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.
No. Fortunately, that would be a super rare event. In all of my years working at the Postal Service the only issue I ever had to deal with was the 2001 anthrax attacks where we were concerned with exposure to anthrax that was being sent in the mail, 2001. There were 5 fatalities (2 of them were USPS employees) according to Wikipedia.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Has%20someone%20ever%20tried%20to%20get%20you%20to%20deliver%20a%20bomb%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/21929)
I am copying and pasting my reply to another post of the same subject. Thanks for your inquiry.
I believe there has been a lot of doubt purposely introduced into the voting-by-mail process by President Trump. My opinion is that voting by mail is very safe and reliable. There are a few important points I’d like to make:
If you vote by mail, please follow the instructions given on the absentee/mail-in ballot regarding deadlines and signing your ballot. Also, voter fraud via mail or in person is quite rare. Several states have been doing almost full vote-by-mail for a number of years with minimal issues.
I plan to either vote by mail or vote early this year in NY State. If you are concerned about a mail-in ballot being received by your local election authority, I recommend dropping it off at a ballot collection box. I don’t believe there should be any issue as to how the USPS processes election mail. I think of it as just like having another couple of pieces of mail per address to deliver. We absolutely have the capacity to handle this in my opinion.
My bottom line—have confidence in the USPS in handling election mail for this coming 2020 General Election.
Thanks for your interest. This is a very important issue in the year of COVID-19 where mail voting will be utilized more than ever.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20do%20you%20think%20of%20mail%20in%20votes%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/22711)
I don’t know for sure but they would likely put on emergency placement leave which means no more USPS vehicle driving privileges until the issue is resolved. I don’t personally know of it happening to anyone but I’m sure it has. If a court of law found them guilty of driving under the influence or intoxicated, I wouldn’t mind seeing the offender losing their job. I have no sympathy for somebody doing that on the job. I don’t know that they would lose their job and our union (the NALC) would likely file a grievance to have them keep their job. I do know if 2 situations where coworkers had DUI outside of work and temporarily lost their state driver license. They were not able to drive a postal vehicle so the USPS gave them alternate duties or had another coworker drive them on their route. Both workers eventually got their licenses restored and were back to full duty but I know it costs them a huge sum of money in fees, courses, increased insurance premium plus the possible loss of their vehicle.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20would%20happen%20if%20a%20mailman%20got%20caught%20drinking%20and%20driving%20the%20mail%20truck%3F%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/22008)
I will get out of my vehicle (known as a dismount) and walk to the mailbox and deliver the mail. I don’t know that we are required to do so and if it’s a chronic issue, I’m sure that it is annoying. Fortunately, the route I deliver doesn’t have any curbside deliveries so I only come across this scenario when filling in on other routes I just don’t like bringing back mail to the PO that should be delivered. Among my coworkers, I think it’s a mixed bag. Some will deliver to each house, no matter if the box is blocked or not. Others will skip the house and try again the next day or maybe even suspend delivery to make a point. One thing to keep in mind is that the owner of the car which is blocking a mailbox may not have anything to do with the address whose mailbox is blocked. If it’s a public street, anybody has a right to park anywhere barring any local restrictions.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20do%20you%20do%20if%20someone%20is%20parked%20in%20front%20of%20the%20mailboxes%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/22058)
Hospice Nurse
How did you feel with the passing of your first patient?
Wills and Estates Lawyer
Can I leave everything to my pets?
Fashion Forecaster
What country is the most fashion-forward?
I’m not sure what the hardest part of the job js. Most challenges are surmountable. I like most aspects of being a letter carrier. I would say working in the snow or dark is the most difficult part to do. If one has the proper cold weather gear and lighting for working in the dark, these challenges are much more manageable. Most of the time I’m able to work during daylight hours but in the fall/winter the sun may set at 1700 which could easily result in us working in the dark. Our vehicles perform quite poorly in the snow so it is sometimes hard to safely drive them. Dealing with a difficult supervisor or manager is sometimes hard as well. They are known to be unreasonable at times in their requests for being on time. That ebbs and flows. Sometimes there are weeks of “civility” followed by several days of nastiness and what feels like disparate treatment. Most of the time I let in roll of my back and don’t escalate a situation. In general, I am very organized so delivering mail is quite an easy job and goes somewhat smoothly on a daily basis.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20is%20the%20hardest%20part%20of%20your%20job%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/22125)
I’m not sure why some people use a personal vehicle. Usually those are rural letter carriers who are compensated for using their own vehicle and have an amber light to warn you that it’s a slow moving vehicle and will make frequent stops. When I was first hired we sometimes have to use our own vehicle and could get some type of reimbursement for it. There was one regular carrier who would use his own vehicle each day because he preferred to. I don’t have a choice I have to use an LLV which is fine as I would prefer not to use my own vehicle and I do not have the capacity either to handle the parcel load. On some city routes, a carrier may use their own vehicle to get themselves from the office to their route. A parcel post carrier brings their relays of mail to boxes along the route. This would happen in offices where there are not a sufficient quantity of vehicles for each carrier. Our office has one vehicle available per route and a couple of spares.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Also%20why%20do%20people%20use%20a%20mail%20truck%20while%20others%20sue%20their%20personal%20vehicle%20with%20a%20mail%20sticker%20on%20it%20and%20a%20amber%20light%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/22366)
I’m not really sure but that it a good question. My career goal before I wound up at USPS was to be an air traffic controller. I love aviation and thought it would be a great career. It turned out not to be the right fit for me. While I was greatly disappointed at the time I am quite satisfied now with where I landed. I also like working with the public and I have a love for NY City so maybe i could work at one of their cultural institutions or be a guide. For the skill level I have and the stress levels I can handle (not good with stress and responsibility), being a letter carrier is probably the best choice i could have made. A lot of it was by luck and a father who was always pro-civil service or Government jobs.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20you%20where%20not%20a%20Mailman%20%28city%20letter%20carrier%29%20what%20job%20could%20you%20see%20yourself%20doing%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/22170)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
