Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

can i give my package to the mailman to ship off or take back to that specific location

Asked by juan over 11 years ago

You can give a mailman any package that has the postage paid on it either via a computer printed label (such as Click 'N Ship) or a label where the recipient will pay the return postage. In the latter case, the label will clearly say "No Postage Necessary If Mailed Within The United States". Every letter carrier should accept the package no questions asked. The exception to this would be a city letter carrier who may not have a USPS vehicle which they are operating from and are unable to bring the package back to the Post Office. In that case I believe you can go to www.usps.com to schedule a package pickup. The mailman usually won't take a package back to a specific address until it is processed through our mail distribution system. Most of the time we just accept any package or mail along our delivery routes and bring back to the post office where we work from and it gets dispatched to a mail distribution center for processing. Thanks for writing.

927 Votes

I was keeping a piece of mail in the mailbox that had been delivered to my address for our old roommate to pick up. After about 2 days, the letter was gone but the roommate had not picked it up. Would USPS take the letter back and return to sender?

Asked by ST over 11 years ago

ST, I'm not sure what happened in your situation. Some USPS carriers may be trained or take it upon themselves to do things differently than others. If the letter carrier saw the one letter in your mailbox but the rest of the mail taken in (by you), they might think it's mail for a person no longer living there and return it to the sender "Attempted, Not Known" or "Unable to Forward" or something else. It seems likely that this is what happened and the letter wasn't stolen though I can't says for sure.

927 Votes

Yes the NALC represents us but Ithought that after 90day probation that your supervisor had to issue a warning before termination &/or try to put an employee in a different craft. I am currently trying to file a grievance.

Asked by HeWhoDeliverith over 12 years ago

Thank you for the NALC information. Definitely see if you can file a grievance for the mgmt not giving out Progressive Discipline. Again, if it is a big mistake like leaving the engine running or having a motor vehicle accident, maybe that couLD go straight to a letter of removal.

926 Votes

How many times is mail picked up at the post office and also does mail being sent off in the morning get to its destination sooner

Asked by kay over 11 years ago

I'm sure each Post Office has a slightly different dispatch schedule for mail being sent off to a P&DC (Processing and Distribution Center). I think that our Post Office dispatches the mail 2-3 times per day. I don't think that something mailed in the morning gets to its destination sooner than a letter which is collected prior to our final dispatch which is usually around 6PM. We have service levels which basically say if a letter or parcel is mailed on a certain date (before a final dispatch) that it should reach its destination by a certain date. This is usually 1-3 days depending on the distance between the origination and destination Post Office and the class of mail that is being sent (1st Class, Priority, Express, Parcel Post, etc).

926 Votes

Also on Jobstr...

Poet

Does being a professional poet pay the bills?

Stand-Up Comedian

Did your career blow up after you performed on the Tonight Show / Conan?

Professional Blogger

How long did it take you before you could quit your day-job?

If a CCA has a hold on a route and is told not to come into work (on a day they are supposed to), is that something the union will fight if you file a grievance? Can you get paid for that day?

Asked by question almost 12 years ago

I don't know the answer to this question. I know as a PTF, if you had a hold on a route, it came with certain rights and you could only be "bumped" off that route in certain situations. I don't know if it is any different with City Carrier Assistants (CCA). I don't have a lot of familiarity with the details of the NALC contract and union/mgmt rules.

926 Votes

Ok. Thanks for the info. The fence gate is placarded BEWARE OF DOG. The young carrier enters anyway with my dog barking aggressively & wife tells him to not enter. He enters anyway and gets nipped in leg. What now?

Asked by Hearding Hollywood over 11 years ago

The letter carrier should not be putting himself in that risky situation. Is it possible for you to relocate your mailbox outside the contained area where your dog is? I don't believer a letter carrier wants to bring out your mail each day not knowing whether or not he will have safe access to your mailbox. Again, I am not sure why he would enter the fenced in area when told not to. With regards to getting nipped in the leg, I am not sure what happens next. I wouldn't worry about it if you aren't contacted by the post office regarding your dog.

926 Votes

I live in an apartment building ( in Canada ) with locked mailboxes for each apartment at the front.of.the building. My neighbor moved out and left a letter for the mail person to put her mail in my box... is this legal?

Asked by Pepper over 11 years ago

I don't know anything about the rules/laws in Canada about redirecting mail to another address just with a note. Are you okay with this? If so, then if it happens, so be it. If you don't want this or the Canada Post doesn't operate that way, then I guess it's more of an issue. I know I wouldn't abide by a letter like this. In the United States for mail to be put in another addresses mailbox (legally), a forwarding order has to be submitted with the US postal service and then the mail will be properly redirected, even if it is just a next door neighbor. I have one customer on the route I deliver that owns 2 houses adjacent to each other. One of them is for sale. Once that house is sold, I will need to have a forwarding order submitted to have mail forwarded from the sold house to the unsold house (if that's what they want). Thanks for the question.

925 Votes

Showing 372 - 378

Show All

849 More Answers by Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Last 7

51 52 53 54 55 56

...

Next 7 Answers

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

can i give my package to the mailman to ship off or take back to that specific location

I was keeping a piece of mail in the mailbox that had been delivered to my address for our old roommate to pick up. After about 2 days, the letter was gone but the roommate had not picked it up. Would USPS take the letter back and return to sender?

Yes the NALC represents us but Ithought that after 90day probation that your supervisor had to issue a warning before termination &/or try to put an employee in a different craft. I am currently trying to file a grievance.

How many times is mail picked up at the post office and also does mail being sent off in the morning get to its destination sooner

Also on Jobstr...

If a CCA has a hold on a route and is told not to come into work (on a day they are supposed to), is that something the union will fight if you file a grievance? Can you get paid for that day?

Ok. Thanks for the info. The fence gate is placarded BEWARE OF DOG. The young carrier enters anyway with my dog barking aggressively & wife tells him to not enter. He enters anyway and gets nipped in leg. What now?

I live in an apartment building ( in Canada ) with locked mailboxes for each apartment at the front.of.the building. My neighbor moved out and left a letter for the mail person to put her mail in my box... is this legal?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

can i give my package to the mailman to ship off or take back to that specific location

I was keeping a piece of mail in the mailbox that had been delivered to my address for our old roommate to pick up. After about 2 days, the letter was gone but the roommate had not picked it up. Would USPS take the letter back and return to sender?

Yes the NALC represents us but Ithought that after 90day probation that your supervisor had to issue a warning before termination &/or try to put an employee in a different craft. I am currently trying to file a grievance.

How many times is mail picked up at the post office and also does mail being sent off in the morning get to its destination sooner

Also on Jobstr...

If a CCA has a hold on a route and is told not to come into work (on a day they are supposed to), is that something the union will fight if you file a grievance? Can you get paid for that day?

Ok. Thanks for the info. The fence gate is placarded BEWARE OF DOG. The young carrier enters anyway with my dog barking aggressively & wife tells him to not enter. He enters anyway and gets nipped in leg. What now?

I live in an apartment building ( in Canada ) with locked mailboxes for each apartment at the front.of.the building. My neighbor moved out and left a letter for the mail person to put her mail in my box... is this legal?

Login

Forgot Your Password?

Register