<P> The Post Office was one of the first government departments to regulate obscene materials on a national basis . When the U.S. Congress passed the Comstock laws of 1873, it became illegal to send through the U.S. mail any material considered obscene or indecent, or which promoted abortion issues, birth control, or alcohol consumption . </P> <P> On March 18, 1970, postal workers in New York City--upset over low wages and poor working conditions, and emboldened by the Civil Rights movement--organized a strike against the United States government . The strike initially involved postal workers in only New York City, but it eventually gained support of over 210,000 United States Post Office Department workers across the nation . While the strike ended without any concessions from the Federal government, it did ultimately allow for postal worker unions and the government to negotiate a contract which gave the unions most of what they wanted, as well as the signing of the Postal Reorganization Act by President Richard Nixon on August 12, 1970 . The Act replaced the cabinet - level Post Office Department with a new federal agency, the United States Postal Service, and took effect on July 1, 1971 . </P> <P> The United States Postal Service employs some 617,000 workers, making it the third - largest civilian employer in the United States behind the federal government and Wal - Mart . In a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Court noted: "Each day, according to the Government's submissions here, the United States Postal Service delivers some 660 million pieces of mail to as many as 142 million delivery points ." As of 2016, the USPS operates 31,585 post offices and locations in the U.S., and delivers 153.4 billion pieces of mail annually . </P> <P> The USPS operates one of the largest civilian vehicle fleets in the world, with an estimated 227,896 vehicles, the majority of which are the easily identified Chevrolet / Grumman LLV (long - life vehicle), and the newer Ford / Utilimaster FFV (flex - fuel vehicle), originally also referred to as the CRV (carrier route vehicle). It is by geography and volume the globe's largest postal system, delivering 47% of the world's mail . For every penny increase in the national average price of gasoline, the USPS spends an extra US $8 million per year to fuel its fleet . </P>

How many pieces of mail does the usps deliver each day
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