USPS Agrees to Cancel Hallmark Program

Burrus Update #14-2004, Sept. 10, 2004

As I announced at the APWU national convention, the Postal Service has agreed to end a pilot program with Hallmark that permitted the card and gift store corporation to perform retail postal services. In a Sept. 10, 2004, letter [PDF] the USPS vice president for Labor Relations formally notified the APWU that it would end the pilot and would not proceed with the Hallmark Gold Crown initiative at this time.

This is a significant accomplishment for the APWU. Hallmark and the USPS had announced an arrangement under which 972 Hallmark Gold Crown Stores would sell stamps andaccept mail.

On May 10, 2004 [PDF], I wrote to Hallmark’s chief executive officer, Donald J. Hall Jr., expressing the union’s concerns about the pilot program, and asked that he reconsider the company’s decision to participate. I told him about the pride postal workers take in the service they provide to the American people, and of the extensive training retail clerks receive. I also reminded him that when Sears embarked on a similar plan in 1989, the APWU responded with calls for a boycott, and the program was discontinued.

Although postage stamps have been available in drug stores, contract stations, and numerous other commercial establishments for many years, accepting letters and parcels over the counter is a different matter. The Hallmark program would have expanded private postal services to a new level.

In a May 27, 2004 [PDF] , response to my letter, Hallmark’s CEO expressed surprise at our concerns, and said he had contacted postal officials to address them.

Today’s letter from the USPS confirms that the program will not move forward.

 William Burrus
President

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