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

Let's say the mail carrier flirted hard core with a customer but was married... If the wife found out and got upset could he walk in one day and say I need a new route?

Asked by Jessica about 8 years ago

I don’t really think so unless the carrier was in some imminent safety danger due to his hardcore flirting and his wife found out. He could bid to another route when the opportunity arises and if his seniority is high enough to get the other route. I’ve never seen it happen where a carrier was replaced due to a customer request or a personal issue. There may be a mechanism/procedure to do that, but I’m not aware of it. I don’t know the specific situation that you are talking about, but it’s a good reason not to mix work and personal life beyond friendships. There is too much potential for disruption.

So I haven't gotten my card in the mail and my boyfriend put it in the mail on Tuesday what should I do

Asked by Brittany almost 9 years ago

There isn't really much to do Brittany except to be patient. Mail can go missing or be delayed for so many reasons. Most First Class mail isn't tracked either so it's not easy to tell where it is. 2-3 days delivery is the norm for most First Class mail in the US. If a piece of mail is misdelivered by a letter carrier it's hard to say when or if it will ever get properly delivered. Has your boyfriend mailed you items before to your current address and have there been issues in the past?

Question #2:
Once converted to a regular letter carrier, how much will my pay increase? will it increase? the reason i ask is because i'm looking to make 50-60G per year. So a better question i guess would be, how long until I earn that salary?

Asked by Dee about 9 years ago

It takes about 12.4 years of being a regular carrier to reach the top pay which (as of 12/2016) is apprx $60K per annum. Your pay should go up a little when you are a regular carrier. Please do a web search for "NALC paychart" or "USPS city letter carrier pay chart". I am currently at the top salary for a level 1 city carrier which, as I said before, is just shy of $60K per annum. When you get converted to a regular carrier, the CC 2/Step A salary is apprx $38K per annum. This is about $18.06 per hour. It seems that you may work a lot of OT so your earnings may wind up being much higher. The time you are working as a CCA doesn't count towards service for calculating salary Step increases.

I thought of 1 more ?, sorry. If a carrier jumps onto my porch where there are no stairs and gets injured doing that, am I liable? To get to the stairs, one must cross my small yard & enter at far end, based on the direction he travels on his route.

Asked by Cathy over 8 years ago

I do understand what you mean. Your question is "If a carrier takes the 'shortcut' to your mailbox vs taking the stairs at the far end based on his direction of travel are you liable for any injury. I don't know the answer to this for sure but I'd hope not. We are covered by workers' compensation insurance through our employer (the USPS) and I don't know that the USPS or the letter carrier (individually) could file a successful liability claim against you as the homeowner. I can see if you were very negligent as a homeowner and maybe caused some type of tripping hazard to be left unattended perhaps there could be some liability, but I have really no insight on this.

Can you wear your own shoes during work

Asked by David humphries almost 9 years ago

You're not supposed to wear your own shoes while you're a letter carrier. As part of your yearly uniform allowance you may order USPS-approved SR/USA shoes. They are almost always black in color and are slip-resistant. I'm not sure how strictly it is enforced but I always wear the approved shoes. If you were to fall while delivering mail one of the first things that will be looked at is whether or not you were wearing the proper footwear. I don't take very good care of my footwear and I deliver mail on a walking route so my shoes tend to wear out quickly. I pay apprx $110/pair for the USPS-approved work shoes. On a yearly basis we are allotted apprx $450 for our uniform purchases.

My boyfriend sent me a card in the mail on Tuesday when will I receive it? Is this considered first class mail

Asked by Brittany almost 9 years ago

Barring any unforeseen delivery issues or delays, most First Class mail is delivered nationwide in 2-3 days. You would hopefully have it by Friday. A card is considered First Class mail and the current rate is .49 for up to 1 oz. Brittany, In my experience a very high percentage of mail arrives "on time" so I do hope this is the ask with the card sent to you. Thank you for your question.

Hello,
My mailman left a note on my mail telling me that he wouldn't deliver my mail unless I cleaned up a bit of dog poop in my front yard. Is this legal? I didn't even think a mail carrier was supposed to walk through yards.

Asked by Chris over 8 years ago

Chris, to answer your second question first,we are definitely supposed to walk through yards and across lawns unless a resident or property owner specifically tells us not to. It is the most efficient way to get from house to house without having to walk to the street unless there are fences between houses in their front yards. As far as dog poop situation, I don't know what is legal and not with regards to refusing mail delivery. I would speculate that if there is a chance the letter carrier may walk through it then maybe the note is warranted. On the other hand if the dog feces is on the lawn and you request the carrier not to walk on your lawn as he may step in it that should be a fair compromise. The carrier could also write a carrier alert card for your address which is sorted in your mail daily so when a letter carrier comes upon your house they could be alert for any possible dog poop. The alert card isn't delivered to your house. Instead the letter carrier takes it back to the PO to be used on the next delivery day as a warning card again for your address.