(This article first appeared in the January-February 2016 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Thanks to members and allies across the country, the Stop Staples campaign is moving up and onward!

Stop Staples supporters regularly hold demonstrations in Atlanta, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco.

Kevin Walsh, organization director of the New York Metro Area Local, said that there are protests at two locations every day, chosen from a rotating list of stores in Manhattan and the Bronx. On any given day, approximately 500 leaflets are distributed.

Walsh has been meeting with the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council. “We want to see if there are ways we can amp up this boycott,” he said, adding that they plan to push unions that still have deals with the office-supply company to cancel them. The organizers also plan to reach out to local veterans organizations, school supply vendors, and community boards.

Walsh said the Labor Council brought up one potential hazard of Staples taking over postal services the team hadn’t considered: homeland security. “People bring packages to Staples, but the employees don’t ask the customers the questions about hazards.”

Steelworker Solidarity 

The Stop Staples campaign was a featured topic at a meeting of about 300 retired members of the United Steelworkers in Baltimore on Oct. 21, where discussion focused on the boycott, A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service (see p.20), the Campaign for Postal Banking (see p. 11) and the union’s contract campaign (see p. 8).

“Retirees related stories about the problems they were experiencing with their own postal services,” said Stop Staples organizer Rich Shelley, adding that Stop Staples postcards and literature were “enthusiastically” taken by attendees to distribute to their families and neighbors.

‘Troublemaking’ at Labor Notes 

Two members of the San Francisco Area Local, Alan Menvijar and Darla Kilgannon, spread word of the Stop Staples campaign at a Labor Notes “Troublemakers” conference in Berkeley, CA, in October.

More than 200 Stop Staples postcards were signed at the conference, which teaches labor activists organizing tactics.

CARA Rallies and Pickets

Members of the California Alliance of Retired Americans (CARA) joined a Stop Staples rally and picket in front of an Upland, CA, location on Tuesday, Oct. 20. 

The event was held in conjunction with CARA’s biennial conference, which took place in Ontario, CA. Dozens of participants were bussed to picket the Staples store that afternoon. Members of the California State APWU were also on hand.

‘Big Advance’ for Stop Staples Campaign
NLRB Say Company Cannot Intervene in APWU Complaint

The APWU won an important legal victory on Nov. 4 when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled unanimously that Staples cannot intervene in hearings on charges that the USPS illegally subcontracted work to the office-supply chain.

“The ruling is very significant,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein.

If Staples had been allowed to intervene, it could appeal rulings – independent of the Postal Service – and exponentially complicate the litigation.

“With Staples’ deep pockets, they could have appealed the case all the way to the Supreme Court, even if the Postal Service chose not to,” Dimondstein said. Staples has the right to appeal the ruling.

“It’s long past time for the Postal Service to end its dirty deal with Staples and stop efforts to privatize retail operations,” Dimondstein added.

Administrative Law Judge Paul Bogas granted Staples’ request to participate as a full party to the case when the hearings began in August, but the APWU and the NLRB General Counsel appealed the ruling.

“The APWU deplores the ongoing collusion between the Postal Service and Staples to transfer the work of highly-trained USPS employees who are accountable to the people of the country to low-paid Staples employees,” Dimondstein said at the time. “This ploy enriches Staples executives while advancing the privatization of the public Postal Service,” he added.

The August hearings continued on Nov. 2 and 3, and were dominated by disputes over documents subpoenaed by the NLRB and the APWU.  In response to subpoenas, the Postal Service provided the NLRB with more than 90,000 records and withheld thousands more it deemed confidential and/or covered by attorney-client privilege. Thousands of documents were given to the union as well.

“The APWU will continue to fight with everything we’ve got in the legal arena,” Dimondstein said.  “But we also know that the best way to secure victory is to spread word of the Stop Staples campaign and the boycott of Staples and Quill.com.”