For Immediate Release
Contact: Jamie Horwitz; Sally Davidow
Phone: 202-549-4921; 202-368-3324
jhdcpr@starpower.net; sdavidow@apwu.org
 

Los Angeles – Thousands of delegates to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Convention meeting in Los Angeles this week will vote to boycott the bulk goods retailer Staples today. Outside the Los Angeles Convention Center, at 6 pm, they will join postal workers and other supporters in protesting the outsourcing of U.S. Post Office jobs and services.

Who:     American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten
              American Postal Workers Union (APWU) President Mark Dimondstein
              Thousands of AFT Convention delegates, including members and leaders of the California Federation of Teachers
What:    Protest against outsourcing and privatization of the U.S. Postal Service
When:   Saturday, July 12, 6 pm
Where: In front of the Los Angeles Convention Center, S. Figueroa near Pico

Last October, USPS announced a no-bid sweetheart deal to open postal counters with limited service in more than 80 Staples stores in four states, including California. The U.S. Postal Service has plans to expand this “pilot” project to 1,500 stores.

AFT state affiliates in California, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Hampshire have already voted to boycott Staples unless the retailer retreats from replacing skilled, experienced uniformed postal workers, who take an oath to protect the U.S. mail, with low-wage, high turnover employees. The national AFT is expected to take up a boycott resolution during its convention this week in Los Angeles, which began Thursday, July 10 and runs through Sunday, July 13.  The AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and many other labor organizations have also endorsed a boycott of the nationwide retailer.

School supplies are a key market for Staples, accounting for up to one-third of the company’s sales, according to some estimates. The company, faced with declining sales and revenue, has announced plans to close 225 stores by 2015.

For more information see these news stories from the past week:
Teachers, Postal Workers Weigh Staples Boycott, USA Today, Greg Toppo,     July 2
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/small%20business/2014/07/02/teachers-staples-boycott-postal/10381313/

Teachers Union Joins Staples Boycott in Support of Postal Workers, Boston Globe, Chris Reidy, July 7
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/07/07/local-teachers-union-joins-staples-boycott-support-postal-workers/caWu84DLW9rfJ2GmrUW8RM/story.html

Classroom Supplier Staples Provokes Ire of Teachers' Unions, Education Week, Ross Brennerman, July 7
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2014/07/office_supplier_staples_provokes_ire_of_teachers_unions.html

Teachers Union to Boycott Staples, Worchester (Mass.) Business Journal, July 9
http://www.wbjournal.com/article/20140708/NEWS01/140709961

National Teachers Union Expected to Join Staples Boycott, Huffington Post, Dave Jamieson, July 11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/11/staples-boycott-teachers_n_5578298.html

Additional information is available at StopStaples.com

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The American Postal Workers Union represents 200,000 employees of the United States Postal Service, and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.