Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

I'm a month old CCA now and I live in Ohio. It's getting cold so I need a good pair of gloves to keep my hands dry/warm and still be able to finger the mail. What would you recommend? Also what do you recommend for the winter months?

Asked by Bradan over 11 years ago

Bradan, I feel your pain. It is a horrible feeling to be out in the elements, being cold and uncomfortable with hours to go in your deliveries. I haven't by any means mastered this problem. The uniform vendors that sell for the USPS offer fingerless gloves (the upper 1/3 or 1/2 of your fingers are exposed) but they aren't terribly useful. Some gloves offered have raised dots that can help you finger the mail. I use them sometimes. Try and keep the rest of your body as warm as possible with layering including thermal underwear. Definitely wear a hat, two if necessary. Even if your fingertips are exposed, you may want to invest in a box of single-use handwarmers (sometimes called hot hands) which are little packets that you shake to activate and then can put inside your gloves or in your pants pockets or glove pockets which you will keep you warm. My girlfriend just bought a box of 40 hand warmers for $12.99 at Costco.

936 Votes

I am rca.no benifits.sick or vacay time on my paystub is big fat zeros next to retirement. I have been a sub for 8 years. My boss says i am req to do sundays. If i say i do church can he still force me 2? I cant re the last sat i had off this job sux

Asked by energy over 11 years ago

I am not familiar with the RCA (Rural Carrier Associate) position and the requirements of when you have to work. I do know that it is similar to the CCA position for city letter carriers which don't get any benefits as far as I know, except a uniform allowance. The CCAs in the office where I work sometimes have to work Sundays to deliver Amazon parcels. I would recommend contacting the NRLCA (National Rural Letter Carriers Association) at Phone: 703-684-5545. Their website is www.nrlca.org and they are the union which represents Rural Letter Carriers nationwide. I copied the following from a USPS brochure on RCA hiring: Rural Carrier Associate Facts Variable Work Hours As an RCA, you will replace a regular rural carrier on his or her scheduled day off (primarily Saturday), on vacation, or on other leave. Work hours will vary depending on the office and route to which you are assigned. You must be willing to work weekends and some holidays and be available for on-call employment. You may be assigned to other carriers’ routes, increasing the number of hours you work.

936 Votes

Mailman says he doesn't have time to sort the world's mail, so he delivers ours to another suite everyday so he doesn't have to come to second floor. He parks in handicapped everyday. Supervisor doesn't care. What can we do?

Asked by In Need of Help over 11 years ago

I am not really sure about the policy of delivering to a multi-suite building, but here is the way I see it: If your mail is specifically addressed to your suite and you are a different business than the suite/tenant on the first floor, it should be delivered directly to you. The suite on the first floor shouldn't be getting your mail. I would consider your suite a separate delivery. Again, I don't know the rules but I would treat it like an apartment building where you wouldn't be delivering your mail to a neighbor or vice versa. We are given time to sort the mail in a multi-unit building if a suite has a separate address so I don't necessarily buy the excuse of not having time to sort the world's mail. With regards to the parking, that doesn't seem to appropriate either. I have parked in No Parking Fire Zones in front of buildings if I'll just be 5 minutes or less delivering the mail. I don't think I would park in a handicapped spot. Since the supervisor doesn't care, you could speak with the Postmaster or whoever is next up on the chain of command to see if they can assist at all. As I've posted in other comments, we have a real mixed bag of employees at the USPS so your responses could vary.

936 Votes

I am an RCA about to change to a CCA. When casing your mail, do most city carriers case their DPS for the walking portions of their route? If not, what is the best way to merge the DPS with flats while walking the route?

Asked by Jon almost 12 years ago

I have an route that is entirely walking and the DPS is not allowed to be cased in the office. We take it out to the street and hold it in our hands and "finger" through it as we approach a house and then merge it together with the flats that have been cased and then sometimes a "3rd bundle" which is usually an advertisment that each delivery address receives. It is important though to be careful of the terrain on which you are walking while merging the DPS and flats together, especially when crossing lawns or going up and down steps. The first time I see the DPS letters is just before I get to a house to deliver it. They have been sequenced by a machine to save me the time of having to sort it earlier in the day. For the most part, they are accurately sorted with an error rate which I would say is less than 2% (just a guess). Good luck with your position change and I hope it will lead you to a full time regular city carrier position.

935 Votes

Also on Jobstr...

Private Detective

Can I be a successful P.I. if I'm hardworking but don't have any connections in law enforcement or politics?

Special Education Teacher

How come it often takes years to figure out that a kid is dyslexic?

Ice Sculptor

What was the raciest sculpture you ever made?

