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.
Sparky, Thanks for writing and I appreciate the comments. Please keep in mind that anything I say here doesn't come from any expertise. It is just from my experience in one office with one set of co-workers and management and a lot of it is opinion. The above is called a "disclaimer" which I'm a big fan of. Good luck to you in getting hired as a CCA. They are the future of the USPS and hopefully will lead you to a career position with better pay and benefits. The few things I can think of when it comes to being a CCA are: be on-time for work, don't miss work unless it's an emergency or you are very sick, work safely with regards to driving a motor vehicle and walking a delivery route. Be respectful of your co-workers and management and try to deliver the mail accurately though you may not be given the clearest set of instructions how to do your job. We've had a few CCAs quit for their own reasons, but I don't think our office has let more than a few go involuntarily. I believe once your probationary period is over (90 days), it is difficult to be terminated. Management can sometimes control how many hours you get to work if they aren't happy with your job performance. Again, in as long as I've worked at the PO, there has never been an overall shortage of work available to the carriers who wanted to work.
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It would probably be hard to live in NY on a CCA salary starting at $15/hr. I know some regular carriers work second jobs or work as much OT as available. My situation is a bit different as I am single, have low overhead (I own a co-op apt), and am very conservative with my spending. The NY metro area can be very expensive with regards to rental apts/houses and property taxes.
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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.
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Most carriers hired are CCAs as of now. I don't know if there are any benefits but if you look at www.usps.com there may be information in the careers/employment section. The good news is that if you are a CCA and a FT vacancy opens up, CCAs are promoted and will receive all the benefits of health insurance and paid leave.
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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.
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Usually mail won't be forwarded unless there is a forwarding order on file by the former residents. You can try putting the new address on the mail and putting it out for the letter carrier but I don't know that it will get to the new address. Another option is to mark the mail "no longer at this address" and put it out for the letter carrier to take. Thank you for your email question..
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As Long as the address can be made out okay and there is proper postage, it should be fine. If you haven't already mailed the letter, I recommend finding a better pen and darkening the address.
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