Staples Rings NASDAQ Bell, Protesters ‘Ruin Their Day’

Stop Staples activists “ruined Staples’ day” on March 15, protesting in front of the NASDAQ building in Times Square, while Staples executives gathered to ring the stock market’s opening bell.

Holding Stop Staples posters, John Dennie, Dennis O’Neil, Delphine McRae, Pat Parrish, Carol Thomas and Kevin Walsh gathered outside the glass front of the building at 9:15, just before the ceremonial bell-ringing.

Protesters could see in, and the Staples and NASDAQ executives could see out. After the executives saw the protesters, “their cell phone cameras came out,” O’Neil said.

A high-ranking security officer soon came outside and approached O’Neil.

“You know what he said to me?” O’Neil recounted with a laugh. “He said, ‘Please don’t do this. This is their day. You are ruining their day.’”

“I told him, ‘Staples is ruining the day of postal workers, customers and their own employees around the country. We will do everything we can to ruin Staples’ day!’”

Throughout the exchange, the protesters held their Don’t Buy Staples posters high.

Just before the actual bell-ringing, NASDAQ executives lowered shades, blocking the view of their highly-touted ceremony.

“It was way too late,” O’Neil said.  “We were really successful hitting this, even if we didn’t see the bell rung.”

Stop Staples activists in New York City and around the country have been protesting outside Staples stores on a regular basis and vow to keep the heat on the office-supply chain until they get out of the mail business.

“Staples stock has been plummeting in recent months, at least in part as a result of the boycott,” APWU President Mark Dimondstein pointed out. And Fortune magazine said the company is "desperate for new avenues of growth as the odds of its planned $5.5 billion acquisition of Office Depot  grow slimmer by the day."