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

hey there i will be starting the cca postion soon. any advice?
- how long can it take to become "career" in queens?
- the allowance dose not cover much .
-must i wear strictly uniform or may i buy simular items

Asked by morgan over 11 years ago

Congratulations on being hired as a CCA. First I will answer your questions and then I may give you some advice.

1) I don't know how long it will take to become a career employee in Queens. I've heard that the mobility and promotions are quicker in urban environments due to turnover and the number of positions, but I have no way of verifying that. The suburban office where I work has 6 CCAs and I think they have all been here for less than 1 year.

2) The uniform allowance isn't too much, but it should cover your basics. After a couple of years, I have had more than enough to wear and use the uniform allowance mostly on footwear (expensive..$100/pair) and warm weather clothing.

3) Technically, you should always be wearing all USPS regulation clothing/uniform once you have passed probation and are given a uniform allowance. Whether or not you actually have to do this will likely depend on your supervisor or postmaster. They seem fairly lax in my office in enforcing the uniform regulations which I think is wrong. I wear regulation clothing head to toe including footwear. The proper footwear is very important because it has to be approved to be slip-resistant. This job may require a lot of walking and you don't want a slip, trip or fall to injure yourself. Having the proper footwear and paying attention to where you are walking is very important.

My advice to you would be as professional as possible in performing your assigned job. Don't get involved in any office politics. Join the NALC. Bring any questions to your shop steward that you may have re: rights as a CCA. Work safely. As a CCA, you may be assigned to different stations on different days, have very few days off, and have an ever-changing work schedule. It's possible you will have a huge amt of hours per week or not many.  If a manager/supervisor gives you vague or unreasonable instructions, it's important to speak up to get clarification and/or tell them you won't be able to finish an assignment in the allotted time. Do not let yourself be bullied by management. They may try to intimidate you, but as long as you show up for work on time, work safely and professionally, things should work out fine. If you like the work and think that making a "career" employee would be good, don't give up on your CCA position no matter how stressful it could be at times. Being a career employee allows you to work a much more consistent schedule and receive paid sick leave, subsidized health insurance, and many other benefits.

 

Good luck!

1036 Votes

What dose it mean when a postman comes to your door to ask if this person lives at this address but wont let you know who is asking ?

Asked by teresa beecham over 11 years ago

Teresa, I am not sure what that means. I do have two theories on what it might be. First, sometimes I have a piece of mail addressed to a house and I'm not familiar with that name receiving mail there and I want to make sure that I'm delivering the mail properly. In that case I will either knock on the door and ask if that name should receive mail there or (actually more often) I will just put a "?" next to the name that I'm inquiring about and deliver the letter. In that case whoever receives the letter can leave it out for me the next day if the name in question is not correct. The second theory, which may be the one in your case, is that a law firm, collection agency, or IRS, etc., or someone else wants to know if a certain name resides at your address. They will mail the PO a special form requesting that information and then we will fill out the form confirming that the name in question receives mail at that address or not. I've never actually went to someone's door to ask because I know if the name in question is valid or not. I don't know that we aren't allowed to divulge who is asking because I've never been in that situation. Anyhow, I would guess that it's optional whether or not you want to divulge that information to the postman or not. We can't force you to do that. Please be advised that these are just speculations on my part as to what it means when the mailman came to your door to ask if a person lives at your address. Thanks for writing.

1034 Votes

If a person lives at an address to have certain important mail delivered there, then in the same town, use another person's address to have other mail sent there?

Asked by Tim about 12 years ago

I am not completely sure what is being asked by this question, but here is the general rule that we should follow when delivering mail. Unless there is an official change of address order on file to forward a person's mail from one address to another then the mail should only be delivered to the address which is printed on the envelope as to where the letter should go.

1033 Votes

At my apt. complex we have one box with 5 individual locked boxes for each apt. There is no place to put outgoing mail and when I put it in my box the carrier never takes it-even if I put a sticky note. Driving to the PO isn't an option for me.

Asked by Lili about 12 years ago

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.

1032 Votes

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Why mailman often lie about being at home leaving pickup notice infact they never leave such notice?
Why do they enter sytem as package delivered when it fact it has not?causing Legal issues. What does supervisor KEYED package mean?

Asked by delivery status about 12 years ago

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. 

1032 Votes

I have been invited to an interview in a week but I was wondering if I get the job....How do I know house numbers if there are no house numbers on the house or mailbox? For instance, on the street where I live the address goes from 2200 to 2232.

Asked by Curtice over 12 years ago

There is often, but not always a pattern to how house #'s run. It isn't too smart for a resident not To have a # on their mailbox or house Or curb unless they don't care about getting deliveries or having an ambulance/police find them easily. when we deliver mail it is usually put in order of delivery so you can usually just "follow the mail". If you see a house with no # on it but the one before and after it have a #, you can often assume the house # is between those two. Believe me, you will be trained and I have rarely heard of this being a problem where I work, though It doesn't mean it's not a problem elsewhere. My advice is To be as careful as you can to deliver the mail accurately. Good luck to you!

1031 Votes

My friend is a CCA. He asked for a day off a month in advance and was told it was not available. He is in a wedding and absolutely cant work that day. Are there other options to get a day off? Can he get fired for just not showing up?

Asked by MMM over 12 years ago

I don't know whether he can get fired for just not showing up on the day of the wedding. as a CCA I know you may not have as many job protection rights as a career employee. Does your friend have a wedding invitation to show the supervisor? is it possible that he goes to work for a couple of hours in the AM. I am guessing that's not likely. I don't have any other info, but would hope that mgmt comes to their senses and allows the day off. 

1030 Votes

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