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 am not familiar with that story which you mention though it does sound disgusting. If we ever saw a package that was leaking fluids and/or had a noticeable strange smell, our procedure is to report it to a supervisor who could then decide whether to take any further action with re: to calling postal authorities or local police. I would hope if that same situation happened in the US that the package would be intercepted long before it reached its destination but you can never be sure as a lot of what happens depends on the personnel handling the package and how much they care or are paying attention.
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I haven't witnessed anyone deliberately tampering with a package, though every now and then a box arrives empty, so it could have broken open in transit or tampered with. If a carrier were to do this on any regular basis, customers would become suspicious and probably call the PO. If the PO rcvd too many calls about 1 route, I imagine they'd get suspicious and look into it. Overall, I think tampering and theft is rare but I am sure it happens in such a large organization. Thank you for the question.
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I don't know the regulations exactly when it comes to curbside delivery. I can assure you it is printed somewhere, possibly on the USPS website. I think that the carrier has to be able to approach your mailbox, deliver and then drive away without leaving the vehicle. That said, some carriers I know would rather deliver the mail and not have to bring it back to the PO and then attempt delivery the following day. I understand the frustration with the inconsistency, but If I had to pick one way or another, it is acceptable for a carrier to skip a delivery if he can't get to a mailbox for the reason of too much snow or a car blocking the mailbox. The school of thought might be that if we deliver when there is 4 ft. of snow on the ground, what incentive does the resident have to clear a path to so the carrier can drive his vehicle directly up to the curbside mailbox?
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After working A certain amt. of time in one office you can definitely apply for a transfer through eReassign, an internal website for USPS transfers. You might have to be a career employee to do that, meaning not a temporary hire. When transferring to another location, you might lose seniority when it comes to picking vacation days or bidding on job assignments, but you won't have your pay cut if you transfer as the same occupation. (Letter carrier to letter carrier, for example) Fromy I office we have had many employees transfer out over the years. It sometimes takes awhile, but it can happen. If you want to transfer its a good idea to have a good work record re:attendance and safety, as the office you are going tO will want to know about it. Thanks for your question.
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Having never taken the CCA driving test I can only offer tips.
1. Pay close attention to the driving instructor/examiner
2. obey all traffic signals and speed limits
3. 2 hands on the steering wheel while driving
4. Curb your wheels when parking
5 anytime you leave the driver's seat, the ignition must be off and take the key with you.
6 use your mirrors especially when changing lanes or pulling away from a curb
7 Try to avoid going into reverse unless it is necessary.
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Thanks for your question. I believe the USPS would hire a 57 y/o as long as you can physically do the job. There can be a lot of walking depending on the type of route you have. Some neighborhoods have mailboxes at the curb and you deliver directly from a postal vehicle.
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I am not sure about this. I have never seen it happen where a carrier lost his job or was disciplined. I suspect they may get in trouble if it can be proven that they were negligent In being careless with the item. Domestic Registered mail is probably the worst thing to lose. Custody of the item must be signed for with each transfer. It is a good question though As there can be VERY valuable items in the mail worth many 1000s of $$.
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