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

I live in an apartment with small mailbox and I am expecting a package this week but I will be away on vacation so I asked the USPS to hold my mail, will they hold first class packages and the rest of my mail until I get back?

Asked by CH over 12 years ago

usually if there is a Hold Mail request for a specific address, all mail is held which would include packages. I cant guarantee this but that is what would happen on my route should someone have their mail held. 

I have two questions. Do RCA's get an increase pay after being there a certain length of time? As far as the uniforms what all do they supply? (ex shoes, winter coats, # of uniforms)

Asked by Keegan over 11 years ago

Keegan, I don't know how the pay schedule works for RCA (Rural Carrier Associate) positins. I can direct you to check the website for the NRLCA (National Rural Letter Carriers' Association) at www.nrlca.org where they have some sections that may help you. It seems like you may have to log in to access some of their site. As far as uniforms go, I don't believe you get any allowance for uniforms. There is a minimal dress code to follow for working for the USPS, but I am pretty sure it is comprised of civilian clothes. I haven't seen a rural carrier or RCA where a postal uniform like a City Carrier would. The RCA which delivers mail from the PO that I work at gets to go home when she has completed her route as opposed to City Carriers who are "on the clock". I believe they are paid a set amount for the day no matter how long or short it takes them to deliver the route.

Does the mail carrier get a day off when it is a state of emergency?

Asked by normnorm about 12 years ago

Not to my knowledge unless the USPS closes their local office or district. In all of my years working on Long Island, maybe 1 or 2 occasions have we been unable to deliver the mail, but I don't remember if we were expected to report to work or not. It's possible though that I may not have the correct information and that a local state of emegergency would excuse a letter carrier from reporting to work.

Thanks for the reply. Wanted to let everyone know I just received the envelope back the middle of February. everything intact. floated around somewhere for 3 months! see original post at http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman#question_10600

Asked by reiat about 12 years ago

I am very happy that you received the envelope a couple of weeks ago with everything intact. I'm sorry that it took so long to get to back to you since it was undeliverable as originally addressed due to the intended recipient moving. Thanks for the update on the status of the envelope.

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 almost 12 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 12 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.

I sent out a card to my boyfriend whos in jail, the address I wrote on it I spelled a word wrong and crossed it out, so my question is can I send out an envelope that has a word crossed out on it?

Asked by Lauren over 12 years ago

I don't see why you couldn't mail a letter with a word crossed out as long as the other parts of the address were correct and clear. I am not sure if a jail would have any different rules on this. I know that jails are sometimes very specific in how to send mail, but don't know the ruling on this.