Schutz, Morton, 1911-

Morton Schutz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1911. He entered the postal service in 1937 and immediately joined the then-Railway Mail Association.

He served as Legislative Chairman within the New York Branch, 2nd Division of the National Postal Transport Association, from 1947 to 1950; as Corresponding Secretary from 1950 to 1951; as Recording Secretary from early 1951 to 1953; as President from 1953 to December 1956; and as Financial Secretary from December 1956 to March 1958; and as Treasurer of the Joint Conference of Affiliated Postal Employees of Greater New York and vicinity from 1952 to 1958.

He was forced to resign from his union post on February 19th, 1958, when he was charged by the NPTA, New York Branch, with not fulfilling his duties. It was unanimously recommended by the NY Branch Executive Committee to the National President of the NPTA that he be removed from office, which was an unprecendented occurence. During the 1950's, the labor movement was being purged of left-wing elements. Union officials within the Civil Service were fearful of losing their jobs and shied away from protesting the grievances of their members. Morton Schutz did voice the grievances of his members and lost his union position in the process.

The Railway Mail Association, predecessor to the National Postal Transportation Association, was founded in 1904. It joined the American Federation of Labor in 1917, but was hardly involved with AFL activities until about 1947.

In 1945, to avoid being charged under New York State's anti-discrimination laws for barring black clerks from membership, it went to court claiming that it was not a labor organization, but rather a fraternal society. It lost its case and was forced to comply with New York State law. However, the discriminatory article number III of the NPTA constitution remained in the constitution until 1956, with individual locals in the meantime allowing blacks into the union. Women had also been prevented from joining the union.

In 1950 the RMA became the National Postal Transportation Association. In 1952 the NPTA consisted of many branches and fifteen divisions of which the New York Branch and the Second Division are the largest. There were no central headquarters; rather, union officials worked out of their own homes. Toward the end of the 1950's, it suffered from declining membership, and on December 13, 1961, it merged with the Post Office Clerks to become the United Federation of Postal Clerks. Finally on July 1, 1971, it merged with four other unions: the National Association of Post Office and General Services Maintenance Employees; the National Federation of Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees and the National Postal Union, to become the American Postal Workers Union.

From the description of Papers, 1945-1959. 1950-1958 (bulk). (New York University). WorldCat record id: 477250607

Morton Schutz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1911. He entered the postal service in 1937 and immediately joined the Railway Mail Association. From 1947 to 1950, he served as Legislative Chairman with the New York Branch 2nd Division of the National Postal Transport Association. He also served the Branch as Corresponding Secretary from 1950 to 1953; as President from 1953 to December 1956 and as Financial Secretary from December 1956 to March 1958. He served as Treasurer of the Joint Conference of Affiliated Postal Employees of Greater New York and vicinity from 1952 to 1958.

Schutz was forced to resign from his union post on February 19th, 1958, when he was charged by the NPTA, NY Branch, with not fulfilling his duties. It was unanimously recommended by the NPTA that he be removed from office, which was an unprecedented occurrence. During the 1950s the labor movement was being purged of left wing elements. Union officials within the Civil Service were fearful of losing their jobs and shied away from protesting the grievances of their members. Schutz did voice the grievances of his members and lost his union position in the process.

Schutz remained a union member and continued working for the postal service until his retirement in 1974. In the late 1950s, Schutz was informed by his mother in Brooklyn and his neighbors in the Bronx that the F.B.I. had been questioning them about the newspapers he read and his general activities.

In 1989 he gained access to approximately 100 of the 494 pages of information on him that had been gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. All substantive information had been censored. However, he did discover that he had been under constant surveillance from 1958 to 1964 and there after until 1971 a "tickler" had been placed upon him so that he was checked up on every six months. He also discovered that the New York F.B.I. had requested permission from the main Bureau in the Washington D.C. to interview him, but this request had been denied.

From the guide to the Morton Schutz Papers, 1945-1959, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)