Received via email:

A message from President William H. Young on the nomination of Sen. Barack Obama

Dear Tom,

The most exciting nomination process in recent history has now come to an end. In a very close contest, the Democrats have selected Barack Obama as their candidate for president. NALC offers its congratulations to Sen. Obama for running a superb campaign and for winning an historic victory.

Our union endorsed Hillary Clinton and she conducted a magnificent campaign. Her grit, determination and class made us very proud of that choice. We worked extremely hard and can be very proud of our effort on her behalf. Sen. Clinton made a lot of history herself.

Now that we must shift our attention to the general elections in the fall, many members are wondering where we stand. This union makes decisions differently than some others. We are not a top-down union. Instead, we allow our members to make the decisions that are most important to all of us. A presidential endorsement is that kind of decision.

A resolution will be introduced in Boston, at our national convention in July, to support Barack Obama for president. Given his progressive views and outstanding record fighting for working people over the years, and given Sen. McCain's poor record on matters affecting America's workers, I have no doubt that Sen. Obama will win the enthusiastic support of our members.

We have extended an invitation to Sen. Obama and hope he will attend our convention to be there for the endorsement vote. If our convention approves of the resolution, NALC will do everything in its power to help make him the next president of the United States.

Yours in unionism,

William H. Young, President
National Association of Letter Carriers