February 10, 2015
By Neal Tepel
Washington, DC – The American Postal Workers Union have announced that the 200,000–member organization will “vigorously oppose” the merger between Staples and Office Depot.
“We will urge the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to block this monopolistic and unlawful merger now, just as they did 17 years ago,” said American postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein. “And we call on Congress to weigh in with the FTC and the Department of Justice to stop it.
“A Staples takeover of Office Depot would lead to higher prices for consumers and store closings that would affect employees and customers alike,” Dimondstein said. “There are new grounds to block this combination as well,” he added.
In the past year, Staples has begun offering mail services at its retail stores. replacing highly-trained USPS workers with its own unskilled, low-wage employees. As a result USPS has reduced hours in many post offices and encouraged customers to use Staples stores instead.
“The transfer of living-wage jobs to low-wage, poverty-level jobs is not in the public interest,” Dimondstein said. “Staples is an anti-worker corporation, and we don’t want to see its reach expanded. We will vigorously oppose this merger. It’s bad for workers and bad for consumers.”
