National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) is a labor union that represents United States Postal Service workers in rural areas of the United States. Founded in 1903, the union has grown from a very small group of letter carriers to a membership of over 130,000 in recent years. ¹ The union is one of seven labor unions representing USPS mail carriers in the United States. ²

History

National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association was founded in 1903 to advocate higher compensation and improved working conditions for letter carriers in rural areas of the United States. NRLCA was one of the first labor unions to make a collective bargaining agreement with the USPS after President John F. Kennedy’s Executive Order 10988 granted federal labor unions the power to bargain collectively. ³

NRLCA PAC

National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association Political Action Committee is a sister organization to the NRLCA. During the 2017-2018 election cycle, the organization spent $692,500 supporting candidates in the midterm Congressional election. The organization spent 68% of that amount supporting Democratic candidates. ⁴

The organization spent a considerable amount supporting other left-of-center PACs. It made grants of $25,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, $15,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, $10,000 to the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, and $5,000 to TakeItBack.org, an organization that seeks to elect Democrats to Congress to support issues such as leftist climate change agendas, support of the Affordable Care Act, and tax reform. The organization also made grants to PACs directly associated with campaigns to reelect Democratic candidates for Congress. ^{5 6}

Finances

National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association held total assets $21,591,861 at the end of 2019. It reported a total revenue of $40,441,109 in the same year, $36,637,576 came from membership dues. ⁷

2015 Audit

NRLCA was audited in 2015 after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management found that the union overcharged the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the insurance provider for USPS mail carriers, on numerous occasions. The union self-disclosed that it overcharged the FEHBP more than $20,000 between 2010 and 2014, through what the union named as “disallowed interest,” “Elimination of Redundant Computer Allocation Charges,” and “Difference in General Ledger Balances.” After the audit in 2015, NRLCA paid $6,255 to the FEHBP. ⁸

Executive Compensation

Ronnie Stutts, president of NRLCA, was compensated $193,967 in 2019. Jeanette Dwyer, Stutts’ predecessor received $271,794 in the same year. The two executives were two of 12 executives in the union that received six-figure compensation in 2019. Clifford Dalling, secretary-treasurer for the union; Joey Johnson, former director of labor relations; David Heather, Dalling’s replacement; and Dwyer all received more than $200,000 in compensation in 2019. ⁹

1. “Letter to State Governors.” Ronnie Stutts. Accessed February 26, 2021. https://www.ruralinfo.net/nrlca-president-stutts-writes-letter-to-state-governors-requesting-assistance-to-make-the-covid-19-vaccine-available-to-all-postal-service-employees/
2. “Labor Relations: collective Bargaining.” USPS. Accessed February 26, 2021. https://about.usps.com/strategic-planning/cs09/CSPO_09_093.htm
3. “Executive Order 10988.” FLRA.gov. Accessed February 26, 2021. https://www.flra.gov/50th_Anniversary_EO10988#:~:text=Executive%20Order%2010988%20gave%20Federal,formal%20recognition%2C%20and%20informal%20recognition.
4. “Candidate Recipients: NRLCA PAC.” Open Secrets. Accessed February 26, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/national-rural-letter-carriers-assn/C00072025/candidate-recipients/2018
5. “PAC/Party Contributions: NRLCA PAC.” Open Secrets. Accessed February 26, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/national-rural-letter-carriers-assn/C00072025/pac-to-pac/2018 
6. “About TakeItBack.org.” TakeItBack.org. Accessed February 26, 2021. https://www.takeitback.org/about
7. 2019 IRS Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: National Rural Letter Carriers Association. Part I: Summary.
8. “Final Audit Report: NRLCA. Report Number 1B-38-00-15-057.” U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Accessed February 26, 2021. https://www.opm.gov/our-inspector-general/publications/reports/2016/audit-of-the-national-rural-letter-carriers-association-as-sponsor-and-administrator-for-the-rural-carrier-benefit-plan-alexandria-virginia-1b-38-00-15-057.pdf 
9. 2019 IRS Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: National Rural Letter Carriers Association. Part VII: Compensation of Key Employees.