August 5-9, 2024 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Communications Department
44 The Postal Record August 2024 We seek to influence the pub- lic by getting our message out through the news media—on the national, regional and local lev- els. That involves responding to reporters’ requests for comments on postal issues, and granting in- terviews with national officers, re- The chief forms of communica- tion with members are The Postal Record, NALC’s monthly magazine and official publication, which is mailed to our 292,000 members and some others, including law- makers, and posted on NALC’s website, nalc.org. Also central to our efforts are the NALC Bulletin (a periodic publication that is posted in branch halls and post offices), the NALC Member App for smart- phones and our outreach through various social media channels. T he NALC Department of Commu- nications and Media Relations is the hub for the union’s offi- cial communications efforts both to NALC members and to outside audiences. The department strives to provide a consistent and effec- tive message. The department has a challenging mission, one that is central to the future of NALC, of the letter carrier craft and of the U.S. Postal Service—informing active and retired NALC members alike while also helping to develop and get the union’s message out to the public and to the public’s political representatives. Increasing the un- derstanding of postal issues in the public and political arenas is key to NALC’s ability to succeed in every- thing else it does. In delivering our message, we have two spheres of activity—inter- nal communication (to NALC mem- bers) and external communication (largely through the news media), with a good deal of interaction be- tween the two. For members, our aims are to in- form them about the postal situa- tion, tell them what’s at stake for them and inspire them to take ac- tion when appropriate, whether through political activity or by spreading the message.
gional or state leaders, branch offi- cers or local letter carriers, to news outlets. It also includes getting our message across directly in the me- dia in our own voices—by writing commentary pieces (also known as op-eds) and letters to the editor. Also critical in the process, given the amount of misleading conven- tional wisdom that exists, is the department’s effort to inform jour- nalists about letter carrier issues and other postal matters so that their reporting or analysis will be more accurate. Similarly, we seek to dissuade media outlets from delving into topics that are not rel- evant or that would be injurious to letter carriers. Such conversations take place on a daily basis and typically are off the record so we can speak as frankly as necessary to make the case and achieve our aims. The quality of the department’s work has been recognized by our peers in the labor communications community. Since the last conven- tion, news articles in print and online have won 18 awards from the International Labor Communi- cations Association’s (ILCA) Labor Media Awards, the largest compe- tition in the United States recog- nizing excellence in labor journal- ism. Internal communications The Postal Record is, as men- tioned, NALC’s chief communica- tions vehicle with the membership. It is a unique resource, without peer in the U.S. labor movement in focus and quality. The official jour- nal of NALC , The Postal Record is two years older than the union it- self, having been founded in 1887. Its pages address the concerns of letter carriers in the workplace, legislative and political spheres; when relevant, it places topics in the context of the broader labor movement. The magazine’s em- phasis is on straightforward infor- mation so members can make their own informed decisions. The Postal
Record also explains how members can help make NALC stronger. It provides thorough and up-to-date reports on the letter carrier craft, the Postal Service, public policy is- sues and the many notable efforts of NALC members to improve the communities in which they work; for example, through the annual food drive or the Muscular Dys- trophy Association. The staff also writes feature stories relevant to letter carriers. In planning magazine articles, the staff works directly with resi- dent national officers and coordi- nates with other NALC Headquar- ters departments. Most of the articles are written by Communica- tions Department staffers, but staff members from other departments provide essential material for many items or even write stories themselves. The Postal Record has featured a wide range of articles recently, such as ones reporting on the ef- forts by members to raise public awareness about crimes against letter carriers, encouraging mem- bers to get involved in the legisla- tive process, informing new and veteran members of their rights, and preparing for the biennial con- vention in Boston. Meanwhile, because it is not on a set publication schedule, the NALC Bulletin provides a timely way to address issues such as legislation, contract negotiations and various union campaigns, as events war- rant. Further, the Bulletin is avail- able to all postal employees across crafts, because it’s posted on union bulletin boards in the work areas of post offices as well as in branch halls. Nearly 10,000 copies of the Bulletin are mailed to branch officials and shop stewards. Along with these publications, the department maintains the NALC website, which aims to be at- tractive, content-rich, focused and current. While the website’s prima- ry goal is to provide information to members, it also serves as a public relations tool by communicating to
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