.;'1littee distr ibuted 1 i terature e r i tf.cizingcapitalism and supporting s t r ikers .Harrisburg, Pennsylvania3-19-70 . About 50 young persons, who had previously demonstrated, fo r three days in groups of five or s ix insi'de and outsideFederal Building housing. the Selective Service Board, seatedthemselves in the Fzderal Square Stat ion lobby .. No di rec t .


38/72

interference with movement of patrons, but created nuisanceui th the noise and discarded foodstuffs and peanut shells .Newark, New Jersey3-22-70. Leroi Jones, writer, mili tant , and act ivis t , at5:00 am requested meeting with postmaster .Accompanied by several unidentified men, Jones told postmasteri f the National Guard came into Newark, black militants wouldbecome fully involved, evidently meaning rioting would ensue.{Jones was arrested in prior Newark r iots where Guard was used}.

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION:Los Angeles, Californial.'he Bay Area Peace Action Committee printed the "Strike Newsletter"wbich supported the strike.The Progressive .Labor Party passed out leaflets on March 23 andorganized a Solidarity Demonstration held on March 25 which waspoorly'attended and lasted only 15 minutes. They had 24 picketsin f ront of Terminal Annex on March 25 but were thvlarted byp3stal employees who uniformally stated they did not want suchsupport.7he Federation of Student Social Workers and "Hippie" associatesdistributed l i terature and volunteered workers for picket duty.SaD Francisco, California3-20-70. KnoWn campus agitator, Hardy Thomas Frye, was spotteda.ong s t r i k e ~ s outside Rincon Annex, actively moving from group1:0 group.3-22-70. "Hippie" group, call ing themselves. Bay Area Peace ActionCouncil, set up "str ike headquarters" at 992 Valencia Street , andprinted leaf le t t i t led "Strike Newsletter No.2". Contents ofleafle t indicate that material was furnished by postal employeehaving knOtvledge of events. Larry Swaim, Vice President of NPU.was mentioned favorably in art ic le . Swaim had been active oncarri.er picket l ines, keeping them together, etc. Undercover-cents who visi ted the "strike headquarters" were told they couldassi.st by reporting to Rincon A..'lnex a t 4:00 am on 3-23. Carrierswere scheduled to report back to duty a t 5:00 a m t h a ~ date.Sb ; '"hippies!! were noted a t VHF a t approxImately i l :25 pm preparing

.' ~ : l a n s and placards. Some also distributed leaf le ts , misquoting

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SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION: (cont'd)Carrie,r union officials as saying they (officials) recommendedthat work stoppage continue."Nine "hippies" congregated at PeC during late evening hours.3-24-70. SDS pickets at Rincon Annex molested postal employeesentering or leaving building. Police called to intervene.Approximately 75 persons representing Worker-Student faction ofSDS demonstrated at Federal Building and marched to NationalGuard Armory.

WASHINGTON DIVISION:Washington, D.C.3-23-70. An SDS member distributed l i terature a t main postoffice. Literature reported a str ike vote meeting of postalworkers would be held that afternoon at NALC Hall. This was"not a legitimate str ike vote, but str ic t ly a proposal of DebbieLerner, the SDS member distr ibuting l i terature . 25 individuals,including Lerner, went to the hal l , but were refused admittance.3-24-70. TQe New Mobilization Committee to End the War in"Vietnam attempted t? generate demonstration at the post office.Seven to ten individuals led by Arthur Waskow of New M o b i l i z a ~Clan Committee and Karl Hess, a former speech writer for SenatorGoldwater, distr ibuted leaflets at B e n j a m i ~ Franklin Station,located in , the Post Office Department Building. Leaflets urgedsupport of strike and claimed other government workers areItpoised on,edge of joining str ike".

