Paul Nestor Carlin (August 25, 1931 – April 25, 2018) was an American businessman and former

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

official. He served as the

United States Postmaster General The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

from January 1, 1985 to January 7, 1986.

Education

Carlin was born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on August 25, 1931. Carlin received a bachelor's degree from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

in 1954, where he was an all-star track athlete. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

for two years and taught athletics at the

University of Baghdad The University of Baghdad (UOB) (, also known as Baghdad University) is a public university, public research university in Baghdad, Iraq. It is the largest university in Iraq and the tenth largest in the Arab world. History The College of Isl ...

in Iraq as a Fulbright professor.

Career

During the 1960s, he was employed by the National Association of Counties where he served as assistant director of federal affairs, a position in which he lobbied Congress. He later held a similar position, director of federal and congressional relations, with the

National School Boards Association The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit educational organization operating as a federation of state associations of school boards across the United States. Founded in 1940, NSBA represents state school ...

, until 1968. He then joined the National Audio-Visual Association as vice president and educational director. Carlin went into government as President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's liaison with Congress on postal matters. He went on to become a specialist in labor and employee relations at

headquarters, chief of the eastern postal region, and chief of the central postal region. On November 14, 1984, the board of governors of the Postal Service selected Carlin from among 35 candidates to become the Postmaster General effective on January 1, 1985. The Postal Service faced a deficit during Carlin's first fiscal year in office. Between October 1, 1984 (the start of the fiscal year) and July 1, 1985, the Postal Service had a $385 million deficit, due in part to an unanticipated increase in mail volume and changes in airline routes and schedules which required the Postal Service to renegotiate contracts with airlines and reschedule operations. In order to reduce the deficit, Carlin imposed a 3.5% pay cut on 35 top postal executives (including himself), and delayed a scheduled 3.2% pay increase for 714 other managers. Other cost-cutting measures taken by the Postal Service during his administration included cutting back on overtime hours worked and delaying or canceling the issuance of certain stamps. The Postal Service's deficit for the fiscal year as a whole came to $251.5 million. Carlin's service as Postmaster General was cut short after just over a year when the board of governors fired him on January 6, 1986. He was allowed to remain as an adviser to the board of governors at a reduced salary. John McKean, chairman of the board of governors, explained Carlin's firing by saying, "The governors felt there was a changing environment that required a different marketplace perspective." Carlin's replacement, Albert V. Casey, related in his memoir the explanations McKean and vice-chairman Peter Voss gave him as to why Carlin was being fired. According to Casey, McKean and Voss told him that Carlin had failed to reduce the number of postal employees, that he had been slow to make decisions about purchasing equipment for automation, that he delegated too much authority, and was too subservient to the White House, in addition to running the $251 million deficit for the fiscal year. In June 1986, Carlin filed suit against the board of governors to get his job as Postmaster General back. Carlin claimed that he had been fired for refusing to steer a contract for sorting equipment to a company favored by Voss, the vice-chairman of the board. (About a month before Carlin filed suit, Voss had pleaded guilty to taking illegal payoffs in relation to the contract and resigned from the board.) However, Carlin's lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that the

Postal Reorganization Act The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 was a law passed by the United States Congress that abolished the then U.S. Post Office Department, which was a part of the Cabinet, and created the U.S. Postal Service, a corporation-like independent agen ...

did not allow

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

of the board's decision to fire a Postmaster General. According to the district court, Congress had granted the board authority to fire a Postmaster General "for a good reason, bad reason or no reason at all."

Business

After leaving the Postal Service, Carlin co-founded (with Eugene C. Johnson) a company called Business Mail Express Inc. in 1990 and sold it in 1995. In 1998, he and Johnson established a company called Mail2000, which was intended to speed mail delivery by helping businesses presort mass mailings. In 2001,

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializi ...

purchased Mail2000 for an estimated $100 million. He died on April 25, 2018, in Arlington, Virginia, from pneumonia and bronchitis at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlin, Paul N. 1931 births 2018 deaths Businesspeople from San Diego Military personnel from California University of Wyoming alumni Academic staff of the University of Baghdad United States postmasters general American telecommunications industry businesspeople Reagan administration personnel Deaths from bronchitis Deaths from pneumonia in Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery