WASHINGTON -- The American Federation of Teachers has told its national and regional offices to use the U.S. Postal System instead of the United Parcel Service for delivery services -- a move provoked by last month's split in the labor movement.

In a memo issued Wednesday, the director of finance for AFT ordered its shipping department to begin using the postal service instead of Teamster-aligned UPS.

The Teamsters Union announced in July that it would no longer be a part of the AFL-CIO. Both AFT and USPS are affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

"Previously, we tended to use UPS," said AFT spokesman Jamie Horwitz, who hinted at future retaliatory action by adding, "There's been some preliminary discussion about other things."

Paula O'Connor, a retired 27-year veteran of AFT, said, "We always used UPS. I used them all the time."

"It's frankly war," she added.

Teamster spokeswoman Leigh Strope called AFT's decision "a cheap shot at thousands of hard-working Americans."

She added, "This is another example of why the Teamsters are no longer a part of AFL-CIO. We certainly would never take this vindictive approach."

The Teamsters have not decided what type of action to take in return, according to Strope.

Horwitz emphasized that AFT's order only applies to the national and regional offices. The organization's bylaws prohibit such a directive to the state and local affiliates without a resolution by the executive council.

According to O'Connor, state affiliates usually follow the national office's lead.

"I have not seen anything" about the decision, said Roberta Till-Retz, president of the Iowa Federation of Teachers. However, she noted that such announcements often come from AFT headquarters in Washington by way of postal mail.

In late July, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union joined the United Food and Commercial Workers and a group of textile and hotel workers in a boycott of this year's AFL-CIO conference in Chicago. The splinter group withdrew its membership from the nation's largest labor federation, citing a decline in membership as the impetus.

The AFL-CIO denied any involvement in AFT's decision. Spokeswoman Esmeralda Aguilar said the labor giant's president, John Sweeney, "did not issue anything."

Mark Smith, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, an AFL-CIO affiliate, said there have been "no official changes" in dealings with the Teamsters or SEIU.

"I don't think anyone is saying, 'A plague on your house,'" said Smith. He added that his office already uses USPS.

Contact Timothy Homan at t-homan@northwestern.edu.