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o

UNUSUAL DISRUPTIVE INCIDENTS 2 ACTS 0;:;' VIOLENCE,PROPERTY DN'!AGE OR SUSPECTED SABOTAGE

The most note,.jorthy aspect of th e postal str ike) consideringthe scope of the work stoppage and number of employeesinvolved, is the complete ab?ence of any signif icant disruptive incident involving postal employees.Acts of violence did not occur and f ield reports relate thatin most locations, a good humored a i r of camaraderie existedamong the picketing employees and patrons.Only two isolated incidents of property damage were reported.One involved a broken front entrance door and a window inanother front entrance door a t stat ions. In both ins tances ,employees were not involved and the damage was consideredattr ibutable to i ra te patrons chagrined by the fact theins ta l la t ion was closed.There were no r iports of attempted sabotage. The closes tincidents to suspected, possible sabotage invoJ.ved a piece of-metal found on a conveyor and s m a l l ~ smoldering f i res in New'-York City an d Brooklyn. None of these were signif icant andcannot be defini tely established as deliberate acts to damageor destroy government property.

, .

11", 38

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41/72

EI-mARGOES Ufl'OSED~ Time l l i ~3/18 9:28 AM NY

3/19 10:35 AM NJ

2:22 NY

5:43.PM" NJ

3/20 9 :'+0 &1 CT

SCFNew York City.Long Island Term.Hineo1aHicksvilleRi'lTerheadNewarkPatersonHackellsackRed Dank

, SUliud t\'1CHtchesterS"uffcrnDoverLakc'tvoodIlattfordHillimantic,NC.H LonlonNeil. HavenHaterburyStamford

NJ Ncw.u:kPatersonHack911sackRed BankDoverSummitCamdenTrcntonLake, .oodNc,." Brunswick

,YORK STOPPAGE - MARCH 18-26,1910, -t1AIL EMBARGOES . .' 0) , ZIP Code Areas- .100,103,104

1 1 0 , l l 1 , 1 1 2 , l 1 3 ~ 1 1 4115,116117,118.119070)071;072,073'07h,075076'. 071079

1 0 5 , 1 0 6 , 1 0 7 ~ 1 0 a109'078079

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42/72

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3/21 8:48 AM. FAMI

NNHI

SCFDoy1csto\olnPhiladelphiaPaoliNorl:istmmPittsburghRoyal. OakDetroi tSt. PaulNt,bvaukee

.. 1: 23 PM IL N. SuburbanS. SuburbanChicago

2 :'.0 PH HN Hinneapolis

~ t P C o ~ ~ Areas189190':'191 .1931 9 l ~

'150,151,152480

4 8 1 ~ l ~ 8 2

5 4 0 ~ 5 5 0 , 5 5 153Q,531,532,534600,601,602,603GOlt, 605606 , " ; " ,

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43/72

E}HiARGOES UFTED---Date Time'3/22 2:00 PM

2:51 PM3:55 PM

3/23 9:02 AM

1.2:25 P}13/24 9:01 AM

9:01 AM9: 54 AM

11: 30 AM

11 : 30 At11:37 PM1:49 PH

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44/72

EH3J1..RGOES LIFTEDQ ~ Time-3/24 1:49 PM

5:31 PM

5: PH

3/25 7 AH'8:27 AH

10:42 AM

10:42 AM

1132 PM

StateNJ

NY

NY .

NJNJMN

NY

NJ

SCF-Red BankDover 'Summit.CamdenTrentonLaite'-loodNet.;rBrunswickHestchesterSuffernLong Island Term.MineolaHicksvilleRiverheadNe,(q York Ci. ty

HackensackNe"'arkSt. PaulMinneapolisNew York City

NflwarkPaterson

Zip Code A r ~ a s _077078079080,081,082,083,084085,086087088.089105,106,107,108109

,110,111,112,113,114115,1161l.7,1l8119,100,103,101

0760.70,071 ,072,073540,550,551553,554-100',103 J 104"

,070,071,072,073074,01S- 4 -

E1~Categories of Hail Removed fro:n Embarsp"Zip Coded Mail of a ll Classes 0&0" " " " " " tI" " " " " It "II " II II " " "" " " " " " "" " \ " II " " II '" 'II It " It " ItZip Coded First Cl & &1 - 0&0" " n " " " Itn " " " " " "" " " " " " It" II " " " " "" " " " " .. "Ztp Coded Firs t Clasp & AN Origirtatingin the Boston, Philadelphia &Hashi.ngton Regions and in New York State,other than in Zip Code Areas 100, 1'03,104. - ,Zip Coded Mail of a l i Class O&DZip Coded Firs t Class & AM - O&D'Zip Coded Mail o f a 1 ~ C l a a ~ e s - 0&0

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45/72

EimARGOES LIFTEDD.-t tc Time Stnt:c3/25 1:32 PM PA

3/25 2: 13 PM NY

3/27 2:00 PH .NY.,

3/30 9: 15 AM NY

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gp.-2.ode, A ~189190,191193191.

