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.
I think it's fine for the letter carrier to hand you the mail outside, but I also think it's a good idea for the letter carrier to inquire if there may be any outgoing mail. The mail should also be visible in the mailbox so the letter carrier can see that there is outgoing mail. I've never been told it's illegal to hand someone the mail especially if they are personally known to the letter carrier. If it were illegal, I'd hope that our mgmt or training manuals (which I've almost never seen) would address that question.
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I'm not sure why a mailman would want to refuse delivery to a rural mailbox if the lid is open. Most of the ones I see just have flip down lids which aren't secure or they have no lids at all and may have broken off over the years. I don't know the exact rules of what condition a rural mailbox must be in to receive mail. I suppose if the carrier felt the mail wasn't secure they could refuse delivery until the condition of the rural mailbox is rectified. I've never refused to deliver mail due to an open mailbox, but then again, I'd rather deliver the mail then have to bring it back to the PO and re-attempt delivery on a subsequent day. Thanks for your question.
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It depends on each Post Office and how soon their mail is sorted and the letter carriers can load their delivery vehicles and start delivery. At the PO where I work mail is delivered as early as 9:15 AM and as late as 6:30 PM. The evening time can be even later if we are short-staffed. I've heard stories about letter carriers at other offices delivering later than that due to staffing shortages. If I were to work a regular schedule and everything went according to plan, I'd be delivering between 09:40 AM and 3:30 PM.
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I don't think the mailman should have left you a notice saying that unless you are blocking someone's mailbox down the street. Even if you were blocking another mailbox down the street, I don't believe he has any authority to suspend delivery to your house because of it. We can leave notes in a mailbox though there are some official notes we can leave like "your mailbox needs attention." I don't know if you want to approach your letter carrier directly and explain that your car has nothing to do with blocking your mailbox (which you said isn't blocked, period). If mail delivery doesn't resume I would suggest contacting your delivery post office and speaking with a delivery supervisor about this. From what you've described, this sounds like an irrational situation.
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I didn't know that regulation approved USPS uniform shirts were available in thrift stores. I don't know the rules on whether or not they are allowed to be worn by non-USPS personnel.
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I don't know but my guess would be 6 months or less. I don't know if there is still a test that needs to be taken to be hired as a City Carrier Assistant and how frequently the test is given. Many years ago, this exam wasn't given too frequently. Now I hear nothing about it so maybe it's an ongoing hiring process, where they are continuously hiring and training. From what I hear anecdotally, and what I personally see in my workplace we defintitely could use some new hires. It seems the demand for letter carriers exists, but the hiring of qualified candidates who make it through probation isn't keeping pace with that demand. Good luck to you!
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Yes, we were closed in Nassau and Suffolk for Tuesday Jan 27 due to a pending snowstorm. I believe NY city POs were closed as well. I think it was a good move based on what actually fell where I deliver the mail. The roads were at least passable and most customers had shoveled their walkways to their doors and driveways. Otherwise, delivery of mail may have been extremely difficult. Now to answer your question. I don't remember a time where we were fully closed due to a snow forecast. There have been times where we have come to work and found the road conditions too difficult or unsafe to deliver the mail. I know of no database that has information about the history of when we were closed for an entire day. On Monday, I delievered apprx 80% of my possible deliveries before we were told to return to the Post Office and not report back to work until the morning of today 01/28/15. I'm not a fan of delivering in snow and ice, but we make do the best we can.
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