James Henry’s Response to McLehose’s Comments on the 2026 NALC Officer Elections

On September 2, 2026, Brother Richard McLehose posted on Long Island Merged Branch 6000’s website about the 2026 NALC Officer Election. In his post, Brother McLehose acknowledged that he “was not allowed to use union resources to say who [he] or the board thinks we should support,” and he purported to be neutral in his observations on the election. In reality, however, Brother McLehose used the Union website to launch a series of thinly veiled attacks on the slate of Concerned Letter Carriers (CLC), the slate I lead. For instance, Brother McLehose attacked me personally for have been “pretty much missing in action for the past 3 years while running for office[.]” He attacked my running mate Corey Walton for being a “Trump worshipping podcaster[.]” He also attacked Orlando Gonzalez, the CLC candidate for National Business Agent for Region 15, for allegedly having been “terminated from his former position.”

In addition to being unfair and highly misleading, these attacks clearly violate federal law by using union resources to disfavor candidates for election to union office. To address the violation of law, I have requested that Branch 6000 publish this response to restore Union’s website to a position of neutrality between candidates, as the law requires. I also will set the record straight regarding the choice that Letter Carriers will make in this election.

First, let me introduce myself. My name is James Henry, and I currently am the NALC’s Vice President. Corey Walton and I are leading a slate of Concerned Letter Carriers to reform the NALC’s leadership. We are running because we and the rest of the CLC candidates recognized that the NALC could not continue under the failed leadership of current NALC President Brian Renfroe, and we pledged to risk our careers and livelihoods as union officers to pursue reform.

And that brings me to the true choice Letter Carriers face in this election. That choice is whether to select courage or cowardice in the NALC's next leaders.

Brother McLehose does not understand courage. Consider that Brother McLehose attacked me and other members of my slate but did not have the courage to name us directly. You can judge for yourself whether that is courage or cowardice.  I’ll explain below.

So what was I doing when Brother McLehose says I was missing in action for three years? I was standing in opposition to current NALC President Brian Renroe for his failed leadership. Indeed, my fellow CLC member Chris Jackson pressed charges against Brian Renfroe for his serious neglect of duty due to untreated problems, and I supported those charges. Were it not for Brother Jackson, it is likely that the other elected officers of the NALC would have continued to brush Renfroe’s ongoing dereliction of duty under the rug. We brought Renfroe’s neglect of duty into the light of day and forced Brother Renfroe to seek treatment. Nevertheless, in retaliation for challenging him, President Renfroe stripped me of most of my duties – an action Brother McLehose mistakenly calls being “missing in action,” but in reality was me taking a bullet for the membership. Was that courage or cowardice?Likewise, Orlando Gonzalez was terminated by President Renfroe from his position as an RRA when Orlando declared for the CLC slate. Brother McLehose attempted to shame Brother Gonzalez for having been fired, but I consider it a badge of honor. Again, you, the membership, will judge whether in opposing Renfroe, Brother Gonzalez was showing courage or cowardice. Brother McLehose also attacked my running mate Corey Walton for being politically conservative. Brother Walton is politically conservative, and so are tens of thousands of our fellow NALC members. The NALC is a bipartisan union, and we need both Republican and Democratic members of Congress to support our issues and the Postal Service. When it comes to leading this great Union, Corey and I are united that we are not Democratic-blue or Republican-red, but Letter Carrier light blue. We both champion the interests of our fellow Letter Carriers ahead of all other political considerations. And Brother Walton is fearless and single-minded in his advocacy of Letter Carriers. Members of the CLC showed courage again when the NALC’s Executive Council considered the last Tentative Agreement with the Postal Service. Chris Jackson and I were a minority on the Executive Council opposing the T.A., but our opposition was vindicated when two-thirds of the membership joined us in rejecting the T.A. The experience confirmed for us that the NALC leadership under President Renfroe was out-of-touch and that new leadership was necessary. Brother McLehose also attacks the CLC on the grounds that “[a]lmost every member of the current administration has been courted to join” the CLC. This is partially true, as there were some, not "almost every member", but this fact is more damning of our opponents than it is of the CLC. Our opponents on the Rhine-Peralta slate mostly consist of those who did not have the courage to oppose Renfroe, even when it was glaring that his substance abuse problems were preventing him from performing his duties. We asked a few current officers to join our reform movement. Those who declined were too fearful to challenge President Renfroe. It was only once Renfroe announced that he would not run for re-election that any member of the Rhine-Peralta slate announced that they were running on a separate slate. When you cast your vote in this election, ask yourself, was that courage or cowardice that they were exhibiting? Now ask yourself: In this time of relentless attacks on the Postal Service, who do you trust to lead this great union – those who repeatedly showed courage under fire or those who hid from trouble until they thought the danger was gone? In the 2026 officer election, the membership will choose between a CLC slate with a record of courageous action on behalf of reform, and one that has never missed an opportunity to cower. In my opinion, the courage already exhibited by the members of the CLC slate shows why we are the best choice in this officer election.

In closing, I urge all members of Branch 6000 join us in choosing courage in this election because courage is the only way forward for our craft. Because I know the heart of Letter Carrier, I have no doubt which choice you will make.

Fraternally,

James Henry