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 would say that the letter carrier shouldn't enter the fenced in zone to deliver the mail if a dog is present. We often have service talks that are aimed at preventing dog bites. One point that is made is to not go into an area where a dog is loose. To be honest, though, many of us are comfortable around dogs and won't follow that rule all the time. If I encounter what looks like a dog that could cause me harm I avoid that house/area and bring any undelivered mail back to the post office. In my career I don't remember not being able to deliver mail due to a loose dog. The bottom line is that a carrier shouldn't put themselves in a situation where they are at risk for an unwanted encounter with a canine.
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Victor, no worries at all regarding your double post. I am not familiar with the blue collection boxes being out of service but still being out in the street and available to be used. I know you didn't find the box when you used the website to look for mailboxes. The only suggestion I would have is to go to a PO that is located near that box or call them somehow to see if that blue collectionmailbox is in use. They might have the answer.
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No, you don't have to start at the bottom. Many mail carriers start out in that position. Nowadays, you are likely to be starting as a CCA (City Carrier Assistant). I think that the position is one you are just paid per hour worked and I don't know that there is any health insurance or other benefits or guarantee of hours either. As full-time positions become available in an office, a CCA is often promoted to the position of Full Time Regular Letter Carrier which has many benefits as well as a guarantee of 40 hours per week. If you visit www.nalc.org and look at the left hand side of the page there is a section that says "Welcome, New Hires!" which should answer any CCA questions in greater detail.
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Jen, I'm not sure if the letter carrier (postman, mailman, they all are synonymous) would have your paycheck if you met them at the mailboxes for the apt. building. Sometimes if there is no apt. number on a piece of mail, it could be sent back to the sender for "Insufficient Address, Apt. # Required", or they may have it with them and try to figure out the correct apt. # if they don't already know it. Some carriers are familiar with who lives in which apt. so they deliver the mail anyway without an apt. number on the address. I think a lot will depend on who is delivering mail the day you go out and meet them. I know this doesn't help you, but in the future the apt. # is so important to put on an address to insure proper delivery. It's also a good idea to label either the outside or inside of your mailbox with your name and apartment number. Thanks for your question and I hope your paycheck arrives.
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Larry, congratulations on becoming a CCA for the USPS. It's not an easy position of being given different assignments daily that you possibly aren't familiar with and expected to perform like you are. I don't know of a trick to organizing the mail, but I'll explain what I do. Regarding the mail, when you pull it down from the carrier case, you may want to number the trays in delivery order and then load them in reverse order to the back of the truck. Put the highest numbered trays towards the back of the cargo area (closest to the driver) and the lowered numbered trays towards the liftgate in the cargo area. This is assuming you are driving an LLV and are on a walking route (park and loop). With regards to parcels, if they are small enough to be put in plastic trays, you may line them up in delivery order or at least keep ones of the same street together. For larger parcels I try to load them in by street (or section of street). I make it sound easy, but a large part of that is because I deliver the same route each day. If it was a new route, I would probably just keep the parcels together by street name. I understand that a lot of what I'm telling you is easier said than done, and with time you should become more efficient and familiar with the routes in your office. Be patient and work safely. Thanks for your question and it will be worth the wait to become a regular carrier.
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To my knowledge rural letter carriers aren't required to wear a USPS uniform and I have never seen a RLC wearing one. There are 2 rural routes that are delivered from the office where I work and I've never seen them in anything except everyday clothes a regular manual worker would wear. Your question of why should a rural carrier wear a uniform is one I don't know. I didn't think a rural carrier could even purchase official USPS uniform items except maybe a baseball cap or other headwear. It's true that they don't get a uniform allowance like the city carriers receive. You could contact the NRLCA if you had a question I can't answer hear. They are the union that represents Rural Letter Carriers nationwide.
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You're welcome Linda A. I try to respond quickly so I have very few questions pending. I hate to have a backup of email in general. You did a good job by asking the mailman where the bills might be. I can't imagine ever answering "it's coming". There is no doubt that an electric bill is First Class so a mailman generally would have it, deliver it, and that's all. We have no idea what's in the pipeline with regards to First Class mail like Bills, Mortgage Statements, greeting cards, etc. I'm not trying to discourage you from using the USPS, but does your utility offer you electronic delivery of the electric bill. My utility is Con Edison (NY City) and it has probably been 4-5 years at least since I received an electric bill in the US Mail. I get the bill online and have it deducted each month from my checking out. No worries whatsoever. I know that e-payments and finance is not for everybody, but just wanted to throw the idea out there and this doesn't make up for the fact that you didn't get a paper electric bill that you are supposed to. I hope your complaint helps somewhat. If nothing else, it will advise your mailman that you aren't satisfied with his delivery effort and aren't going to sit idly by if he isn't delivering what he's legally supposed to in a timely manner. Thank you so much for writing.
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