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109110,111,112,113,114115,116117,118,119.Ne\v York Ci ty 100,103, 10l. ,Westchester 105,106,107,108Suffern 109T..ong Is1p.nd Term. 110,111,112,113,114 '.Mineola ' ."', ':' ....-'115,116- .. ... , . ' . - " ~ : ' "Hicksville 117,118 ..Riverhead 119

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COURIER SERVICE

Arrangements ~ ' l e r e disctlsse.d and plans formulated on Narch 21by the Bureau,of_the Chief Inspector for establ ishing aCourier Service. jor Official Mail.I t was concluded that Courier Service between Washington, D.C.

~ , d six s t r ike bound ci t ies - New York, Philadelphia; Cleveland,Ohio; Chicago, I l l inois ; ,Saint [,aul, Hinnesota and Denver,Cplorado should be inaugurated on Honday Narch 23, 1970. Theservice was to be made available to 43 Government agenciesconnected with "DEFCORD", a teletype system used in connection'~ t h Civi l Defense p r e p a r e d n e s s ~In view of possible picketing a t str ike bound post off ices i twas concluded tha t temporary receiving an d delivery units should beestablished in non-postal Government buildings i f possible.Room 1402 in the Department Building was designated for thereceiving and di,sp.3.tch point in Washington, D.C..Inspectors tn Charge in whose Divisions the st r ike bound c i t ieswere located >:-lere contacted by telephone an d requested to make

__ -__ arrangements for a roan suitable for our purposes. TheYiwerealso requested to make arrangements for manning the temporaryundt on a 7-day week, 24-hour daily basis , with supervisoryp2rsonnel. The f i r s t ..telephone ca l l was made a t approximately4:15 pm, 3-21-70 and required information was returned bytelephone pr ior to 8:30 pm, 3-21-70.I .t was concluded that surface transportation should be usedbetween Washipgton, Philadelphia and New Yorkwith commercial a i rt ravel between other points. I t was jOintly agreed tha t Forms 160should be used fo r a ir transportation. The Bureau of Operations-agreed to make arrangements for obtaining Forms 160, a ir and r a i lreservations . This Bureau prepared schedules for a l l the couriersand daily round t r ips were scheduled between p l l points exceptDenver, Colorado.Arrangements were macle for issuance of temporary t ravel commissionsfo r use on M ~ n d a y and Tuesday an d for h3.rd back t ravel commissionsindicat ing the t i t l e "Official Courier" on subsequent dates .Bureau of Operations furnished couriers from other Bureaus.To prevent ready identif ication of the couriers by str iking Postalworkers an d causing a pOSSible-confrontation, Army duff le bagswere selected for transporting the courier ~ i l s : Arrangementswere made through Military Liaison and 100 duffle bags weredelivered to B . o ~ m 1402 on Saturday evening. Brief cases were also

I'


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obtained for use Hhere volu:ne of courier mail \vould permit.In view qf the anticipated daily round tr ips to as many citiesas possible 10:00 am \Olas established as lock-out t ime for thecourier mai1. - The six couriers scheduled for duty Honday \1e.rebriefed early Honday morning. They \ O l ~ r e furnished an instruction and schedule p3.per prePfire.d by this Bureau, and \Vereverbally instructed as to the highly confidential nature ofth e assignment and of the mail they ,-;QuId be carrying. Theneed for t ight security ,Jas emphaSized. Later on Honday afternoon the remainder of the courier force was briefed

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The Postal Work Stoppage, March 17-26, 1970

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