Reflections on the Great Postal Strike

Burrus Update #09-07, March 19, 2007

March 18 was the 37th anniversary of the start of the Great Postal Strike, the single most important event in the modern history of the United States Postal Service. In recent years I have consciously avoided annual observances of the strike, preferring instead to point towards 40- or 50-year celebrations.

Every celebration of historic events runs the risk of elevating the activities of individuals far beyond their significance at the time, while overlooking the vital contributions of others. During the strike, hundreds of thousands of postal employees risked their livelihoods by honoring the walkout. The strident activists who instigated the strike and held it together were few in number. Many postal workers in both groups will never receive appropriate recognition for the risks they took and the courage they showed.

A Time magazine article written shortly after the strike provides a perspective of its impact on American society [PDF]. The history of the thousands of individual postal workers who refused to cross the picket line — because of anger, peer pressure, or as an act of solidarity — is yet to be written.

William Burrus
President

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