Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

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.

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

my route is over a mile long to get to and iam 60 yrs old.my boss said i have to walk and i cant ,rather take bus to route and he said no .what do i do

Asked by Rob almost 10 years ago

I don't know anything about the particulars in how you get to your route and any rules associated with that. I guess you have a walkout route which means there is no vehicle for you to use and you get your mail from relay boxes around the city. How is it possible that you can't walk to your route but you are unable to walk to deliver your route? I assume it is because of your age. I agree that one mile is a bit of a long way just to get to your delivery route. For the average person it takes about 18-20 minutes to walk one mile. Since I don't know any rules that discuss the method of transportation to get to your route, I'd refer you to a shop steward or the NALC regional office that covers your area. They may know more but don't count on it. There are just some scenarios not covered in our joint USPS/NALC handbooks or manuals. I don't know if there is some request for accommodation that could be made based on your physical condition.

519 Votes

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Asked by Teddy over 9 years ago

I don't know anything about who opens first class letters deemed suspicious by the USPSIS and the difficulty in obtaining a search warrant to do so. I'm guessing it's not something my local PO gets too involved in. I would think if the item is deemed harmless that it would continue on to be delivered to the recipient. I've never had any dealings with the USPSIS with regards to intercepting or seizing any mail that I deliver. We don't seem them too often at the postal facility where I work.

518 Votes

I was just hired as a CCA. Are the horror stories about literally never getting a day off true?

Asked by Thekraken about 10 years ago

Congratulations on being hired as a CCA for the USPS. I can't say for sure that it's true that you won't get a day off. From what I've seen, the CCAs where I work often work 7 days a week but it seems after a couple of weeks they are given a day off. I don't know if there are any rules that you must be given a day off after working a certain amount of consecutive days. It may depend on the staffing level of your facility. I hope that you have chosen to join the NALC. Whether you have or not, a shop steward may have a better answer than I've given you on whether or not you are required to work unlimited days in a row. I'm also on a Facebook group for postal workers. One is NALC and the other is Postal Maniacs. If you join them, you could post this same question and get answers from actual CCAs. Good luck to you. Please work safely and deliver the mail accurately. Sunday delivery usually consists of Amazon.com package delivery, not regular mail.

516 Votes

I want to have a package sent through the mail but my mail carrier walks would he still deliver it or do I have to pick it up at the post office

Asked by Nick almost 10 years ago

It should be delivered by a letter carrier. It may not be your letter carrier. If he doesn't drive a postal vehicle to his route and then walk it's not likely he will be the one delivering it. Some offices have parcel post drivers that deliver larger parcels via a delivery vehicle. If nobody is home to accept the package, there is a possibility you'd have to pick it up at the PO or request a redelivery.

516 Votes

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I live in fountain valley California Orange County, can you tell me when exactly will the mailman come and reliever my mail?

Asked by Meli about 10 years ago

I am not able to tell you when your mailman (letter carrier) will deliver your mail since I don't know about the setup and staffing of your particular office. In fact the only office I know much about specifically is the one where I'm employed in NY on Long Island. Speaking only by personal experience I'd guess that your mail is delivered 0930-1800 Mon-Sat (excluding federal holidays.)

516 Votes

put my company's mail in the Priority Express blue box instead of the regular one. Will these important documents be sorted correctly and reach their destination> Also will they be delayed severely because of this or arrive in a reasonable time? TNX

Asked by Lisa is going to be in trouble! over 9 years ago

I don't think you will be in trouble. Lisa, in my experience your mail should be processed normally so you need not worry. I don't often collect mail from the blue boxes as part of my assignment but if I saw regular mail in the Express Priority Blue Box I'd just put it with other outgoing mail in my postal vehicle and it'd be treated normally. I've never heard of outgoing mail being delayed by this. Thank you for your question.

516 Votes

What is the time frame that management have to inform you that you have to work in your schedule day off? And were I can find the info. Thx!!!

Asked by Tellado almost 10 years ago

I don't know where you can find this information as to if it's in our ELM or JCAM since I'm not involved in contract administration whatsoever. Your shop steward might have an answer plus I think some offices operate differently even if it's in violation of a nationally agreed upon procedure. It also depends on whether or not you are a CCA or if you're a Regular. If you're a Regular carrier, it also depends on whether or not you are on the ODL. That will determine if they can mandate you in on your SDO (also known as your NS day). In the office where I work, CCAs don't technically have a scheduled day off and should be checking the schedule daily to confirm when/if they need to report for work the next day. As far as regular carriers go, it seems that our management makes the schedule up on a daily basis but probably does a rough draft in the later part of the previous week. The schedule is on a clipboard on the supervisors desk. I've heard in other offices the management will usually post the following weeks schedule by Wed. of the previous week. I don't know the real rules probably because it doesn't seem to be much of an issue in my office (except maybe when we are very short-handed) and I like to work a lot of OT if it's available. I'm not willing to do the research to give you a more definitive answer which is why I've referred you to other sources that maybe could assist you.

514 Votes

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