ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct 11, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Jeanette P. Dwyer, a 30-year career postal employee, has been elected the first female national president in the 108-year history of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA). The election was held during the union’s 107th National Convention in Savannah, GA.

Dwyer, a native of Waccamaw, NC, leads a union with more than 106,000 members who serve as post offices on wheels. Rural letter carriers perform the same work as city letter carriers, but in their own vehicles from which they sell postal products. They also work under a different collective bargaining agreement that requires annual route examinations to ensure rural carriers deliver the maximum amount of mail each work day.

Dwyer assumes leadership as the Postal Service faces multi-billion-dollar deficits. “We all know the Postal Service must change to meet declining mail volume, but some of the proposed changes, such as eliminating six-day delivery, would deny many Americans, including those in rural areas, access to postal services they expect and deserve,” Dwyer said in her acceptance speech. “Most importantly,” she continued, “we encourage Congress to preserve six-day delivery, which ensures delivery of essential items such as prescription medications. If Saturday delivery is eliminated, customers would be left paying higher prices for other delivery options or would have to drive up to 40 miles round trip to the nearest post office.”

The NRLCA is an independent union who members include 106,551 full- and part-time rural letter carriers. Rural carriers deliver mail on 74,591 routes, serving almost 40 million customers and driving almost 3.5 million miles each delivery day in 50 states, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The average route has more than 400 stops and 500 boxes.

SOURCE: National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA)