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

What time does a city carrier usually have to report to the post office in the morning to start? I have a good chance at getting this position but am wondering in advance because I need to put my daughter in daycare and very few open that early.

Asked by Jess over 11 years ago

I can't speak for all POs, but from what I have experienced, most full-time assignments start between 7-8 AM and end 3:30-4:30PM. For a newly hired carriers, they might start later in the day as there may not be enough work for them to work a full day or the operations require that they work much later. I've seen a 10-11AM start time for the CCAs (city carrier assistants) when they aren't needed to cover a whole assignment  . During peak vacation time (usually summer months), many offices are shorthanded due to carriers being on vacation, so CCAs possibly start their workday the same time as other regular carriers. There are some assignments (like a parcel post or collection route) which usually start a bit later in the AM. In our office that is a 10AM-6:30PM assignment. Thanks for writing and good luck. 

879 Votes

I'm a month old CCA now and I live in Ohio. It's getting cold so I need a good pair of gloves to keep my hands dry/warm and still be able to finger the mail. What would you recommend? Also what do you recommend for the winter months?

Asked by Bradan about 11 years ago

Bradan, I feel your pain. It is a horrible feeling to be out in the elements, being cold and uncomfortable with hours to go in your deliveries. I haven't by any means mastered this problem. The uniform vendors that sell for the USPS offer fingerless gloves (the upper 1/3 or 1/2 of your fingers are exposed) but they aren't terribly useful. Some gloves offered have raised dots that can help you finger the mail. I use them sometimes. Try and keep the rest of your body as warm as possible with layering including thermal underwear. Definitely wear a hat, two if necessary. Even if your fingertips are exposed, you may want to invest in a box of single-use handwarmers (sometimes called hot hands) which are little packets that you shake to activate and then can put inside your gloves or in your pants pockets or glove pockets which you will keep you warm. My girlfriend just bought a box of 40 hand warmers for $12.99 at Costco.

878 Votes

do you get another chance to take the road test for rca if you fail the first time

Asked by pink floyd over 11 years ago

I don't know the procedure re: road tests and being able to retake them if you fail the first time. I'd recommend getting in contact with the National Rural Letter Carrier's Association at www.nrlca.org and see if they have any advice. Good luck to you.

878 Votes

i think the usps gave my package to the r\wrong address

Asked by moshe ratner over 11 years ago

That is certainly possible. We do make errors. I don't know how to proceed from here, except if you think you know where it went to you could contact the USPS to see if they could contact the "wrong" recipient to get the package back though I don't know how likely that is. Good luck

878 Votes

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I was recently offered a job as cca for Melville Long Island and start orientation soon I wanted to know how was the hours and how long did it take you to get a career position

Asked by NA over 11 years ago

Congratulations on being offered the CCA position in Melville. As far as how many hours you will be working per week, it depends on the needs of the office to which you are assigned and how well staffed they are. During the months of July and August, many offices are short-staffed due to letter carriers taking vacation. When I was a Part-Time Flexibe (similar to a CCA), I usually did work a full 40-hour week or at least in the mid-30s. Many offices often have carriers out on long-term injury/illness or on vacation. I think it took about 3 years for me to get a Full-Time Regular position, but I can't remember for sure. It was in the early 2000s. In our office, there were 3 CCAs who recently got a career regular position after less than 1 year so it is hard to say how long it will take. There were PTFs in my office where it took about 8 years to become regulars.

878 Votes

What does it mean when my postman says he is going to report me to USPS. What does this mean, and what will happen?

Asked by Slayerrocks over 11 years ago

I am not sure what that means when the postman says that he wil report you to the USPS. Did you have some type of conflict with him? Do you have a dog that bit him or is loose when the letter carrier comes to make his delivery? Depending on what he is reporting you for, you may get a letter or phone call from a supervisor or postmaster to discuss or rectify a situation (though you didn't mention what the situation is or you may not even know). It could also result in suspension of mail delivery for a period of time. 

877 Votes

I have recently been promoted to a career carrier position after working as a CCA for 10 months. I reserved a vacation for the weekend and now have been mandated to work. They are threatening to write me up for taking my days off. Is this legal?

Asked by Bryan over 11 years ago

Bryan, congratulations on being promoted to a "regular" carrier. It is much better than being a CCA, but 10 months sounds like a pretty short amount of time to be promoted. That is a good thing. With regards to your vacation I don't know the legalities of them mandating you to work when you have reserved a vacation. If you put in a request for annual leave and it was given back to you within a certain amt. of time (marked denied I mean), then I believe it is approved and generally can't be revoked. If you chose at as a full vacation block (usually in 1-week segments), that also is non-revocable by management as far as I know. I would recommend asking your shop steward for advice in this situation as I don't know in the NALC/USPS National Agreement where this is discussed, or possibly in the ELM (Employee/Labor Manual). One other suggestion is to ask on a FB message board that I belong to which you may find helpful. The group is called USPS Postal Maniacs. I've seen other USPS employees post questions and problems there and receive some advice. I will warn you that much of the talk on there is negative towards management, but there are many good people on there who can often steer you in the right direction. Good luck and thanks for writing.

877 Votes

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