UNI Post and Logistics World Conference Endorses Staples Boycott
January 1, 2017
(This article first appeared in the January-February 2017 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
The Stop Staples campaign has gone global. In October 2016, the UNI Post and Logistics World Conference passed a resolution, brought forward by President Dimondstein, in support of the APWU’s Stop Staples campaign and boycott.
The main goal of the “Delivering the Future” conference was to strengthen the power of postal workers worldwide through combating privatization and expanding postal services by tapping into the potential of e-commerce. “The struggle in the USA to prevent privatization of retail services is part and parcel of the broader international struggle to protect and defend public postal services in all countries,” said the resolution, noting Staples does business in 26 other countries.
“The UNI Post unions encourage their members and sister unions to refrain from doing business with Staples, Quill.com and any Staples subsidiaries,” the resolution continued. “Where sister unions represent Staples workers, [members will] use the union relationship to encourage Staples management to cease performing postal work in the USA.”
A copy of the resolution was forwarded to Postmaster General Megan Brennan, Staples interim CEO Shira Goodman and the Staples Board of Directors.
“Passing this resolution is a sign of solidarity and a testament that no matter what country we live in, we all face the danger of greedy corporate privatizers,” said President Dimondstein. “The dirty deal between Staples and the Postal Service is a prime example of stealth privatizing. It takes stable, living-wage positions and replaces them with hourly, low-wage jobs.”
President Dimondstein was asked to participate on a panel about combating postal privatization. He shared the APWU’s efforts against privatization of the U.S. Postal Service with the building of A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service, the Stop Staples campaign as well as efforts to expand postal services through the fight to win postal banking.
“The future of public postal services worldwide is in our hands,” President Dimondstein said. “Now is the time for postal unions around the world to band together in our common fight against those who are determined to take away public postal services and decently paid unionized postal work across the globe.”