Big Win For Unions as Staples Folds, NO Merger With U.S. Post Offices

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Big Win For Unions as Staples Folds, NO Merger With U.S. Post Offices
By Kris Maher, Drew FitzGerald and Tom Gara

Staples Inc. and the U.S. Postal Service said Monday they will end a pilot program to set up mini post offices in the company's retail outlets, days after one of the nation's biggest teachers unions called for a boycott of the chain amid growing criticism from labor.

The office retailer began the pilot program last fall, and staffers in 82 stores in four states offer only USPS shipping services at postal service-branded counters. The chain and the postal agency said the program was an attempt to expand postal services and improve customer service, but the American Postal Workers Union said it viewed the program as a step toward privatization that would put the jobs of unionized postal workers at risk.

Kirk Saville, a Staples spokesman, said that the stores instead will be part of the Post Office Approved Shipper program, which is currently available in thousands of outlets operated by other retailers. "Staples will continue to explore and test products and services that meet our customers' needs," he said.

Darleen Reid, a postal agency spokeswoman, declined to say whether union opposition had played a role in deciding to end the pilot program, which will end by Aug. 1. "We respect their right to their opinion," Ms. Reid said. "This decision is all about expanding service to our customers."

Under the pilot program, Staples sold only U.S. Postal Service shipping services and products. In the approved shipper program, Staples, like other retailers, will offer some postal agency products alongside those of other shippers.

On Saturday, the American Federation of Teachers announced that in support of postal workers, it would ask its 1.6 million members, colleagues and family members to boycott the chain and buy school supplies elsewhere. Other big unions, including the National Education Association, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Service Employees International Union have also come out against the pilot program at Staples.

The announcement from Staples appeared to mark a retreat from a plan to expand the program into the chain's nearly 1,500 outlets if the pilot was successful.

But the postal workers union said it wasn't satisfied and called the announcement a ruse. "This attempt at trickery shows that the 'Don't Buy Staples' movement is having an effect. We intend to keep up the pressure until Staples gets out of the mail business," said Mark Dimondstein, president of the postal workers union, which has 200,000 members representing about half of the nation's postal workers.

A spokesman for the AFT didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The union plans to continue the boycott despite the announcement by Staples and the postal agency, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The importance of school supplies to the bottom line is hard to minimize. Office superstores such Staples usually pull in more sales during the second half of the year, between the start of North American classes and winter holidays, than they do in the first half. The chain last month said it will match competitors' prices and kick in another 10% discount on certain school supplies in an effort to head off rival promotions.

The move comes after Staples scuttled a separate program that allowed customers of Amazon.com Inc. to pick up purchases at the store after ordering them online. That program ended amid competitive concerns rather than pressure from unions or other groups.

Staples is in the process of closing as many as 225 stores in response to weak sales growth. Most of the locations that remain are downsizing because the products they sell, from tablet computers to network gear, take up less space than some traditional office products, such as folders, filing cabinets and desktop computers, that used to have heartier sales.

Big Win For Unions as Staples Folds, NO Merger With U.S. Post Offices
By Kris Maher, Drew FitzGerald and Tom Gara

Staples Inc. and the U.S. Postal Service said Monday they will end a pilot program to set up mini post offices in the company's retail outlets, days after one of the nation's biggest teachers unions called for a boycott of the chain amid growing criticism from labor.

The office retailer began the pilot program last fall, and staffers in 82 stores in four states offer only USPS shipping services at postal service-branded counters. The chain and the postal agency said the program was an attempt to expand postal services and improve customer service, but the American Postal Workers Union said it viewed the program as a step toward privatization that would put the jobs of unionized postal workers at risk.

Kirk Saville, a Staples spokesman, said that the stores instead will be part of the Post Office Approved Shipper program, which is currently available in thousands of outlets operated by other retailers. "Staples will continue to explore and test products and services that meet our customers' needs," he said.

Darleen Reid, a postal agency spokeswoman, declined to say whether union opposition had played a role in deciding to end the pilot program, which will end by Aug. 1. "We respect their right to their opinion," Ms. Reid said. "This decision is all about expanding service to our customers."

Under the pilot program, Staples sold only U.S. Postal Service shipping services and products. In the approved shipper program, Staples, like other retailers, will offer some postal agency products alongside those of other shippers.

On Saturday, the American Federation of Teachers announced that in support of postal workers, it would ask its 1.6 million members, colleagues and family members to boycott the chain and buy school supplies elsewhere. Other big unions, including the National Education Association, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Service Employees International Union have also come out against the pilot program at Staples.

The announcement from Staples appeared to mark a retreat from a plan to expand the program into the chain's nearly 1,500 outlets if the pilot was successful.

But the postal workers union said it wasn't satisfied and called the announcement a ruse. "This attempt at trickery shows that the 'Don't Buy Staples' movement is having an effect. We intend to keep up the pressure until Staples gets out of the mail business," said Mark Dimondstein, president of the postal workers union, which has 200,000 members representing about half of the nation's postal workers.

A spokesman for the AFT didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The union plans to continue the boycott despite the announcement by Staples and the postal agency, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The importance of school supplies to the bottom line is hard to minimize. Office superstores such Staples usually pull in more sales during the second half of the year, between the start of North American classes and winter holidays, than they do in the first half. The chain last month said it will match competitors' prices and kick in another 10% discount on certain school supplies in an effort to head off rival promotions.

The move comes after Staples scuttled a separate program that allowed customers of Amazon.com Inc. to pick up purchases at the store after ordering them online. That program ended amid competitive concerns rather than pressure from unions or other groups.

Staples is in the process of closing as many as 225 stores in response to weak sales growth. Most of the locations that remain are downsizing because the products they sell, from tablet computers to network gear, take up less space than some traditional office products, such as folders, filing cabinets and desktop computers, that used to have heartier sales.

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July 16, 2014 at 11:04 AM