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 been called for an interview for a City Carrier Assistant I position. Do you have many CCA's at your post office? Do you have any idea about how many hours they average a week?

Asked by April over 13 years ago

Congratulations and I hope you are hired as a CCA. In my office we have zero, but we will be in desperate need of a couple once the summer vacation season starts. As far as hours, I can't say for sure how many you'd work, but when I was a Part time flex (PTF) which was the precursor to TEs or CCAs I consistently worked 40+ hours per week. We really didn't have much choice whether to work or not since we would fill in as needed to cover vacation, sick leave, or a route that was too large for one carrier to handle. I know CCAs start at approx $15/hr. I am glad the USPS realizes that they need to hire more people to staff the offices properly. 

New tenants moved into a house my wife and I rent, and we all share 1 mailbox. The new tenants told our mailman that they were the only people living there, and our mail was returned to sender for 1 month until we corrected it. Is this legal?

Asked by Trevor about 13 years ago

Your new tenants should not have said that as long as you are rcvng mail at that house. i assume you are the homeowner. They should put it aside for you, but not have told the mailman that you don't get mail there. I  am glad that the situation has been rectified. As to whether or not it was legal or not, I am not a legal expert. It seems very inconsiderate what was done by the tenants. 

SO - I get a lot of mail addressed to previous tenants of my apartment (who I don't know at all). How can I stop this? If I put a note on my box "current residents only" then listing the current residents, can the mailman cooperate?

Asked by TiredOfTheGames over 13 years ago

I would think the mailman would cooperate if you left a note clearly statiNG who the current residents are. Please keep in mind that we would still deliver mail that says "or current resident" even if it still had a previous tenants name. If you get a regular piece of mail with the name of a previous tenant you can right on it "moved" or "doesnt live here" and leave it where the letter carrier can see it. I hope this helps. 

Mr. Mailman, what if you made a mistake and used a government issued bulk mail permit for personal use? I didn't use town funds to pay for the mailing, there was no monitory cost to the town but I am about to be questioned by a prosecutor

Asked by bulk bum about 13 years ago

I don't believe it is legal to use a bulk mail permit for personal use, especially if it is a taxpayer-funded government account. I am not a lawyer so I can't give you any legal advice in this forum. If it were me in the situation, I'd own up to the mistake, show that you paid for the mailing with your own funds. Again , an atty may tell you something different So if this might result in a legal action against you,consulting an atty may be a good idea. 

I recently moved into my new home and my letter carrier has refused my mail delivery until I convert to a curbside mailbox, this also includes large packages. Is he allowed to make such request where I have to comply in order to receive my mail?

Asked by New experience! over 12 years ago

I don't know the USPS rules on a letter carrier requesting a mailbox be converted to curbside. I assume that you currently have a mailbox near a door to your house or affixed somewhere on your house which requires the letter carrier to leave their vehicle to affect delivery. I would think that large packages would need to be brought to the door regardless of where your mailbox is placed. Where are the mailboxes installed on the other addresses in your neighborhood? I'm sorry I don't really have any insight on your situation though I would think the request would have to come from a higher source than your own letter carrier and be made to a large area and not just you. One option would be to call your local post office and speak to a delivery supervisor about this request or even the postmaster or the district office which services your community.

How heavy a package can you pick up from my house? I heard no more than 14 oz. once; another time I heard no more than a pound (16 oz)?

Asked by Peg. about 13 years ago

If the Package only has stamps, I believe 13 oz. is the maximum weight for pickup. If you use an electronic shipping label (eBay, Amazon) then the maximum is 70lbs. Also, people sometimes return merchandise with a pre-paid return shipping label. That, too, has no limit. the reason for this rule has to do with aviation security aNd being able to track down a sender should a package contain illegal or dangerous contents, including explosives. 

I just got interviewed for CCA position. Just wondering, how many years does it take to make career and what to expect the hourly rate if starting in California is $15.68. Also I'm kind of nervous about getting lost. Do carrier use GPS for route?

Asked by Nat almost 11 years ago

I'll answer your second question first Nat. The carriers I work with (as well as I myself) use GPS on their smartphones to find streets and neighborhoods they may not be familiar with. I've been working in the same area for many years but sometimes get sent to streets I haven't been to in awhile. I break out the maps App on the iPhone to get me there. Management used to give out route maps to assist carriers but I don't know if they still do since GPS is easily available to most. Please be careful using it when driving. I try to picture the directions ahead of time so I'm not fumbling with the phone while driving. With regards to how long it takes to make career employee from CCA, it really depends on the attrition/retirement rate in your office/area. CCAs are usually made into career employees when a somebody retires or leaves the office or area where you work which would create a vacant position. It could range from a few months to several years to be converted from a CCA to career employee. In my opinion it is generally worth the wait. Your wages don't go up significantly when you become a career employee but you are entitled to health and retirement benefits and paid annual leave. If you access the NALC website and search for pay chart you can see what the wage progression is. You have to make sure you look at the section for CCA or Career letter carriers hired after 2013 I think as the pay scale is different than those hired before then. Good luck and work safely. The NALC is the labor union that represents city letter carriers employed by the USPS. I recommend joining that organization.