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.
Sparky, Thanks for writing and I appreciate the comments. Please keep in mind that anything I say here doesn't come from any expertise. It is just from my experience in one office with one set of co-workers and management and a lot of it is opinion. The above is called a "disclaimer" which I'm a big fan of. Good luck to you in getting hired as a CCA. They are the future of the USPS and hopefully will lead you to a career position with better pay and benefits. The few things I can think of when it comes to being a CCA are: be on-time for work, don't miss work unless it's an emergency or you are very sick, work safely with regards to driving a motor vehicle and walking a delivery route. Be respectful of your co-workers and management and try to deliver the mail accurately though you may not be given the clearest set of instructions how to do your job. We've had a few CCAs quit for their own reasons, but I don't think our office has let more than a few go involuntarily. I believe once your probationary period is over (90 days), it is difficult to be terminated. Management can sometimes control how many hours you get to work if they aren't happy with your job performance. Again, in as long as I've worked at the PO, there has never been an overall shortage of work available to the carriers who wanted to work.
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Keegan, I don't know how the pay schedule works for RCA (Rural Carrier Associate) positins. I can direct you to check the website for the NRLCA (National Rural Letter Carriers' Association) at www.nrlca.org where they have some sections that may help you. It seems like you may have to log in to access some of their site. As far as uniforms go, I don't believe you get any allowance for uniforms. There is a minimal dress code to follow for working for the USPS, but I am pretty sure it is comprised of civilian clothes. I haven't seen a rural carrier or RCA where a postal uniform like a City Carrier would. The RCA which delivers mail from the PO that I work at gets to go home when she has completed her route as opposed to City Carriers who are "on the clock". I believe they are paid a set amount for the day no matter how long or short it takes them to deliver the route.
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Usually mail won't be forwarded unless there is a forwarding order on file by the former residents. You can try putting the new address on the mail and putting it out for the letter carrier but I don't know that it will get to the new address. Another option is to mark the mail "no longer at this address" and put it out for the letter carrier to take. Thank you for your email question..
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I would recommend not tipping the letter carrier when they bring the mail along with the package. It is a very nice service of him to do. We are technically not supposed to accept any gratuities but I haven't heard of this being enforced to any great extent. Whether or not you get good service from your letter carrier shouldn't depend on a tip. We are professionals that are paid a decent salary (i.e. we aren't paid a low salary such as a bartender/waiter/bellboy who rely on tips). I know some of my fellow USPS employees will disagree with my comments here, but this is how I truly feel re: tips.
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I am not sure what you mean by this. I carry some of the flats on my arm for a walking route and then some in my satchel since my office deals with FSS meaning there are 2 separate bundles of flats. The key is to try to be as organized as possible when loading up your flats and letters for delivery.
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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 think you both might have a point here. The only time I have ever heard this before was on an episode of "The Brady Bunch". They were trying to figure out where a letter came from and it just said "city" on it so they knew it was mailed from that same city. If one were to Do that today without putting on the proper ZIP code, I doubt the letter would get to where its going because mail is generally processed at a regional sorting facility than at any local PO. If you write "city" and the correct ZIP, it is more than likely to be delivered.
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