national president of the NALC. More than 210,000 United States Post Office Department workers were eventually involved across the nation, although initially the strike affected only workers in New York City. These workers decided to strike against the wishes of their leadership. The spontaneous unity produced by this decision empowered the workers. President Nixon appeared on national television and ordered the employees back to work, but his address only stiffened the resolve of the existing strikers and angered workers in another 671 locations in other cities into walking out as well. Workers in other government agencies also announced they would strike if Nixon pursued legal action against the postal employees. Authorities were unsure of how to proceed. Union leaders pleaded with the workers to return to their jobs. The government was hesitant to arrest strike leaders for fear of arousing sympathy among other workers, and because of popular support for the strikers. Impact The strike crippled the nation's mail system. The stock market fell due to the strike's effect on trading volume. Some feared that the stock market would have to close entirely. Nixon summons the National Guard Nixon spoke to the nation again on March 23, asking the workers to go back to their jobs and announcing that he would deploy the National Guard to deliver mail in New York. This announcement was accompanied by Proclamation 3972, which declared a national emergency. Nixon then ordered 24,000 military personnel forces to begin distributing the mail. Operation Graphic Hand had at its peak more than 18,500 military personnel assigned to 17 New York post offices, from regular Army, National Guard, Army Reserve, Air National Guard and Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps Reserve. This was not necessarily very effective. Conclusion The strike ended after eight days with not a single worker being fired, as the Nixon administration continued to negotiate with postal union leaders. Outcomes Postal Reorganization Act The postal strike influenced the passage and signing of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. Effective July 1, 1971, the U.S. Post Office Department became the U.S. Postal Service, an independent establishment of the executive branch. The four major postal unions (National Association of Letter Carriers, American Postal Workers Union, National Postal Mail Handlers Union, and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association) won full collective bargaining rights: the right to negotiate on wages, benefits and working conditions, although they still were not allowed