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.
You are the first person to ever say the term "dark net markets" to me. I don't most of my fellow letter carriers know anything about this unless they are involved in that dealing which I would hope they aren't. We are trained very little at work about drugs in the mail. I've never come across anything suspicious re: drugs or I am just oblivious.
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My pleasure Dee! Again, good luck to you in training. Always keep in mind that whatever I tell you is anecdotal and what I've experienced. There are many inconsistencies within the USPS depending on where you work and the personalities you come across. It shouldn't be this way but I'm sure that happens in other organizations just as much. I enjoy so much of this job because I'm out on my own for about 6 hrs a day not dealing with too much internal politics, etc.
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Generally that would be correct. If the PO is closed due to poor weather conditions it would usually mean our whole retail and delivery operations have been suspended. I don't know if there are still processing operations going on at the mail plants. It isn't too common for us to suspend delivery for an entire day, but in blizzards or states of emergency, it could be necessary for us to do so.
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You're welcome. I just always like to state here that I have never read the National Agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers so a lot of what I say is based on what I've seen at my particular PO as well and by attending some local union meetings. I do a little research online but I'm not lawyer and am not dedicated enough to research deeply to see if there are rules on certain issue mentioned in the National Agreement. Congratulations on getting a route assignment.
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Not often. I deliver the same route each day, so I pretty much know when residents move in or out. I deliver mail in an upper middle class community and there aren't many rentals and most houses are occupied. If mail begins to accumulate for awhile and I don't see any activity at the house and the grounds start to look more unkempt I may suspect a house is vacant. When most people move, they submit a change of address/forwarding order. This also gives me an indication that if I don't see a new residents name that the house could be vacant. At present, about 1% of the houses on my route are considered vacant and don't receive mail delivery. I'm sure in many other communities that aren't as well off economically there could be more vacant homes.
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This happens sometimes if a route is divided up for the day and perhaps the "dividing line" is near your house. This happens a lot when we are shorthanded, so other carriers may deliver their own route and then a part of another route. I know it may look inefficient and random, but that's what happens when people do "pieces" on other routes. It is sometimes inefficient and random due to poor management or short staffing. Some POs face this issue more than others. It is especially common in the summer months when many co-workers go on vacation but it certainly can be an issue year round.
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I can answer your question in two parts. The first question you have is about whether or not mail can be forwarded to an address out of state even if the person isn't living in a residence in that state. Mail can be forwarded anywhere that the USPS delivers to as long as there is a proper change of addresss authorization/request submitted to the USPS. The easiest way to do this is at USPS.com .
As far as affecting and medical benefits and tax issues, I'm not qualified to give you an official answer. It probably depends on the source of the medical benefits. Some state public health assistance programs like Medicaid may require the recipient to live in that state. It doesn't necessarily mean their mail can't go somewhere else. I don't know about tax issues either. It shouldn't matter when filing a federal tax return, but I'm not sure about different state tax laws. There are probably 50 different answers to that.
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