After union-backed boycotts by APWU–Postal Service’s largest union–the American Federation of Teachers, and an adverse labor board ruling, the USPS has agreed to curb a controversial arrangement allowing private employees to provide USPS services in more than 500 Staples stores, complying with an NLRB judge’s ruling to cease within the next 2 months. Customers will still be able to ship goods from Staples, via UPS.
Denounced as privatization by APWU, the cancellation is a coup for the union after its 3-year, multipronged campaign against the arrangement, fighting Staples’ failed attempt to merge with Office Depot, and leafleting outside stores urging customers to boycott the company.
USPS’s Office of the Inspector General took note of the union’s complaints, and last May, the IG announced the conclusion of an audit of Staples and the 3 other participants in the program: Office Depot, PostNet, and The UPS Store. They found that USPS lost revenue due to:
Denounced as privatization by APWU, the cancellation is a coup for the union after its 3-year, multipronged campaign against the arrangement, fighting Staples’ failed attempt to merge with Office Depot, and leafleting outside stores urging customers to boycott the company.
USPS’s Office of the Inspector General took note of the union’s complaints, and last May, the IG announced the conclusion of an audit of Staples and the 3 other participants in the program: Office Depot, PostNet, and The UPS Store. They found that USPS lost revenue due to:
- Accepting boxes with insufficient postage,
- Clerks at the private retailers failing to complete certified mail forms correctly, and
- Shippers not complying with mail security requirements.
