POWER OF ATTORNEY


	  KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that the
undersigned officer and/or director of United Stationers Inc., a Delaware
corporation (the 'Company'), hereby constitutes and appoints each of
Richard W. Gochnauer, Kathleen S. Dvorak and Deidra D. Gold, signing
singly, as the undersigned's true and lawful attorney-in-fact, to:


	  (a) execute for, in the name and on behalf of the undersigned, in the
undersigned's capacity as an officer and/or director of the Company, an
Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership on Form 3 and/or any Statements
of Changes in Beneficial Ownership on Form 4 and any Annual Statements of
Beneficial Ownership on Form 5, together with any and all amendments
thereto deemed necessary, appropriate or desirable (collectively, the
'Section 16 Forms'), pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 and the rules thereunder;

	   (b) do and perform any
and all acts for and on behalf of the undersigned which may be necessary,
appropriate or desirable to complete and execute any such Section 16 Forms
and timely file any such Section 16 Forms with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission and any stock exchange or market or similar authority;
and

	   (c) take any other action of any type whatsoever in
connection with the foregoing which, in the opinion of such
attorney-in-fact, may be of benefit to, in the best interest of, or legally
required by, the undersigned, it being understood that the documents
executed by such attorney-in-fact in the name and on behalf of the
undersigned pursuant to this Power of Attorney shall be in such form and
shall contain such terms and conditions as such attorney-in-fact may
approve in such attorney-in-fact's discretion.

	  The undersigned
hereby grants to each such attorney-in-fact full power and authority to do
and perform any and every act and thing whatsoever required, appropriate or
desirable to be done in the exercise of any of the rights and powers herein
granted, as fully to all intents and purposes as the undersigned might or
could do if personally present, with full power of substitution or
revocation, hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorney-in-fact,
or such attorney-in-fact's substitute or substitutes, shall lawfully do or
cause to be done by virtue of this Power of Attorney and the rights and
powers herein granted.  The undersigned acknowledges that the foregoing
attorneys-in-fact, in serving in such capacity at the request of the
undersigned, are not assuming, nor is the Company assuming, any of the
undersigned's responsibilities to comply with Section 16 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934.

	This Power of Attorney shall remain in full
force and effect until the undersigned is no longer required to file
Section 16 Forms with respect to the undersigned's holdings of and
transactions in securities issued by the Company, unless earlier revoked by
the undersigned in a signed writing delivered to the foregoing
attorneys-in-fact.

	IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has signed
this Power of Attorney as of this 25th day of October, 2004.



						/s/ Patrick T. Collins
								Signature


						Patrick T.
Collins
								Print Name