1971 - United States Postal Service began operation; Postmaster General no longer in Cabinet
1971 - Labor contract achieved through collective bargaining for the first time in history of US federal government
1971 - US Star routes changed to highway contract routes
1971 - US National service standards established: overnight delivery of 95% of airmail within 600]] miles and 95% of First-Class Mail within local areas
1972 - US Passport applications accepted in post offices
1973 - US National service standards expanded to include second-day delivery of parcel post traveling up to 150]] miles, with one-day delivery time added for each additional 400]] miles
1992 - USPS Reorganization: regions, divisions and management sectional centers replaced by area and district offices for customer service and mail processing
1992 - US Stamps sold through automatic teller machines