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

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I have recently been promoted to a career carrier position after working as a CCA for 10 months. I reserved a vacation for the weekend and now have been mandated to work. They are threatening to write me up for taking my days off. Is this legal?

Asked by Bryan almost 12 years ago

Bryan, congratulations on being promoted to a "regular" carrier. It is much better than being a CCA, but 10 months sounds like a pretty short amount of time to be promoted. That is a good thing. With regards to your vacation I don't know the legalities of them mandating you to work when you have reserved a vacation. If you put in a request for annual leave and it was given back to you within a certain amt. of time (marked denied I mean), then I believe it is approved and generally can't be revoked. If you chose at as a full vacation block (usually in 1-week segments), that also is non-revocable by management as far as I know. I would recommend asking your shop steward for advice in this situation as I don't know in the NALC/USPS National Agreement where this is discussed, or possibly in the ELM (Employee/Labor Manual). One other suggestion is to ask on a FB message board that I belong to which you may find helpful. The group is called USPS Postal Maniacs. I've seen other USPS employees post questions and problems there and receive some advice. I will warn you that much of the talk on there is negative towards management, but there are many good people on there who can often steer you in the right direction. Good luck and thanks for writing.

When I buy something on eBay, how do I know which post office it is deliver to?

Asked by Jah over 12 years ago

When you purchase an item on eBay, it is similar to purchasing any other product online. You advise the seller of the address to ship the item to. The shipper will then mail the item via USPS and it will end up going to the PO that serves the destination address. Most often that is the PO that matches the city in the destination address. 

I am rca.no benifits.sick or vacay time on my paystub is big fat zeros next to retirement. I have been a sub for 8 years. My boss says i am req to do sundays. If i say i do church can he still force me 2? I cant re the last sat i had off this job sux

Asked by energy almost 12 years ago

I am not familiar with the RCA (Rural Carrier Associate) position and the requirements of when you have to work. I do know that it is similar to the CCA position for city letter carriers which don't get any benefits as far as I know, except a uniform allowance. The CCAs in the office where I work sometimes have to work Sundays to deliver Amazon parcels. I would recommend contacting the NRLCA (National Rural Letter Carriers Association) at Phone: 703-684-5545. Their website is www.nrlca.org and they are the union which represents Rural Letter Carriers nationwide. I copied the following from a USPS brochure on RCA hiring: Rural Carrier Associate Facts Variable Work Hours As an RCA, you will replace a regular rural carrier on his or her scheduled day off (primarily Saturday), on vacation, or on other leave. Work hours will vary depending on the office and route to which you are assigned. You must be willing to work weekends and some holidays and be available for on-call employment. You may be assigned to other carriers’ routes, increasing the number of hours you work.

How many times does a post man have to deliver a registerd letter to a person's address before he is to send it bck?

Asked by corinna about 12 years ago

For a registered letter that needs a signature, the letter is usually brought out one time to try and get somebody to sign for having received it. If no authorized recipient is available, a notice is left (PS Form 3849) advising the addressee that the letter needs to be picked up at the PO, or they may sign the 3849 to authorize redelivery. If the letter isn't picked up in a few days, a reminder 3849 2nd notice is delivered with a date written on it telling the addressee that the item will be returned to the sender if it isn't picked up. The date is usually 15 days from the First Notice being left, but I'm not sure.  I hope this helps and I have deleted your previous question as I believe it is a duplicate. Thanks for writing. 

Do you have to go to a postal office to deliver a letter to another state?

Asked by nathalie almost 13 years ago

No, you can mail a letter to any other state as youwould a letter going in state. Please remember to address the letter properly including city state and ZIP code

I live in a condo building of 100 unit owners. Each unit owner has an assigned mailbox in the lobby where we have a doorman. Upon request of a unit owner, can the US Postman give the mail to the doorman and not deposit in the unit owner's mailbox?

Asked by Res over 12 years ago

I am not sure of the correct answer to that question. I would think that the postman technically would have to put each piece of mail in the box that corresponded to the particular unit, and not have the discretion to just hand the mail to the doorman at the request of the resident.

If I had a letter mailed but moved during the time the mail was being sent would it still make it to my new address?

Asked by fred over 12 years ago

If you put a mail forwarding request in to the PO via the website www.usps.com or via paper at your local post office then the mail may get forwarded to your new address. Most first class mail is forwarded from a previous address to a new address for 1 year. If the letter was actually delivered to your old address and arrived before the PO rcvd the forwarding order than the mail may not make it to your new address. If the new resident gives back the letter for the old tenant as "moved" then it may possibly be forwarded to the new address If the PO has a valid forwarding order request on record.