Patrick A. Pitts, Vice President Thomas K. Turner, Secretary-Treasurer John C. Adams, Director of Labor Relations Nicky Phillips, Director of Steward Operations Jeanette Dwyer, Executive Committee Chair The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA) is an American labor union that represents the rural letter carriers of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The NRLCA provides a monthly publication, The National Rural Letter Carrier, to keep its members informed on postal and legislative matters of interest.

Postmaster General John Wanamaker first suggested rural free delivery (RFD) of mail in the United States in his annual report for fiscal year 1891.

On January 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed executive order 10988 establishing employee-management cooperation in the federal service.

Thus, the stipulation that only white delegates shall be eligible to seats in the national convention was quietly lifted from article 3 of the NRLCA's constitution without the passing of a resolution or bylaw.

The NRLCA saw QWL/EI headed in a different direction than improving the "quality of work life" for rural carriers and managers alike.

On August 19, 2011, the NRLCA became the first labor union in the history of the United States Postal Service to elect a female President, Jeanette Dwyer, at its 107th National Convention in Savannah, Georgia.

On July 3, 2012, the postal service & NRLCA agreed to create the Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS).

From January 2013 to June 2018, a panel of engineers, consisting of Ken Mericle, Don Ratliff & Louis Martin-Vega, began developing an automated system that captured daily counts of work activities (whereas the evaluated pay system was originally based upon a 2 week count).

Mapping captures the line of travel for each route, plus the distances of mailstops, mailboxes and direct door delivery stops associated with each customer address.

[14] On March 20, 2023, the NRLCA was notified that because of system issues, the PS Forms 4241-A could not be generated, causing a delay in RRECS implementation until at least April 8.

Senators, consisting of Democrats Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, Ed Markey & John Fetterman and Independent Bernie Sanders, sent a letter to United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy saying RRECS should not be used until the system’s serious flaws are rectified.

During World War II, the convention was limited to a small conference in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1942, and Cincinnati, Ohio the following two years.

Indiana and Nebraska both had five, Missouri had four, Iowa had three, Minnesota, New York and Ohio each had two and Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts and Wisconsin all had one.

The NRLCA negotiates all labor agreements for the rural carrier craft with the Postal Service, including salaries.

Only the NRLCA can represent members of the rural carrier craft in the grievance procedure, including providing protection in disciplinary actions.

The Post Office Department became the United States Postal Service, and the NRLCA became a union, with collective bargaining rights for wages and fringe benefits.

Substitute rural carriers and RCAs hired under the new contract faced a twenty percent cut in pay with no cost-of-living increases.

[25] On April 25, 2016, President Jeanette Dwyer met with Postmaster General Megan Brennan and other postal officials at USPS headquarters for the signing of a new national agreement to run to 2018.

NRLCA-PAC also educates and alerts NRLCA membership on key issues & developments and encourages rural carriers to become involved legislatively.

[29] On January 28, 2009, Postmaster General John E. Potter testified before the Senate[30] that if the Postal Service is not able to readjust their payment toward the pre-funding of retiree health benefits, as mandated by the Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act of 2006,[31] the USPS would be forced to consider cutting delivery to five days per week during the summer months of June, July & August.

On July 30, 2009, President Don Cantriel voiced opposition to five-day delivery before the House Oversight & Government Reform subcommittee.

On Thursday, April 15, 2010, PMG Potter testified before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform that by the year 2020, the USPS cumulative losses could exceed $238 billion, and that mail volume would drop 15% from 2009.

On February 6, 2013, Donahoe announced that the Postal Service would implement five-day mail delivery beginning August 5, a move he claimed would save $2 billion annually.

Later the same day, the NRLCA national board voted unanimously to call for his dismissal,[32] as the universal service obligation[33] and six-day delivery are upheld by Congressional language within Appropriations legislation.

July 16, the House passed the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, which included language protecting six‐day mail delivery, thereby blocking Donahoe's plan.

[35] President Barack Obama's Fiscal Year 2016 budget endorsed the outgoing PMG Donahoe's proposed plan to eliminate six‐day mail delivery.

"[36] On June 21, 2018, the President proposed a sweeping government reorganization that would sharpen the focus on workforce training, consolidate government-assistance programs and shrink federal agencies.

According to his proposal, privatization would cut costs and give the financially burdened agency greater flexibility in adjusting to the digital age.

The 655,000 hard working men and women of the Postal Service are dedicated to ensuring excellence when it comes to delivering for the American people.