Staples, Postal Service to End Plan for Mini Post Offices in Stores
Teachers Union Had Called for Store Boycott Amid Growing Criticism From Labor
Staples Inc. SPLS +0.54% and the U.S. Postal Service said Monday they will end a pilot program to set up mini post offices in the company's retail outlets, days after one of the nation's biggest teachers unions called for a boycott of the chain amid growing criticism from labor.
The office retailer began the pilot program last fall, and staffers in 82 stores in four states offer only USPS shipping services at postal service-branded counters. The chain and the postal agency said the program was an attempt to expand postal services and improve customer service, but the American Postal Workers Union said it viewed the program as a step toward privatization that would put the jobs of unionized postal workers at risk.
Kirk Saville, a Staples spokesman, said that the stores instead will be part of the Post Office Approved Shipper program, which is currently available in thousands of outlets operated by other retailers. "Staples will continue to explore and test products and services that meet our customers' needs," he said.
Darleen Reid, a postal agency spokeswoman, declined to say whether union opposition had played a role in deciding to end the pilot program, which will end by Aug. 1. "We respect their right to their opinion," Ms. Reid said. "This decision is all about expanding service to our customers."
Under the pilot program, Staples sold only U.S. Postal Service shipping services and products. In the approved shipper program, Staples, like other retailers, will offer some postal agency products alongside those of other shippers.
On Saturday, the American Federation of Teachers announced that in support of postal workers, it would ask its 1.6 million members, colleagues and family members to boycott the chain and buy school supplies elsewhere. Other big unions, including the National Education Association, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Service Employees International Union have also come out against the pilot program at Staples.
The announcement from Staples appeared to mark a retreat from a plan to expand the program into the chain's nearly 1,500 outlets if the pilot was successful.
But the postal workers union said it wasn't satisfied and called the announcement a ruse. "This attempt at trickery shows that the 'Don't Buy Staples' movement is having an effect. We intend to keep up the pressure until Staples gets out of the mail business," said Mark Dimondstein, president of the postal workers union, which has 200,000 Staples, Postal Service to End Program to Set Up Post Offices - WSJ: