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.
A CCA shouldn't have to memorize a delivery route as far as I know. I believe as long as you can read a map or use a smart phone GPS, you should be okay. Hopefully the postal management or a fellow letter carrier can give you written instructions and/or a map to help you. I know that if I give away part of my route for a CCA to deliver, I am expected to write down the delivery instructions including park points, vacant houses, certified mail, and Managed Service Points (which need to be scanned). I will admit that not every office or carrier is that well organized so there may be a level of "baptism by fire". The key for me is organization and reading a map if you are unfamiliar with an area.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20does%20a%20new%20CCA%20in%20Mass%20have%20to%20do%20to%20memorize%20his%20route%20on%20the%20beginning%3F%20And%20how%20hard%20is%20it%3F%20In%20a%20non%20familiar%20area.%20Thank%20you%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14385)
Those days aren't fun whatsoever and I don't know that I have a good answer for you as I'm more concerned with the cold. I have heard of seal skin gloves which may work well to keep your hands dry but still be able to finger the mail. I'm sorry I don't have a more concrete answer for you. It's good that you have rain gear for the rest of your body. Don't wear any cloth gloves because they will get wet quickly and soak through to your skin. To find help on this and other questions, I would recommend the Facebook user group titled: USPS postal Maniacs. There are over 9000 USPS employees who are members and are pretty good about voicing their opinions on postal questions (often very negative, but they have a helpful side as well).
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Lets%20say%20its%20a%20chilly%20day%20probably%20in%20the%2030%27s-40%27s%20range%20and%20raining.%20I%20have%20rain%20gear%20for%20the%20rest%20of%20my%20body%20but%20nothing%20for%20my%20hands.%20How%20do%20you%20keep%20your%20hands%20dry%3F%20Warmth%20is%20not%20a%20major%20concern%20atm%2C%20just%20keeping%20them%20dry.%20What%20do%20you%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14228)
First of all, I want to say that it's disgusting that a co-worker would do that. It could almost be taken as a threat from a co-worker and make for a hostile environment. I think you did the right thing by taking a photo of it and getting your shop steward involved. It wouldn't have hurt for you to notify the supervisor since they are next up the chain of command. It sounds like you feel that this is serious enough to go right to the postmaster and I understand that. I don't know if your office has internal video cameras which would cover the area by the time clock. That'd give you all of the evidence you need. Be careful not to just wildly point fingers as to who you think has done the defacing, but if you have had a noticeable conflict with one co-worker you could mention that in the meeting with the postmaster and your shop steward. Nobody at work should have to put up with that kind of defacement or intimidation and I really hope that the management and NALC doesn't take this lightly.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20recently%20finished%20my%20route%2C%20came%20back%20office%20and%20someone%20defaced%20my%20time%20card.%20I%20took%20a%20picture%2C%20notified%20my%20steward%20to%20meet%20with%20postmaster%20on%20Monday.%20No%20point%20in%20notifying%20supervisor%20it%20was%20Saturday%2C%20rather%20go%20to%20postmaster.%20Any%20thoughts%2C&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15409)
I have not had an office to deliver on a regular basis so I can't comment as to how far a letter carrier is supposed to go I to an office to deliver or retrieve outgoing mail. Usually I'd expect to mostly deliver to a mail room or reception desk. As far as getting paid by the foot, I can assure you if it is a city letter carrier they are being paid "on the clock" meaning it has nothing to do with distance traveled on foot, but only by time working. A rural letter carrier may have a different way to calculate their pay where I don't know the details. If your letter carrier is wearing the traditional blue uniform, it is likely they are a city carrier and if the location of your postage machine took them longer to access, they'd actually be paid more money because it took them longer. I am being picayune but I hope you understand the point. Some mail carriers are just lazy, will feed you a line, or genuinely know some of the rules about office delivery.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=The%20mailman%20at%20my%20office%20came%20in%20to%20deliver%20mail%20and%20I%20told%20him%20that%20we%20had%20moved%20our%20postage%20machine%20from%20one%20location%20to%20another%20and%20he%20told%20me%20that%20they%20get%20paid%20by%20the%20foot%20and%20his%20supervisor%20measures%20it%20once%20a%20year.%20Is%20that%20true%3F%20I%20doubt%20it%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14881)
SWAT Team Commander (Retired)
How do you decide whether to try and kill a hostage taker?
Chef
Do you get offended when a customer sends back a dish?
Day Trader
What can a good day trader earn in a year?
Flower, whether you live in Canada or the U.S., my answer to your question is the same: I don't know what can be done to amend this. I don't know that it is illegal either. Most apartment buildings that I've seen have a cluster of mailboxes near the lobby and are serviced by a USPS worker (in the US). I, too, live in an apartment building (a cooperative) and a USPS Letter Carrier distributes the mail. Management has no access to the cluster boxes as far as I know. On the flip side, there may be some arrangement for the management to deliver the mail in your building though I don't know the mechanism that would allow for such an agreement. The only thing I can compare your situation to is that many college campuses have mail that is distributed by non-USPS employees into boxes usually at a residence hall or student center/union. I did that for one year when I attended a university in NY.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20live%20in%20a%20building%20with%20mailboxes%20we%20tennents%20access%20by%20key.%20However%20I%20found%20out%20that%20the%20management%20at%20our%20building%20puts%20the%20mail%20into%20the%20boxes%20and%20not%20the%20mailman.%20My%20boyfriend%20says%20this%20is%20illegal.%20%20What%20can%20I%20do%20to%20amend%20this%3F%20I%20live%20in%20Canada&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14655)
I believe it would be rare for someone to receive mail at your address when they didn't put on a forwarding order and then to actually know about it. Certainly mail could be mis-delivered to your house, but how would that person know unless you contacted them somehow? I deliver mail only as addressed with a couple of exceptions. If I can see that the sender addressed it wrong (usually a wrong house #, but the correct street), I would likely deliver it to the address where the person lives. Even if someone moved in the same town but didn't put in a forwarding order, we aren't allowed to just "hand off" the mail to their new address. I did recently notice that a woman (her parents live on the route I deliver) had a piece of mail with her name on it but the address to be delivered to was in Maryland. I know the woman is now receiving mail at her parents home and likely has a forwarding order from Maryland to her parents house in NY. The letter may have been automatically re-routed to NY with the new addresses bar code put on the envelope and the letter then arrived in the computer-sorted mail for the NY address. I just delivered it knowing that the surnames matched. I hope this answers your question and thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Claims%20he%20received%20mail%20at%20our%20house%20that%20was%20addressed%20to%20his%20previous%20address%20%28same%20town%29.%20I%20don%27t%20believe%20him%2C%20%26%20I%27m%20curious%2C%20could%2Fwould%20a%20postman%2Fwoman%20deliver%20post%20to%20a%20different%20address%20than%20what%20is%20marked.%20%28Did%20not%20sign%20up%20for%20forwarding%29&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14419)
I didn't realize you'd be doing such a large mailing. I believe that amt of postcards would qualify for a discount but sometimes it depends on the quantity of pieces for a certain area, how the mailing is prepared, and where you enter it into the system (some large mailings are cheaper to drop off at a mail plant vs. a local PO). The name for a bulk mailing discount is usually called presort standard and presort first class Mail. The standard doesn't get handled as quickly as first class mail which is why it's cheaper. I am sure the answer is quite a bit more complex than what I've told you. Some resources that I'd look for are the Direct Marketing Association or search for "USPS bulk mailing discounts" or "basics of bulk mailing USPS". If stamps or meters are not affixed to your postcards you can't just drop them in a mailbox. The mailing would need to be processed through the BMEU (business mail entry unit). You may also need to get a bulk mailing permit to use an indicia and get a discount. I don't know these details at all. You ask good questions but my area of knowledge has more to do with the job of a city letter carrier. That is why I'm not being any more specific. Anything I've typed here is what I've learned over the years by asking my associates similar questions that you have asked. None of this knowledge is necessary to be a letter carrier.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hi%20again%20i%20got%20everything%20figured%20out%20with%20my%20postcard%20and%20am%20going%20to%20be%20sending%20out%2010%2C000%20at%20once.%20Would%20i%20be%20able%20to%20get%20a%20bulk%20discount%20for%20this%3F%20or%20would%20it%20be%20wiser%20to%20pay%20for%20first%20class%20postage%3F%20and%20will%20they%20be%20delivered%20the%20same%20either%20way&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16243)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
