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

How much does a mailman start at money wise if they have 7 years prior service. ( military )

Asked by sam over 10 years ago

I am not sure of the prior military service will help you achieve a higher pay scale, but it does count towards US gov't service with respect to retirement. The starting pay is apprx 16.50 an hour and full pay is currently 28.50 per hour. When you are hired, the position is a City Carrier Assistant. If you go to www.nalc.org and search for paychart that should help you.

If annual leave is 440 hours carry over per year. My question is if a carrier has 10 weeks 400 hours for 2015, he can carry over 4 weeks or 160 hours for 2016 calendar year? bc he didn't carry over 440 only 160. please clarify

Asked by jvitto48 over 10 years ago

I don't fully understand your question, but I will tell you what I know. For the leave year (which is slightly different than a calendar year since it goes by pay periods), the maximum annual leave that a FERS City letter carrier can carry over is 440 hours, the equivalent of 11 weeks. Any leave accumulated in the 2015 leave year that would bring the AL balance to greater than 440 hours would need to be used by the end of the 2015 leave year or be forfeited. In your example a carrier that has 400 hours in 2015 can only save an additional 40 hours of AL to be carried into 2016. The remaining 120 hours (assuming they received 160 hours during 2015) would have to be used by the end of the 2015 leave year or be forfeited. Another way I read your question is that you are asking if a carrier begins the year with 400 hours and wants to carry over 160 hours into 2016, would that be okay. The answer is yes because 160 hours of AL is under the 440 hours maximum leave carryover.

If something is sent to the wrong carrier facility, how is it solved?

Asked by Jewelia Stout almost 11 years ago

It is very common for mail to arrive at our carrier facility but it should have been sent to the one where the mail is addressed to. If that happens, the clerks in our office will put all of that mail (and packages) into a piece of postal equipment labeled "misspent mail" or "loop mail" and be sent back to the processing plant. Usually it will then be sent to the correct facility the following day. 

While competing for a CCA position I tested positive for marijuana and didn't contest.

Will this prevent me from being considered for DOT jobs like city bus driver? Do I have to disclose the failed test to other employers?

Asked by green pee almost 11 years ago

I don't know the answer for sure green pee (clever name BTW). Do you think you could reapply for a USPS job in the future? I would think so after a certain amount of time has passed and are then retested. As far as jobs go with other agencies or employers I don't know. It may depend how they ask you about it on their applications. I haven't heard of any type of central database that potential employers could check to see if you have failed a drug test. This is a very interesting topic as well since marijuana use is now legal in 2 states and I think it will be an upward trend in other states legalizing it as well. I don't think this means an employer has to tolerate it and when the job involves operating a motor vehicle I can see them being more careful in who is hired. So maybe it will be a good idea to lay off the weed for ahwile if it means the difference between getting a job and not.

If i put money in the letter and sent it by mailing to my neighborhood would the postman see the money that is inside and still it

Asked by shien hwee almost 11 years ago

It is generally not a great idea to send cash through the US Mail but I think it is highly unlikely that a letter carrier would be the one to steal anything out of the mail. Most of us don't even think twice about what is inside an envelope as we get probably a couple of thousand envelopes each day to deliver. It is also unlikely for a letter to get stolen at all. If you are concerned about this and still want to send cash in an envelope I would wrap the money in a sheet of paper so it can't be seen through an envelope. If it is inside a greeting card we wouldn't be able to see it.

Mailman, My son mailed a letter to a bank and forgot to put a stamp and sender's address. Please, how do I get back the letter so I can mail it properly.

Asked by Emem almost 11 years ago

The letter will not get to the bank because there is no way for the USPS to know where the intended address is. The fact that there was no postage on it also doesn't help matters. I don't know how you will get the letter back unless you put your return address on the envelope. If that is the case the letter should eventually be retuned to you for an address and proper postage. I can't guarantee how long it will take to get the letter back, but you should get it returned eventually. There is no way to track where that letter is. Thanks for writing.

If mailman/lady does not have a key to apartment building residence for whatever when they should. After ringing bell how long are they allowed to wait until someone lets them in before leaving and not delivering mail?

Asked by Sam over 10 years ago

Sam, I don't know the answer to this but the letter carrier should have access to the building or mailboxes somehow without having to ring doorbells. Maybe in this case it was a one-time occurrence but even then they should have returned with some means of access or called the PO to advise them why they couldn't make a delivery to a building. I don't know of any specific time frame they'd have to wait before moving on to their next delivery. I think a couple of minutes is sufficient, especially if they are ringing multiple doorbells and getting zero response.