photo credit: APWU
Statement by Mark Dimondstein President, American Postal Workers Union on Staples Announcement on ‘Pilot Program’ Performing USPS Work
“This attempt at trickery shows that the ‘Don’t Buy Staples’ movement is having an effect.”
July 14, 2014 – A Staples announcement on July 14 indicating that the company is terminating its no-bid deal with the U.S. Postal Service and replacing it with an “approved shipper” program is a ruse. Staples and the USPS are changing the name of the program, without addressing the fundamental concerns of postal workers and postal customers.
The Staples announcement and a letter from the USPS dated July 7 make it clear: They intend to continue to privatize postal retail operations, replace living-wage Postal Service jobs with low-wage Staples jobs, and compromise the safety and security of the mail.
The people of this country have a right to postal services provided by highly trained, uniformed USPS employees who are sworn to safeguard the mail.
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. The U.S. Mail Is Not for Sale.
Staples, Postal Service to End Program to Set Up Post Offices
Staples Inc. 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.
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.”
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 members representing about half of the nation’s postal workers.
USPS spokesperson Darleen Reid says via Boston Globe
We look forward to continuing the partnership whether it’s called Retail Partner Expansion or approved shipper. We just want our customers to know they can continue to get postal services at these 82 locations.
Read more: Staples, Postal Service to End Program to Set Up Post Offices – WSJ.
At Staples the workers smile at you not like the Post office. Like what do you want.
APWU!!!! is there get the employees money in dues.
Diamonstein has never screwed the members. Just ask MVS craft employees who had their routes taken away and handed over to HCR drivers represented and organized by Diamondstein. Picketing Staples will not protect your job.
A rogue postal carrier who stashed thousands of pieces of mail at his home instead of delivering it has been charged with destroying or delaying mail.
A federal indictment against Charles E. Moore, 55, of Sale Road in Clinton Township, says that Moore squirreled the mail away in his vehicle and garage.
Meanwhile the unions chanted, “The U.S. mail is not forsale.”
We see this time and time again. A grand idea to expand service to our customers to make the USPS viable again. Then how can Donahoe explain to us that reducing standards will increase revenue. Why would a business use our service if it would be slower than before? Why would a customer settle for their mail being delivered days later? They WON’T!! The only reason we have been in financial woes is the prefunding law that was applied to only us. Donahoe is lying to us when he says these steps will grow the business. Maybe for the opportunist who see a quick buck at the expense of your Postal Service. Wake up America smell the coffee, reclaim your Postal Sevice. Boycott Staples, write your politicians, and support your Postal Sevice and the hard working employees all over our nation.
You can thank Guffey for the PSE’s and CCA’s,but at least under the current APWU administration,thousands are becoming career.
There’s no difference between a Staples employee and a PSE, the former knows nothing about the security/sanctity of the mail, while the later cares nothing about it. These are one year contractors, non-career, who cares.
So,enufisenuf,you would rather have Cliff (Donawhore’s fool)Goofy Guffey,who sold out to management and did nothing but screw the members and set it back and allowed Donawhore to walk all over the union as APWU President?
Dear enufisenuf,
If you don’t want to stand up to protect your job and the jobs of our co-workers by standing in a picket line then get ready to stand in the unemployment line.
thank you mr. diamondstein for all the hard work you do all us postal employees appreciate you. to the negative bloggers on this site you most likely dont work for the po you are just antipostal fools.
Makes no difference…Diamondstein cannot tell his constituency that jobs will happen as a result so what was the result of these photo opps? Nothing but an expenditure of dues money to pay the salaries of employees that didn’t want to work the day of demonstrations otherwise they wouldn’t have shown up.
Not to mention UNDERSTAFFING Customer windows EVEN MORE THAN THEY HAVE BEEN as reprisal