quote:

Staples (SPLS) has been really struggling as of late, as have all office supply stores. The superstore concept is starting to fail in the face of competition from stores like Dollar Tree (DLTR), Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN), not to mention Uline.

SPLS management had a great idea, though — set up U.S. Postal Service outlets inside Staples stores.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could not only buy shipping materials and supplies at Staples, but actually ship them from inside the store? It would be a time-saver for people who didn’t then have to slog to the nearest post office, and wait in line for the USPS’ oh-so-exceptional service.

The consumer gets convenience. SPLS gets much-needed incremental revenue.

Naturally, the American Postal Workers Union could not permit this...

A Win for … Nobody

Everyone loses, including the USPS. The consumer indeed must slog to the local USPS and endure its oh-so-exceptional service. SPLS stock loses a potentially decent source of revenue.

And the USPS … well, it “protects union jobs,” right?

Wrong.

Because now, SPLS could look to augment its partnership with UPS (UPS). Furthermore, consumers who are already annoyed with the USPS will continue to find alternatives … like UPS.

The post office is losing money every year. Actually, forget just years — the Postal Service just lost $2 billion in a mere three quarters. Leave it to the public sector union to try to protect the most inefficient service this side of Amtrak by forcing people to use the government’s monopoly...

Bottom Line

This is the problem with public sector unions. They negotiate with the very people they lobby to get put into power, so the negotiation is not at arm’s length. When it comes to situations like this, the union will always put itself over its customers — you and I.

quote:

ORIGINAL: bounty44

ive mentioned unions a few times:

"USPS Union Shows Why People Hate Unions"

quote:

Staples (SPLS) has been really struggling as of late, as have all office supply stores. The superstore concept is starting to fail in the face of competition from stores like Dollar Tree (DLTR), Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN), not to mention Uline.

SPLS management had a great idea, though — set up U.S. Postal Service outlets inside Staples stores.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could not only buy shipping materials and supplies at Staples, but actually ship them from inside the store? It would be a time-saver for people who didn’t then have to slog to the nearest post office, and wait in line for the USPS’ oh-so-exceptional service.

The consumer gets convenience. SPLS gets much-needed incremental revenue.

Naturally, the American Postal Workers Union could not permit this...

A Win for … Nobody

Everyone loses, including the USPS. The consumer indeed must slog to the local USPS and endure its oh-so-exceptional service. SPLS stock loses a potentially decent source of revenue.

And the USPS … well, it “protects union jobs,” right?

Wrong.

Because now, SPLS could look to augment its partnership with UPS (UPS). Furthermore, consumers who are already annoyed with the USPS will continue to find alternatives … like UPS.

The post office is losing money every year. Actually, forget just years — the Postal Service just lost $2 billion in a mere three quarters. Leave it to the public sector union to try to protect the most inefficient service this side of Amtrak by forcing people to use the government’s monopoly...

Bottom Line

This is the problem with public sector unions. They negotiate with the very people they lobby to get put into power, so the negotiation is not at arm’s length. When it comes to situations like this, the union will always put itself over its customers — you and I.

http://investorplace.com/investorpolitics/usps-spls-stock/