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

Ok so i asked the last question ok so the post office where the package is is only at the most 20 minutes from me so why on earth is it going to take 3 days to be delivered. Today is 06/26/14 but it says it wont be delivered till 07/01/14

Asked by heather over 10 years ago

Heather, I don't have any further information than what I answered in your previous question.  It shouldn't take 3 delivery days to travel such a short distance. I am glad that you are tracking the item online. That is a service we are trying to have work well to be competitive in the parcel delivery business with FedEx, UPS, etc.

We have several post offices in the area. I want to apply to carry in a particular part of town. How can I find out what area a particular post office covers?

Asked by Jeremy about 11 years ago

I am not sure how you would apply for a specific PO to work at. More often than not I believe hiring is done by region that covers several different POs. For example, when I was hired in 1998, I had taken an exam which covered all offices which had ZIP codes which began with 117 and I was hired in one of them. You could go in to the Post Office and ask how to get hired in a certain area though I am not sure how much assistance one specific office can be since hiring is done through a more central HR office and not one local office.

My husband and I have different last names. Within the last 2 months, his was removed from our box without our permission. His mail did not get delivered between that time. What can I do? His new Driver license was part of that mail...

Asked by Brittany over 10 years ago

Brittany, I am not sure why the mail addressed to your husband would have been removed from the mailbox and then not have any future mail for him delivered. Unless I know a certain name no longer lives at an address and/or has a change of address on file, I would deliver the mail. I don't know what can be done to retrieve any non-delivered mail, but I do have a suggestion for now. If it is still a problem, I'd tape a note inside your mailbox that says "Accepting mail for (Insert both of your names here)." Another suggestion would be to call or visit your local PO and speak to a delivery supervisor to clarify the valid names at your address. Thanks for writing.

Is. the USPS jobs pay though out the nation, or does it differ where cost of living could be more or less

Asked by stephanie over 10 years ago

Our salary is uniform across the nation even though the cost of living could vary widely. The only exceptions may be in AK or HI where the cost of living is a lot higher than most of the 48 contiguous states. What you are referring to is known as locality pay and most federal agencies have that. Our union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, negotiates our pay scale with the USPS every few years. They don't ask for locality pay as far as I know. As a national union, there is wide disagreement as to whether some areas should be paid more than others for doing the same job. Living in NY Metro area is expensive and it would be nice to have some locality pay. But for those living in less expensive regions, they probably wouldn't want to see some of their fellow union brethren making more than them for the same job. They might feel if someone in an expensive area is making more, that leaves less $$ for them in negotiating a contract and the NALC represents all of the carriers nationwide. I have definitely seen more carriers transfer out of my post office to lesser expensive areas (NC, PA, FL) than transferring in. Great question!

Does the regular Letter Carrier deliver Priority Express Letters and if so, do you have to be home to sign for them or will he/she leave in your mailbox ? Also,if i don't normally get mail until after noon, does10:30am time apply for Priority Express

Asked by Wolfie from Harlem over 10 years ago

Wolfie, I think that Priority Express Envelopes (not regular Priority Mail) has a guaranteed delivery time which is given to the sender when they mail the item. It is often next day by Noon but that certainly varies on destination and time of mailing. Most Priority Express labels nowadays are automatically signature waivered (nobody needs to be around to sign for it) unless the sender requests a signature. It used to be the opposite of that. The regular letter carrier will deliver the Priority Express letter if they can make the delivery by the guaranteed time and if they are given the item to deliver before they leave on their regular routes. I hope that answers your question.

Do I have to empty my mailbox every day? It is a mailbox that is a cluster box for a group of 12 houses.

Asked by Cindi about 11 years ago

I am not familiar with any rules that say you must empty your mailbox daily. I would let mail pile up in a mailbox until it may become full so no future mail can fit in a mailbox. It is not a common occurrrence where I deliver mail, but I am sure it does happen some places. If a mailbox came completely full, I may return any additional mail with the endorsement "box full". 

Is it illegal for me to write "not at this address" on my own mail. I don't want certain people knowing where I live

Asked by Patricia over 11 years ago

I can't say whether or not it is illegal to write "not at this address" even if you are actually living at that address. The only problem may come is if a letter carrier sees that you are regularly writing that on then mail, they may see that as you not wanting any mail with your name. That scenario isn't likely but just wanted to make you aware of that possibility. I would just ignore any piece of mail i dont want. There is no proof you ever got that mail unless you signed for it.