'Stop Staples' Campaign Gains Momentum

(This article first appeared in the May-June 2015 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

The American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA) may be small in numbers, but its impact on the Don’t Buy Staples campaign could be huge. The 20,000 AFSA members select which companies their school districts purchase supplies from – and from now on they will not be getting them from Staples.

In a March 19 letter to Staples CEO Ron Sargent, AFSA President Diann Woodard wrote, “Educators know all too well what privatization means to the public and to public employees: Less service, higher costs, lower wages, and the elimination of good, stable jobs. It’s true for those who lead schools, and it’s true for postal workers.”

Several other groups joined the Stop Staples movement in March as well.

On March 9, the Baltimore City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution opposing privatization of the Postal Service, making it the second City Council to do so. (Philadelphia was the first, in December.)

Introduced by Councilmember Robert Curran, HR 15-0211R supports the APWU’s efforts to protect living-wage jobs, the union’s insistence on the highest possible standards of customer services, and opposition to attempts to privatize postal operations. The resolution calls upon residents of Baltimore to “consider this issue when deciding whether to patronize Staples.”

A copy of the resolution was sent to Postmaster General Megan Brennan, the USPS Board of Governors, Staples CEO Ron Sargent, and the company’s Board of Directors, as well as Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake.

On April 7, the Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed a Will of Council in support of the campaign. “The City of Pittsburgh will urge its citizens to become aware of these threats to the Postal Service and the efforts made by the Western PA Postal Workers Solidarity Committee when considering whether to patronize Staples,” it said.

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) also adopted a resolution in March, urging “members, friends, colleagues and family members to stop shopping at Staples stores.”

Why We're Boycotting
In the fall of 2013, the Postal Service and Staples implemented a pilot program that established knock-off post offices in 82 Staples stores. As expected, a modified version of the program is being expanded to Staples stores across the country.

The postal counters are staffed with low-wage Staples employees rather than highly-trained USPS employees.

Secret USPS documents revealed that the Staples deal was intended to privatize window clerk duties and reduce labor costs. The APWU objects to the Staples deal because it privatizes the retail operations of the public Postal Service; transfers living-wage, union jobs to low-wage jobs, and compromises the safety and security of the mail.

‘It’s Class Warfare’
People from all walks of life are keeping the campaign alive.

One stellar example is Ian Hespelt, a Macy’s employee in San Francisco and a shop steward for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) who has attended 10 protests at Staples stores.

When he heard about the Stop Staples campaign at a union meeting last spring, Hespelt decided to get personally involved, even though his union could offer only limited support due to their contract negotiations.

“The Postal Service is important to me,” Hespelt said. “The impact that privatization would have on pretty much all of us who aren’t millionaires or billionaires is huge.”

Hespelt noted that some states mainly vote by mail and that many people rely on the Postal Service to receive medication.

“It’s crazy to think that they would even attempt to chip away at the Postal Service, or do anything except expand it,” he said. “It’s class warfare, I think.”

Hespelt talked about the importance of solidarity.

“I am a firm believer of the power of numbers. The voice of the people can’t be ignored,” he said. “If more people show up, you can only ignore them for so long. Pitching in to help out another union makes us all that much stronger.”

Union Opposes 
Office Depot Merger
The APWU is urging the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to block a proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot, which the union says is “monopolistic and unlawful.”

“A Staples takeover of Office Depot would lead to fewer choices and higher prices for consumers, especially school students and parents. If approved, the merger also would lead to more store closings and have an adverse effect on workers. This merger is not in the public interest,” said President Mark Dimondstein.

The union believes there are new grounds for opposing the merger beyond the objections first posed in 1996, when federal regulators blocked a previous attempt to merge the two office-supply chains.

Union Places Second Ad in Harvard Crimson
The APWU placed a second ad in The Harvard Crimson in April, asking University President Drew Faust to step down from Staples’ Board of Directors. Serving on the board “sullies Dr. Faust’s reputation and smears Harvard’s good name.”

The ad gained the attention of The Boston Globe, which published an article featuring the Stop Staples campaign and displaying the ad.

In November, the APWU placed an ad in the college newspaper, asking her to resign, after Harvard’s Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM) and the Massachusetts chapter of Jobs with Justice joined the Stop Staples campaign.

Staples and Harvard also have other ties – CEO Ron Sargent is an alum and takes great pride in the connection to his alma mater.