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

Can a mailman accept an expensive gift from someone on his route?

Asked by Linda over 11 years ago

No, a lettter carrier isn't supposed to accept any gift of substantial value from someone on his route. It doesn't mean that it isn't done, just that it's not supposed to be done. I don't know of anybody losing a job due to this but they aren't supposed to appear to be accepting gifts from customers.

Mr. Dave, is getting the "you have a package" slip in the mail something the post worker is supposed to do? Lately my missed packages have been getting brought back to the PO without leaving a note.

Asked by Julius almost 11 years ago

Yes it is Julius if a mailman attempts to deliver a package that requires a signature or there is nobody to receive it and the mailman doesn't feel it is safe to just leave by the recipients door. That judgment depends on the area of delivery and saftey with regards to theft. The management may also tell the delivery personnel to not just leave a package if nobody is there to receive it. I would say that a note should definitely be left if an attempt was made to deliver the package. Otherwise, how would the addressee know that there is package for them to request redelivery of or to pick up at their post office? Thank you for your question.

We live on a remote side street. It is common practice for a mailman to sit in his truck everyday with it running from 3:30 to 4:15. I would guess he's done with his route and wants to do nothing until it is time for overtime. Who should I call?

Asked by Malik almost 12 years ago

I can't tell you for sure that he is doing something wrong but from what you say it seems like it. In our office we have 30 min for lunch plus a 10-minute break while we are on our routes. Also, we are allowed whatever is necessary to use a restroom. maybe the size of his route is small that he doesn't need a full day to deliver it all. If that is the case, many supervisors might pick up on that and try to give that carrier more work. If you were to call someone, i would first recommend calling a delivery supervisor or postmaster depending how large your PO is. To be honest, they may just thank you for calling and do nothing, or they may approach the carrier and tell them to not park that long in one place at 3:30 PM. I rarely hear complaints about this but if someone is being so wasteful of the USPS $, I don't see any issue with bringing it to the PO attention. 

I live in an apartment with small mailbox and I am expecting a package this week but I will be away on vacation so I asked the USPS to hold my mail, will they hold first class packages and the rest of my mail until I get back?

Asked by CH over 11 years ago

usually if there is a Hold Mail request for a specific address, all mail is held which would include packages. I cant guarantee this but that is what would happen on my route should someone have their mail held. 

Thanks for the reply. Wanted to let everyone know I just received the envelope back the middle of February. everything intact. floated around somewhere for 3 months! see original post at http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman#question_10600

Asked by reiat about 11 years ago

I am very happy that you received the envelope a couple of weeks ago with everything intact. I'm sorry that it took so long to get to back to you since it was undeliverable as originally addressed due to the intended recipient moving. Thanks for the update on the status of the envelope.

My address has always been my mom address. Her boyfriend moved in and he keep giving important mail back to the mail carrier. For months I have not receive important mail can I take legal action.

Asked by William Legion about 11 years ago

I am sorry that I can't advise you on any legal action to be taken with regards to your situation. I find it quite unconscionable that your mother's boyfriend would return your important mail to the letter carrier if he knows that you receive your mail at your mother's address. One option would be to contact the post office that delivers your mail and mention to the delivery supervisor to mention to the letter carrier that mail addressed to you should be delivered to your mother's address and not be accepted by the letter carrier as "refused" mail. Also, I am sure you've already mentioned to your mother about what is happening and asked her to tell her boyfriend to stop doing that. I don't know the circumstances as to why her would return the mail, but it is disgusting to do that if it is just to be malicious. Thank you for writing.

Is. the USPS jobs pay though out the nation, or does it differ where cost of living could be more or less

Asked by stephanie over 10 years ago

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!