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.
Congratulations on being hired as a CCA for the USPS. I would recommend wearing a comfortable shirt and comfortable walking shoes. Shorts should be allowed as well if you are working in a warmer climate. If orientation is at a centralized office the first day and you won't be delivering mail, please ask the USPS employee that question. You may also call the station you are assigned to and they might have a suggestion as well. They may give you a baseball cap to wear or maybe you can bring your own. Be sure to be bring water and a lunch as well. As far as I know orientation is part classroom, part driver-training, and part on-the-job (where you follow or assist a letter carrier on their route). I hope this helps and Good Luck to you!
I have no idea why mailmen and Supv would lie about delivery status but I believe you when you say they do. Any time I have a package to deliver, I accurately record the status of the package, whether it be attempted or delivered, etc. I dont know what supervisor KEYED package means. It is unfortunate that this happens and causes you legal issues. A worker should be disciplined if they knowingly falsify the status of a package they are entrusted with.
I don't know what the regulations are for attaching a mailbox to your house. Does your letter carrier walk to your door to deliver the mail? If that is the case, the mailbox must be accessible in a safe area for the carrier to reach the mailbox. If you live in an area where the delivery is made to a curbside mailbox there are regulations for how tall the mailbox must be from the ground plus there must be clearance on either side of the box so that the postal vehicle can get in and out of the area without having to put the vehicle in reverse too much.
You bring up a valid concern in my opinion. I'm sorry that you have had no luck calling your local PO. my suggestion would be to put a small note near the mail slot saying "please push all mail completely through garage door slot. Thank you." I hope that helps. You can also mention it to your letter carrier if you ever see them in person.
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I don't think there is any penalty for the letter carrier to pay anything out of pocket. I've never heard of this happening with respect to a First Class Mail Parcel going missing. It is usually hard to prove that a mail carrier actually had possession of the parcel and then didn't deliver it. I know the scans are meant for tracking an item but it may not prove internally who had possession of the parcel. This is different from a registered or certified item which we sign for when we take possession of them. The item could go missing anywhere along in the mail stream. I suppose if one particular mail carrier had several complaints that parcels on their route were missing it would raise some eyebrows and there would need to be an investigation as to the rate of missing parcels. I've never heard of it happening where I work, but I'm sure there are some letter carriers who aren't very honest. I still don't know how one could get away with taking multiple parcels without being caught. Then again, I don't have that kind of mindset so I'm a bit naive when it comes to this subject.
I am not sure why the letter carrier doesn't take your outgoing mail if you have a sticky note clearly stating that it should be taken. I would suggest maybe call the post office and see if they have any advice on what to do. You should have the option of leaving outgoing mail with stamps to be picked up by a letter carrier.
That is a great question which I will answer in 2 ways. For the last few years I wore an MP3 player (iphone) with a wired earpiece while I delivered mail on foot and listened to podcasts. I always left one ear exposed and not listening to the podcasts. Nobody ever said a word to me about it. Recently, however, I returned to work after an extended absence (on an off for almost one year) and a co-worker who saw me "wired" to listen to the PED said that while I was out we had a service/safety talk that we weren't allowed to be using the PED's while we are at work either in or out of the Post Office. I thanked him for his advice, but thought I would do a little more investigating. I asked about 2 or 3 other co-workers and they said they didn't know anything about a rule like that. I didn't ask my supervisor or shop steward. I don't believe it is anything you would get disciplined for, but the mgmt. may say you aren't allowed to use them. If they ever did that I may ask to see that policy in writing even though I could see mgmt. as saying it falls under the "you will be distracted" reasoning. Again, I have never seen it as an issue at the PO where I work, but please keep in mind that I don't listen to it loudly and only have the ear buds in one ear. When a customer comes to speak with me, I put the personal electronic device (PED) on pause and sometimes even take out the earpiece. I would be very disappointed if they made a rule about not listening to an MP3 player while delivering mail as that is very helpful in getting me through the workday, not to mention I learn a lot from the podcasts. Thanks for writing in with your question.
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