National Association of Letter Carriers

Stopping an armed burglar, bridging the language barrier for a woman seeking an ambulance and coordinating rescues for Texas residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey make up just a few of the courageous acts that Postal Service letter carriers accomplished in the past year.

People who say it is next to impossible to fire a federal worker should study — and then maybe rejoice in — the Hatch Act, a much-amended 1940s law designed to keep career federal and postal workers from engaging in partisan political activity on the job.

Back in less partisan times, federal and postal unions or at least their elected leaders leaned Democratic and but close ties with key Republicans in Congress, as well as with staffers whose committees dealt with civil service matters.

The two primary unions representing postal workers support a bipartisan postal reform bill in March, while the National Active and Retired Federal Employees opposes it for fear it will force retirees to take Medicare Part B.

Union leaders differ on the new Postal Service Reform Act introduced in the Senate, which is meant to make the USPS more financially stable but could have ramifications for employees’ health care.

More than 200,000 U.S. Postal Service employees have just received their first two catch-up cost-of-living adjustments, and will soon receive their third COLA.

An investigation by the Office of Special Counsel Hatch Act found that from September to November 2016, 97 letter carriers took more than 2,700 total days off to participate in political campaigns.

Despite double-digit growth in its package delivery during last year’s holiday season, the U.S. Postal Service posted a $200 million net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2017.

Why would federal workers boo a president for giving them a 9 percent pay raise, then cheer another one for a 2.1 percent increase? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says timing is everything.

The most recent plan to save the Postal Service involves taking a page out of the private sector’s book: required enrollment in Medicare.