[2] Young was born and raised in San Luis Obispo, California and joined the United States Postal Service in 1965 shortly after graduating from high school.
On October 28, 2002, he was elected the 17th president of the NALC (succeeding Vincent R. Sombrotto) after a rank-and-file ballot in which Young received 79% of the votes and took up his post in December of that year.
[1][2] During Young's tenure as president of the NALC, the union developed new grievance procedures, negotiated a five-year contract with the US Postal Service providing for regular wage increases and cost-of-living adjustments which the membership ratified by a margin of 9 to 1, and increased its participation in politics.
[2] Young appeared several times at United States congressional hearings including those on the overhaul of the US Postal Service in February 2004,[6] the contracting out of letter carrier jobs in April 2007,[7] and the implementation of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in July 2007.
[2] He was also vice chair of the AFL–CIO Executive Council's Community Partnerships Committee, a national vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association,[9] and a member of the Advisory Board for the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs at Wayne State University.