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.
I must admit that does sound a bit early that the mailman arrives before 9AM daily. The more common comment is that mail deliver is later in the day that people would like. We generally have no control over the order that we deliver our mail routes. The routes are set up in a certain order of delivery and mailman are usually under a time pressure to deliver their routes and be finished in a prescribed amount of time. I believe your best remedy is to go to a mailbox (formally known as collection boxes) before the pickup time printed on the label inside the lid to ensure your outgoing mail will be processed that day. Thanks for writing.
I am not sure why they would leave the mail in the mailbox at the bottom of the hill. One reason is that if there is nowhere to securely put the mail at the top of the hill outside of the elements the carrier wouldn't want to leave the mail outside.
Generally if the item fits in your mailbox and doesn't require a signature it would be put in your mailbox. This includes First Class Mail with Delivery Confirmation (which rarely would require a signature unless the sender requests it). I hope that is what happens in your case. You may not have read my other replies on this forum but I do a lot of hedging in my answers due to the lack of consistency in delivery and procedures which I hear about both where I work and other places around the country. Also, I don't like to give misinformation or mislead anybody. As much as I know how things should be done with regards to mail delivery, the reality is it doesn't always work out that way. Thank you for writing.
Jordan, first of all, thank you for writing in to this Q and A board. I don't know the rules as far as sending back mail because you haven't emptied your box for a week or two and your box is not full. If I were the letter carrier, I would just continue to deliver mail until the box is full and then probably return any future mail endorsed "box full" to the senders (or discard the mail if it is unendorsed Standard Class mail.) I don't recall ever coming across this situation in my postal career, but if it came about I'd probably ask my supervisor for direction. It is not in my nature to leave any notes (esp. threatening ones) for the most part.
Inner City English Teacher
Dating Website Employee
Navy Officer (Former)
That sounds absolutely wrong what is done. The only time that a worker can open a package that i know of is if it is Media Mail. That class of mail is subject to inspection if a worker wants to verify that the contents qualify for the Media Mail rate. Does the worker say why he opens then packages? I haven't heard of your situation before.
I agree Lili that 0600-2200 is a terribly long day. A normal shift for a regular postal worker is 8 hrs plus :30 lunch. There is often OT available but for most "regular" employees it shouldn't be mandatory. n my office it seems that some of the CCAs (city carrier assistant) have worked as long as 12 hours, but in don't think that is too common. This holiday season seems to have been very heavy with the parcel deliveries which would extend our delivery day. It's possible your mother's office is shorthanded which is why she is working so many hours. During the 4 wks around Christmas, the work/pay rules are suspended which require double time to be paid after 10 hrs of work (8 hours if you are working on your scheduled day off). For this reason, the mgmt isn't as pressured to limit the hours worked, and the truth is that the mail needs to get delivered somehow.
Thank you for the NALC information. Definitely see if you can file a grievance for the mgmt not giving out Progressive Discipline. Again, if it is a big mistake like leaving the engine running or having a motor vehicle accident, maybe that couLD go straight to a letter of removal.
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