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

Hi,
Which part of Long Island do you work? Just curious because I live on LI. Also, do letter carriers spend their whole workday delivering mail, or do you also work inside the post office?
Thank you!

Asked by Name almost 12 years ago

Thanks for your question. I work at the Syosset, NY 11791 PO. City Carriers usually spend 1.5 to 3 Hrs each day in the office sorting the incoming mail into delivery order and then spending apprx. 5-6 Hrs each day "in the street" delivering the mail. A lot of mail these days comes pre-sorted into delivery sequence which has reduced the amount of hours that carriers spend in the post office compared to many years ago. The volume of mail over the years also hasn't remained as high so there is less mail to sort in the post office and deliver. For myself and most of my co-workers there is certainly still 8 hrs/day or more of work.

979 Votes

Is it true that obvious outgoing mail does not have to be collected unless there is mail to be delivered at that address that day?

Asked by Sandy almost 12 years ago

That is a very good question. I don't know the official answer to that question, but I know if I saw that outgoing mail was obviously there to be collected, I would collect it. Most addresses I service have at least 1 piece of mail per day to be delivered, but if it didn't I may take a glance from a distance to see if there was an obvious outgoing mail or a flag up on their mailbox indicating an outgoing item.

979 Votes

Can a mail carrier be fired for
spending one day in jail on a
false charge of domestic violence?

Asked by Robert over 12 years ago

I don't know the answer to this question, but I would speculate that you wouldnt be fired for this, especially if you weren't convicted. 

979 Votes

Can a mailman leave mail if there is no mailbox?

Asked by Wayne about 12 years ago

If the letter carrier feels it is secure enough to leave mail in a place without a mailbox, I think they can though it's probably not a great idea. I don't know the official rule on the proposed situation. 

978 Votes

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Is the post office manager allowed to cut open a package (a book) I was sending out (wrapped in cardboard), simply to make sure I was not using one of USPSs priority mail envelopes to ship something (non-priority)?

Asked by buffy over 12 years ago

If the item was mailed via media mail, then it is valid for a postal employee to open a package to make sure that the item being mailed qualifies for the media mail rate. As far as just checking to see if a Priority Mail packaging was used to mail an item via non-Priority, I don't know the rule on that but I'm not too familiar with that being done. I thought that most, if not all, priority mail packaging now is printed on both the inside and outside making it very difficult to use for Non-priority mailing.

978 Votes

If I end my mail hold on a Tuesday (for example) is my mail delivered on that Tuesday or the following day, Wednesday?

Asked by Ken over 11 years ago

Ken, the date you put down as the "end date" on the yellow authorization to Hold Mail card is the date that mail will be resumed. All accumulated mail will also be delivered on that date. Please make sure you have chosen the option for the "end hold" date as opposed to the option where you will pick up any mail that is on hold. If you choose the "pick up" option, no mail should be delivered until you pick up any accumulated mail at the Post Office. The system generally works well unless we forget to pay attention to the "ending date" on the hold which happens occasionally. Thank you for your inquiry.

977 Votes

I dropped a letter in a blue USPS collection box before noticing the box was no longer labeled to display pick up times or other information. This box location is not showing up on the USPS locator either. Does this mean my letter won't get mailed?

Asked by milliemo over 11 years ago

I am not sure about this. If I had to guess, I'd hope that the collection box is still in use  if it would allow you to deposit mail into it. I would suggest contacting the local post office nearest that collection box and see if they could provide you any further information. 

977 Votes

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