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.
Dustin, Fortunately my body doesn't hurt due to the strain on the body and the repetitive motions on the job. There are quite a few co-workers who have hip, back, and foot pain. A couple of carriers have had joint replacement and returned to full duty, maybe a bit slower, but back at work. I don't think there is coverage for long-term illnesses if it is not specific. If the injury got to be so bad that you couldn't perform the job for more than 1-year you could apply for a disability retirement. Work, doesn't cover any short term disability. That is one reason you get 13 days of sick leaver per year.
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Depending on how long you were out of town, the mail was probably being held at the PO you to pick up. If you were out for a certain amt of time and never contacted the PO, it's possible they returned the mail to sender. If a mailbox is full, the overflow is usually held at the PO until the cust. Mailbox is emptied. I am just giving you scenarios on what I think should happen. As much as there are sets of rules to be followed in this situation, nobody seems to know exactly what is correct and different carriers will handle it differently.
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I don't have any good advice as to what to do re: the check. On occasion mail isn't delivered as quickly as it should be. Sometimes it could be diverted by accident to a different PO and then take time to get to the correct PO. ultimately, after waiting a few more days, you may contact the sender and see if they can issue a replacement check.
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I can't cite any legal regulations here due to my lack of knowledge on this subject. I would recommend that you return any mail that comes to your address with their name or give it to them directly. It sounds to me that you don't want to do either of those suggestions. Technically, I can't see where you are wrong in keeping or discarding the mail/packages you are referring to but I believe it is morally wrong to keep these items and not return them or give them to your neighbor. If you don't have a good relationship with this neighbor, you could just put the mail back in your mailbox or a blue USPS collection box and write on the mail "person doesn't live at this address." Again, in my opinion, the choice is yours what you do with this mail. Thanks for writing.
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I can't imagine that not making it through probation as a CCA means that their future in the private sector is ruined. How would a future employer even know that you were a probationary CCA for the USPS unless told by the applicant? I understand how it can be somewhat of a conflicting situation to want to do the job properly (i.e. deliver the mail accurately and safely) and be under a time pressure from management to get a route (or part of a route) done in a certain amount of time. For some, it isn't easy to do both without resorting to some type of illegal tactic. This job isn't for everybody as it does take a fair amount of organization, literacy, and knowledge of an area to do correctly. I hope you do make through probation and thank you for your question.
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I don't think the insurance covers express 1-day if it is delivered late and not damaged. You would be eligible for a refund of the 1-day Express Mailing cost if the item is not delivered on-time as guaranteed on at the time of purchase.
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The rate does seem a bit slow for a residential walking route. I don't know what the rate should be, except I could probably deliver at a rate of 1 house per minute or less. But you being a newer carrier you understandably would go slower than that.
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