Railway Mail Association

The Railway Mail Association (RMA) was originally The National Association of Railway Postal Clerks when chartered under the laws of New Hampshire in 1898 as a fraternal beneficiary association. In 1904 the name was changed to the RMA and lasted until 1949 when the Post Office Department renamed the Railway Mail Service as Postal Transportation Service. At that time, it became the National Postal Transport Association.

The Railway Mail Mutual Benefit Association, (MBA) traces its origins to 1874. It was established to provide compensation to clerks in case of injury or death while working, since commercial life insurance was not available to Railway Post Office clerks due to hazardous working conditions. It is now named the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Accident Benefit Association. Its current mailing address is PO Box 538, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03802-0538.

References

• Wilking, Clarence. (1985) The Railway Mail Service, Railway Mail Service Library, Boyce, Virginia. Document in MS Word format