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.
Our salary is uniform across the nation even though the cost of living could vary widely. The only exceptions may be in AK or HI where the cost of living is a lot higher than most of the 48 contiguous states. What you are referring to is known as locality pay and most federal agencies have that. Our union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, negotiates our pay scale with the USPS every few years. They don't ask for locality pay as far as I know. As a national union, there is wide disagreement as to whether some areas should be paid more than others for doing the same job. Living in NY Metro area is expensive and it would be nice to have some locality pay. But for those living in less expensive regions, they probably wouldn't want to see some of their fellow union brethren making more than them for the same job. They might feel if someone in an expensive area is making more, that leaves less $$ for them in negotiating a contract and the NALC represents all of the carriers nationwide. I have definitely seen more carriers transfer out of my post office to lesser expensive areas (NC, PA, FL) than transferring in. Great question!
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Unfortunately this has been a problem for many years. It is usually the result of not having the same letter carrier deliver to your address each day. There is a lot of turnover in some offices which could result in a varying quality of letter carriers. It could also be the result of a letter carrier not doing their job very well. I had lunch today with a man who said he was having the same issue. The only suggestion I would have is calling your local PO and speaking with a delivery supervisor or mentioning it to the letter carrier who services your house (if it is actually the same person each day). I'm not sure it will do any good as some workers/supervisors don't care and some are very conscientious. I think it depends on who you are dealing with. Please make sure all of your mail is addressed correctly and that your mailbox is labeled clearly with your house/unit#. No matter who you are dealing with, you really should be getting the correct mail/packages. In my office, I hear no emphasis on delivering the mail correctly. Maybe it's just assumed we do and mgmt. will wait to hear a complaint to bring it up.
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I am not sure why he does it. On a walking route, some carriers will write a number on the top piece of mail to indicate which street or the delivery order that bundle of mail corresponds to. (I.e. bundle 1, bundle 2, bundle 3). We probably shouldn't be writing on the mail itself, but I have never heard a complaint until this q from you. You certainly are allowed to complain and I would hope that your mail carrier respects your wishes.
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I am not sure, but if it is properly packaged and labeled, I think it would be fine to leave in a mailbox if it fits and no signature was required. I am imagining that it comes in a styrofoam box and inside there are some bags with the fish in them, but I really don't know.
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It is pretty rare that we would have to lift 75 lbs. Most of the heaviest packages are probably in the 30-40 lb. Range and even that isn't an everyday occurrence. Good luck to you.
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I agree that the note is not very professional. At our office, a SUpv has official forms that would be filled out if delivery was going to be suspended due to a blocked box. I believe you understand the point of the note. Since I don't know what your street looks like, I don't know the parking situation, but normally clearance has to be provided so the letter carrier can approach the mailbox, deliver the mail, and then depart without having to leave the vehicle. I don't know the best way to approach this issue, but a call to the PO wouldn't hurt and have a discussion with the supervisor regarding the note and the regulations for suspending delivery due to a blocked mailbox.
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Generally, a mailman (letter carrier-terms are synonomous) is the only person who will deliver from a post office, but I don't know that to be an absolute rule. My brother is a clerk at a post office which is comprised only of rural letter carriers. If Express Mail arrives later in the day when the rural letter carriers have completed their routes, either he or another clerk, or maybe a supervisor will deliver the Express Mail item. Also, in general, a package that arrives at a local post office on a particular day at 2:00 PM should be delivered with the following delivery days mail. Again, it's not an absolute guarantee but within the normal course of operations, I would think it should be delivered.
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