View source for Postal Reorganization Act

{{Short description|1970 U.S. federal law, created the U.S. Postal Service}}
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| longtitle         = An act to improve and modernize the postal service, to reorganize the Post Office Department, and for other purposes.
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| enacted by        = 91st
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| cite public law   = {{uspl|91|375}}
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|84|719}}
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| introducedin    = House
| introducedbill  = {{USBill|91|HR|17070}}
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| signedpresident = [[Richard Nixon]]
| signeddate      = August 12, 1970
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}}

The '''Postal Reorganization Act of 1970''' was a law passed by the [[United States Congress]] that abolished the then [[U.S. Post Office Department]], which was a part of the [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]], and created the [[U.S. Postal Service]], a [[corporation]]-like independent agency authorized by the U.S. government as an [[Government monopoly|official]] service for the delivery of [[mail]] in the [[United States]]. President [[Richard Nixon]] signed the Act in law on August 12, 1970.<ref>(1) {{cite web|url=https://uspsblog.com/the-history-behind-the-usps-logo/|title=The History Behind the USPS Logo|work=Postal Posts|publisher=uspsblog.com|date=November 5, 2015|access-date=February 5, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104175325/https://uspsblog.com/the-history-behind-the-usps-logo/|archive-date=January 4, 2018}} <br>(2) {{cite web|url=https://about.usps.com/publications/pub100/pub100_035.htm|title=Postal Reorganization Act|work=Publication 100 - The United States Postal Service - An American History 1775 - 2006: The history of the United States Postal Service|publisher=[[United States Postal Service]]|year=2018|access-date=February 5, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205011443/https://about.usps.com/publications/pub100/pub100_035.htm|archive-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref><ref name="PRAtext01">{{cite web |url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-84/pdf/STATUTE-84-Pg719.pdf|work=Public Law 91-375, An Act to improve and modernize the postal service, to reorganize the Post Office Department, and for other purposes |title=TITLE 39---POSTAL SERVICE |date=August 12, 1970 |publisher=[[Government Publishing Office]]|access-date=February 4, 2018}}</ref>

The legislation was a direct outcome of the [[U.S. postal strike of 1970]]. Prior to the act, postal workers were not permitted by law to engage in [[collective bargaining]]. In the act, the four major postal unions ([[National Association of Letter Carriers]], [[American Postal Workers Union]], [[National Postal Mail Handlers Union]], and the [[National 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rubio|author-link=Philip F. Rubio|first=Philip F.|title=There's Always Work at the Post Office: African-American postal workers and the fight for jobs, justice, and equality|year=2010|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill|isbn=9780807859865|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Ak227Hia_AC&pg=PP1}}</ref>

The first paragraph of the act reads:<ref name="PRAtext01"/>

{{quote|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 (at [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/410 39 USC 410(c)(2)]) exempts the USPS from [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom 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".<ref>(1) {{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/410|title=39 U.S. Code § 410 - Application of other laws|work=[[Legal Information Institute]]|location=[[Ithaca, New York]]|publisher=[[Cornell Law School|Cornell University Law School]]|access-date=February 5, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326091147/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/410|archive-date=March 26, 2016}} <br>(2) {{cite web |title=USPS: ZIP Codes are 'Commercially Sensitive' Trade Secrets |date=November 6, 2013 |work=The WebLaws.org Blog |url=http://www.weblaws.org/blog/2013/11/usps-zip-codes-are-commercially-sensitive-trade-secrets/ |access-date=November 7, 2013 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Post Office Act of 1872]]
*[[Postal Service Act]]
*[[United States Postal Service]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.scribd.com/doc/49061423 The Postal Reorganization Act (original statute)]
{{United States Postal Service}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1970 in American law]]
[[Category:United States federal postal legislation]]


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