Portland Communities and Postal Workers United
June 20, 2014
Dozens of protesters, carrying signs and banners, stormed a local Staples this afternoon and attempted to present a petition, signed by 500 Portland residents who have pledged to boycott the office supply stores.
When management of the store on NE 122nd off Glisan refused to accept the protesters petition, they began chanting “the U.S. Mail is not for sale” and “privatization has got to go,” blocking the store entrance. After the person-in-charge finally agreed to convey their message to upper management, the activists filed out, chanting “we’ll be back.” stop-staples-protest
“Staples is setting up fake post offices inside their stores that jeopardize our nation’s public post offices, the sanctity of the mail and thousands of good jobs at living wages,” said organizer Jamie Partridge of Communities and Postal Workers United, sponsors of the action.
Staples has contracted with the US Postal Service to staff post offices installed within their stores. In pilot openings last fall, 82 post offices were launched inside Staples stores with low-paid, non-union, non-postal workers (the average Staples worker makes $18,000 per year). If the pilots are “successful”, the USPS plans to open post offices inside every one of the 1,600 Staples stores nationwide, beginning this September.
As community post offices are being closed and hours reduced, understaffed with lines out the door, the USPS is opening up private post offices, staffed by poorly trained, unaccountable Staples employees. “The public should not be fooled by claims of better service. Staples workers are not sworn to safeguard the mail. The risk of theft from the mail deposited in a Staples post office is very real,” stated Partridge.
Urging individuals and institutions to boycott Staples, the protesters vow to increase pressure on the office supply chain until they drop the postal contract.
Local Sponsors: Communities and Postal Workers United, Jobs with Justice.
photos by Bette Lee
Staples post offices are staffed with friendly professional people, unlike at the PO.
I am a 29 yr and 7 months Postal employee.
If I were Staples, I would sic the dogs on them.
If any one of these hypocritical people would immolate themselves, I would think that they were serious. How hard is it t get a gas can and a match. Don’t just walk around like a bunch of idiots.
Come on protesters, show us that you are committed to your cause, like the Bhuddist monks in Vietnam.
I would do it, if I felt so strongly about it. Personally, I agree with Staples and the inevitiable future.
The Staples employees are innocent people…..invite the Staples employees to work for the post office….so you all become same family…..but there is one thing Staples employees have to give up….his lower wages and air condition to exchange better wages and self pay parking fee to work.
NALC, you do have a valid point. Middle management can be awful at times.
But the USPS does need an overhaul and i think 5 day delivery is the biggest thing.
Not sure why the NALC is so against it. It would probably mean a VER for the carriers and a lot of them would take it. Most of the carriers with less seniority would then get Sat/Sun off. Seems like a good thing for the carriers.
Communities and Postal Workers United, Jobs with Justice and a few apwu lemmings demonstrate their ignorance. This is all a ploy and photo opp to impress the younger generation who doesn’t give a crap. Staples couldn’t care less…the American consumer doesn’t care! Union lemmings that think this will lead to jobs for them are smoking medical marijuana. If Staples goes away, USPS just goes and finds some other way to move their product. So APWU goes and pickets at other venues…so what? They still don’t get jobs. So…what have you done for me lately Diamondstein? More photo opps? More pickets? Maybe bring back TV commercials that the public doesn’t give a crap about? Are you serious? Tell your lemmings how much your TV commercials cost and what the resulting effects were Diamondstein…tell them! Can members picket your home or place of business if they are unhappy? Whats good for the goose is good for the gander eh?
These postal employees claim that the mail is not safe and that theft will happen are just ludicrous. If the public saw all the theft that happens within the post office they would be amazed. Give me a break people I read all the things happening with employees and management and they get off easy so don’t say that Staples will have mail theft. Be honest and let people know the REAL story.
I don’t agree also when Staple takes over Post Office, however, the Post Office has to reorganize the entire company especially lower management. There are a lot of lower management who comes to work and does NOTHING except holding a cup of coffee and talk about weekend BBQ…Some of them even sit down on computer and play solitaire all night and do some schedule for employees only less than 30 minutes….but earn almost 80,000 a year. Not for only those, some of supervisors even ask a friendly MDO to( don’t forget my bonus at the end of year, ok )get her bonus..These have to be stopped !!!So, don’t cry when job will be gone away…Upper management has to take a look at these problem before blaming something else.!!!
i would have accepted the petition and placed it in the trash in front of them;
How come they haven’t protested and boycotted Office Max, Office Depot, Fred Meyers, independent shipping places, or contracted places?? They have been selling postal supplies and shipping parcels and letters for years. Besides they should be arrested for trespassing.
Wow 500 people is all you could get in Portland.. so in other words there were only 500 apwu retirees in all of Portland how sad. If you don’t like what is happening to the PO, quit and walk away. you have no employable skills on the outside the mail room in an office. Wake up, for unskilled workers you are paid better than some college graduates. Smile and take you check while it lasts. The letter is obsolete, forgotten same as the 8 track tape. Where is the record section in your favorite store? Where are the tons of records, tapes and CD’s from Culumbia House?..I delivered tons of them but now they are gone and they aint coming back. It is the same for the first class letter. Until the top stops giving discounts to everyone but the individual, the business will die. Every flat and every letter needs to be paid for at the first class rate, no more non profit, standard, bulk or eddm. Stop the book rate parcel, it’s is express , priority or standard post.
no no no postal employees’ don’t storm the stores were all pissed off at what’s happening with staples and postmaster knucklehead. crashing a store will only lead to a fistfight between a postal clerk and a trailor park staples employee.
Yeah! Its The PEOPLE’S POSTAL SERVICE!
SAY NO TO THE staple’s post office
A petition with 500 signatures in Portland again!
Hmmmmmm
I’m willing to bet its the same petition they stormed the district manangers house with a week or so back.
It will get the same consideration as it got then too 🙂