For the Q above, if it's already been 6 days, do i still have a chance of retrieving it from them tomorrow? Or would they have thrown it away or returned it by now?

Asked by Sally over 12 years ago

I am not sure if they would still have it after 6 days. Generally, they wouldn't have thrown it out if the item was mailed a certain class and a return endorsement like "return service requested" but there is no way to know how it was mailed. Hopefully it will be returned to sender and if there is a way to contact the sender they could tell you when they received it back. It wouldn't hurt to go to the PO to see if it's there. Has there been any update to the tracking information besides "arrived at your local USPS facility"?

934 Votes

Do you know people who work at the post office yet have a dream of doing their own business? Do some people work at the post office and work on their dream at night until they get a breakthrough in the area of the dreams?

Asked by JTDN almost 13 years ago

I am sure This happens a lot. While it is a very secure job to have, it's not what everyone wants as a career. Some of my co-workers have left for jobs with other govt agencies, to become police officers. I don't know of anyone who started a business once they got a breakthrough. But we are a huge company so it has likely happened. Not too many people resign after being on the job more than 5 years.

933 Votes

If you moved and didn't do a forwarding address and your neighbor tells them you moved...which by the way it was because my paycheck was already in the pipeline, so was coming back everyday looking for it....can they hold your mail??

Asked by kbear almost 12 years ago

Kbear, from what I gather in your question, you moved and didn't do a forwarding order on purpose because your paycheck was already in the mail? If this happens, the letter carrier might hold the mail at the PO for a certain amt. of days, but that doesn't seem likely. The letter carrier might complete an Employee-Generated Change of Address form and check a box "Moved Left No Address". In that case any mail addressed to you would be returned to the sender with "Moved, Left No Address" on the envelope. You could check with your local post office from where you moved and see what they have been doing with your mail. I don't know that you will get any resolution to your question, but it is worth a try. Good luck and thank you for writing.

933 Votes

Showing 442 - 448

Show All

779 More Answers by Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Last 7

61 62 63 64 65 66

...

Next 7 Answers

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I'm a month old CCA now and I live in Ohio. It's getting cold so I need a good pair of gloves to keep my hands dry/warm and still be able to finger the mail. What would you recommend? Also what do you recommend for the winter months?

I am rca.no benifits.sick or vacay time on my paystub is big fat zeros next to retirement. I have been a sub for 8 years. My boss says i am req to do sundays. If i say i do church can he still force me 2? I cant re the last sat i had off this job sux

Mailman says he doesn't have time to sort the world's mail, so he delivers ours to another suite everyday so he doesn't have to come to second floor. He parks in handicapped everyday. Supervisor doesn't care. What can we do?

I am an RCA about to change to a CCA. When casing your mail, do most city carriers case their DPS for the walking portions of their route? If not, what is the best way to merge the DPS with flats while walking the route?

Also on Jobstr...

For the Q above, if it's already been 6 days, do i still have a chance of retrieving it from them tomorrow? Or would they have thrown it away or returned it by now?

Do you know people who work at the post office yet have a dream of doing their own business? Do some people work at the post office and work on their dream at night until they get a breakthrough in the area of the dreams?

If you moved and didn't do a forwarding address and your neighbor tells them you moved...which by the way it was because my paycheck was already in the pipeline, so was coming back everyday looking for it....can they hold your mail??

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I'm a month old CCA now and I live in Ohio. It's getting cold so I need a good pair of gloves to keep my hands dry/warm and still be able to finger the mail. What would you recommend? Also what do you recommend for the winter months?

I am rca.no benifits.sick or vacay time on my paystub is big fat zeros next to retirement. I have been a sub for 8 years. My boss says i am req to do sundays. If i say i do church can he still force me 2? I cant re the last sat i had off this job sux

Mailman says he doesn't have time to sort the world's mail, so he delivers ours to another suite everyday so he doesn't have to come to second floor. He parks in handicapped everyday. Supervisor doesn't care. What can we do?

I am an RCA about to change to a CCA. When casing your mail, do most city carriers case their DPS for the walking portions of their route? If not, what is the best way to merge the DPS with flats while walking the route?

Also on Jobstr...

For the Q above, if it's already been 6 days, do i still have a chance of retrieving it from them tomorrow? Or would they have thrown it away or returned it by now?

Do you know people who work at the post office yet have a dream of doing their own business? Do some people work at the post office and work on their dream at night until they get a breakthrough in the area of the dreams?

If you moved and didn't do a forwarding address and your neighbor tells them you moved...which by the way it was because my paycheck was already in the pipeline, so was coming back everyday looking for it....can they hold your mail??

Login

Forgot Your Password?

Register