Floyd John Miller

John retired in 2005 from the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) where he worked as Staff Director and Executive Assistant to the President for many years, first for Vincent R. Sombrotto, then William H. Young. Prior to those administrations, John worked for NALC President Joseph Vacca as head of research and education.

John had a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College, and a PhD in American history from the University of Minnesota, where he met his first wife. He taught history at Hiram College and at Oberlin College in Ohio. The family then moved to Green Belt, MD and John directed the college degree program at the AFL-CIO Labor College before moving to the National Association of Letter Carriers. John later graduated from law school at Catholic University and was a member of the D.C. Bar until 2025.

In 1969, he married Roberta Balstad, now living in San Diego. He is survived by their son Aaron G. Miller and grandson Isah V. Miller of Los Angeles. He married Jane Broendel in 2009, who survives him, as well as his stepchildren, Katherine Broendel (Sean Crosbie) and Reid Broendel (Nora) and granddaughter Mara Broendel. His is also survived by his brother Michael Miller (Carol) of Portland, Oregon and his nephews Eric and Paul and their children.

John grew up in New York City and Westchester County, where he was an Eagle Scout, played the tuba in his high school band, and was sports editor of his high school paper. His father, Abbe Miller was an attorney in Manhattan and his mother Teisah was a sculptor who also worked as the office’s secretary. John attended Carleton College, where he majored in history and was editor of the Carletonian, the College newspaper. During a break from college, he hitchhiked to the Atlanta, GA area and worked on the Douglasville, GA newspaper, writing stories and taking photos. After graduating from Carleton College, and before entering graduate school, John worked in a canning factory in Minnesota and as a union organizer for the local Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Los Angeles and had many stories to tell of his time with the SEIU and in Douglasville.

John’s book, “The Search for a Black Nationality--- Black Colonization and Emigration 1787-1863” was published in 1975 by University of Illinois Press. He also located the previously lost text of an early novel by an African American, “Blake, or The Huts of America”, by Martin R. Delany in 1970. John’s edited edition of the novel was published with his introduction in 1970. Both books were used in classrooms for decades. His third book, “Romeo at War; Stories” was published in 2017.

He was an extremely organized individual which served him well in his many duties at the NALC. As the Executive Assistant to the President, he was responsible for writing articles and columns for the union’s magazine, The Postal Record. He also served as Chief of Staff. He was a progressive thinker and was integral in working with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in forming the Employee Involvement Program, which the USPS withdrew from the city letter carriers’ union in 1995. He was involved with contract negotiations between the USPS and the NALC in his earlier years at NALC. John also worked with NALC officers and staff in getting the union to think about the effect of the burgeoning web and e-mail on the USPS. He, with the assistance of others, created “NALC 2000” in 1995 and organized a week-long forum for USPS, magazine publishers, other unions, and mailers. He was a major player in ensuring the preservation of the union’s important papers and artifacts at Wayne State University. John was also in charge of the union’s week-long, national conventions which could attract as many as 9,000 delegates. Of major significance was “Carriers in a Common Cause” (CCC), a history of the NALC, which John wrote with Brady Mikusko in 1982. They updated the CCC in 1989 for the union’s centennial celebration in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and John subsequently updated it in 2006 and again in 2014 for the union’s 125th anniversary. John also met with the sculptor, Elliot Offner, for the creation of a letter-carrier statue to be placed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the union’s 100th anniversary.

A visitation and celebration of life for family, friends, and colleagues has been planned for Sunday, October 4 from 4-6 pm at Joseph Gawler & Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Ave., NW Washington, DC. There will be no service. In lieu of flowers, memorials in John’s name may be made to Guide Dogs for the Blind at guidedogs.com/27unleash or So Others May Eat at give.some.org