We congratulate our brother and friend, Fredric V. Rolando, on his retirement as president of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC).
During his 14 years as national president and 44 years of membership with NALC, Rolando proved to be a steadfast champion for America’s working families.
Rolando’s journey in the labor movement began in 1978 when he became a letter carrier in Miami and a member of NALC Branch 1071. He served as shop steward there before moving to Sarasota, Florida, where he soon became chief steward of Branch 2148 in 1984. He was elected branch president in 1988 and served in that role for 11 years, while also serving as the director of education for the Florida State Association of Letter Carriers. In 1999, he was appointed as the regional administrative assistant for NALC Region 9, and three years later he became director of city delivery for the national union.
In 2006, Rolando was elected executive vice president of NALC, and became its 18th president in July 2009, initially filling a vacancy. He was subsequently elected to the position three times.
His steadfast leadership steered the union through a number of existential crises, notably the burdensome congressional mandate that the U.S. Postal Service pre-fund future retiree health benefits, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rolando’s advocacy was instrumental in thwarting efforts to degrade or even privatize the Postal Service, and his acumen helped save it from financial ruin. His efforts to enact postal reform legislation and expand universal vote-by-mail—and to safeguard the process—were critical to the conduct of recent elections.
Rolando served on the AFL-CIO Executive Council and was a valued member of the Executive Committee, the Committee on Legislation/Policy and the Political Committee. But his contributions as vice chair of the AFL-CIO Committee on Finance were perhaps the most meaningful, as he helped the federation navigate through a series of economic challenges.
Throughout his career, Rolando’s dedication to advance the cause of letter carriers and his service to all of America’s trade unionists has been exemplary. He made his union and the entire labor movement stronger, and the AFL-CIO Executive Council wishes Fred Rolando, our brother and friend, a long and happy retirement.