The Postal Union of Manhattan-Bronx Clerks was affiliated with the National Postal Clerks Union, a union composed of locals originally affiliated with the National Federation of Post Office Clerks (NFPOC). As early as the 1940s, a group of locals within the NFPOC joined to form a Progressive Committee whose goal would be, in the words of one of its leaders, John W. MacKay, “to institute a program of reform, reorganization and progressive activity for revitalizing of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks.” This movement attracted many of the largest locals in the country, who felt that their interests were not being represented in the Federation to a degree proportionate to their size, and that the Federation was not sufficiently aggressive in seeking improvements in pay and working conditions for its members.
By the end of 1958, after successive failures to achieve their reform program within the Federation, a number of Progressive locals began to talk of secession. Most however agreed to postpone any such action for several months to permit further peace overtures. The Federation responded swiftly in a surprise move to dismiss the officers of eight of the largest locals and place them under trusteeship. Local 10 of New York City was one of these locals. The old Local 10 officers quickly established the Postal Union of Manhattan-Bronx Clerks, and most of the Local 10 members followed them into the new independent union. In the meantime, however, Local 10 members remaining loyal to the Federation instituted a suit against the old officers to prevent them from taking Local 10 assets with them into the new union. A similar pattern of events took place with other disaffiliating locals. In January of 1959 delegates from many of these new independent unions met to form the National Postal Clerks Union.
At about the same time Walter Noreen, a leader in the St. Paul local of the new union, was charged by the Post Office with making statements about Christmas hiring policies which allegedly tended to reflect discredit upon the Department. In July of 1959 Noreen was fired. The leaders of the National Postal Clerks Union, who had long criticized Federation leaders for lack of an aggressive policy towards the Department in protecting its members, adopted the Noreen case as a cause celebre . They charged that the Post Office Department had committed a grave injustice in firing an employee who had merely been fulfilling his duty as a union official seeking to improve conditions for his fellow workers. The Postal Union of Manhattan-Bronx Clerks, one of the most active locals, took the lead in undertaking a vigorous letter writing campaign to solicit support from congressmen and senators. The case followed an uncertain path, from an initial reinstatement of Noreen by the Civil Service Commission, through successive appeals and reversals on both sides.
Since the period of time covered by this collection, both the National Federation of Post Office Clerks and the National Postal Clerks Union have undergone changes. The former has become the United Federation of Postal Clerks. The latter has become the National Postal Union, having broadened its membership to include other types of postal employees. At present (summer 1965), the two groups are conducting negotiations aiming at an eventual merger.
