In this message to NRLCA members, NRLCA President Don Maston highlights a challenging year marked by multiple threats to the future of rural mail delivery and the well-being of postal workers. These challenges include efforts to privatize the Postal Service, attempts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to impose harsh measures, leadership changes at the top of the Postal Service, and a near-cut to retirement benefits in the congressional budget reconciliation bill. Despite these pressures, the union has fought back vigorously through negotiations, activism, and political engagement. President Maston underscores the essential role rural carriers play—not merely as mail deliverers but as vital lifelines to rural communities, delivering medicine, news, and essentials where no other service reaches. The NRLCA is organizing two events to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Postal Service in Jefferson County, West Virginia, where Rural Free Delivery originated, on July 24-25. These events will emphasize the cultural, political, and economic importance of rural mail delivery.
