MailmanDave
17 Years Experience
Long Island, NY
Male, 43
I am a City Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service in NY. I've been a city letter carrier for over 17 years and it is the best job I've ever had. I mostly work 5 days per week (sometimes includes a Saturday) and often have the opportunity for overtime, which is usually voluntary. The route I deliver has about 350 homes and I walk to each of their doors to deliver the mail. Please keep in mind that I don't have authority to speak for the USPS, so all opinions are solely mine, not my employer.
I generally don't wear winter boots but I wear rubber overshoes if there is snow on the ground. These are the same thing I'd wear if it were raining outside. The brand I use is Tingley and they come in at least 3 dfferent height overshoes. They aren't really warm so I wear thermal socks in the winter so my feet and toes don't freeze.
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Will, I am not a rural carrier so I'm not sure how much my tips would help because as city carriers, we are paid for whatever time we work. There is almost an incentive not to work as quickly, but I think most city carrier's give a fair shake and not try to make their day longer. At least I don't do that because I enjoy my free time. My main tip would try to be very organized both in the office and on the route. Work efficiently, but safely, especially when driving. I load my parcels in the order of delivery or close to it. Being more organized does initially take more time, but you should come back with a pretty empty truck not having forgotten anything to deliver. Do you case your DPS letter size mail? If not, you can take it to the street and go through it as you deliver and not waste time in the PO casing it. City Letter carriers generally don't see the DPS letter mail until we finger through it at the delivery point. Along the route and in the office, try not to waste time talking to too many people.
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That sounds somehwat accurate. I am no expert when it comes to administering the ODL. It also seems to change from office to office as to what counts and what doesn't count for OT. In our office if you are next up to be asked in for your NS day and you are unavailable or refuse then you'd be "marked" for an 8-hour opportunity. As for where you'd be on the list the following week, it depends how many of the other carriers in your group came in on Tuesday. If all of the other three car came in (or refused) on their NS day it's possible you'd still be first for next week. In our office the total amt of OT hrs you worked for the quarter (which would include pieces on other routes) also affects where you are placed each week on the list for the NS day. Those with the lowest amt of OT hrs in a quarter are usually asked first for their NS day. I hope this helps a little bit but your office may operate differently.
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In theory each postal route (which is usually made up of one letter carrier) should be the amount of work (sorting and delivering the mail/parcels) for 8 hrs of work per day. In reality this amt varies depending on the time of year (December being the heaviest package season so it usually takes longer to complete a route, summer not so much). There aren't adjustments made too frequently to the size of a postal route but it could happen if a route was way out of whack to being able to be finished in 8 hours. There is a route adjustment procedure that takes place where the volume of mail is counted plus the amount of time it takes to deliver a route. To answer your question though, I don't know of an actually limit in the amt of mail to be given each day to a letter carrier.
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Bracketologist
Why have there been so many 15-2 upsets, but no 16-1's?
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When you catch an illegal alien crossing the border, is he deported immediately?
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What types of customers are the worst tippers?
It probably depends on the office where you work as to what time you start delivering your route. Where I work most deliveries probably start between 9:15 and 10:30 AM. It depends how long the letter carriers take to prepare their routes in the AM for delivery. Some routes get more mail than others or take longer to prepare in order for delivery. Also, some letter carriers are faster than others at starting their routes. I usually start delivery by 10AM and am finished around 4PM if the weather and volume of mail and parcels isn't out of line with what I normally get. Most of the letter carriers where I work start their tour at 7:30 AM.
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Susie, I won't be able to answer this question as I don't know anything about eReassign. There may be minimum times where you have to stay at a certain work location before being approved to another work location more of your preference. As for who to ask, I could say your union representative or HRSSC, but they may not know either. My guess, and all this is would be a guess, would be one year at a current location before being able to be reassigned.
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Congratulations on being hired as a CCA. I wear black shoes that have the SR/USA tag required by the USPS. These can be purchased using your uniform allowance which you may not receive for several months after being hired and passing probation. The brands I use are New Balance and Rocky. I've never had a problem with their comfort, just that I usually have to replace them every 6 months or so due to the amount of walking I do daily. If you don't have a uniform allowance I'd say to wear whatever is comfortable to you like an athletic shoe. Don't wear anything fancy because it will inevitably get dirty in no time.
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