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.
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.
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I don't think you should be doomed if you were unable to complete such a large route. Usually the management would request that you call the post office if you require any extra time or assistance in completing a route that you are unfamiliar with. I would hope there would be no discipline in the situation that you just described.
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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.
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In the example you have cited, the mailer has put "current resident" on the catalog because they would like the item delivered whether or not the named recipient still lives there. As far as I know, we are required to deliver all of those catalogs. I would never risk my job by discarding a catalog that a resident doesn't want to receive. I hope this satisfactorily answers your question.
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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.
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Congratulations on getting hired as a CCA! I don't know how many hours you will get in your particular office as each office is unique. Usually, a CCA fills in for a regular carrier when they are out sick or on vacation to deliver their route. They are also given "pieces" or "splits" on routes when a regular carrier may not finish their route within 8 hours and they don't want to work overtime or when management doesn't authorize overtime for the regular city letter carrier. CCAs may also work on Sundays to deliver Amazon.com parcels. They don't do this in every office so I don't know if yours is included in that service. In the office I work at, the CCAs all get plenty of hours due to a bit of short staffing. I am not sure of the minimum hrs/shift or minimum hours/week that a CCA is guaranteed. If you go to www.nalc.org, or more specifically http://www.nalc.org/workplace-issues/city-delivery/cca-contractual-issues, they have details about being a CCA. It may be a bit technical, but it's a good reference. Good luck, be on time for work, and work safely. Try not to get involved with any office drama.
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I think what you are saying is that all of your new bills for your new address are not being delivered to you. For this reason you have incurred late fees. If I read it correctly, you have paid all of your old bills. The letter carrier at your new address should be delivering the new bills to your current address and not be returning them to the sender. You may want to leave a note in your mailbox with your name advising the letter carrier that your name is valid at your new address. You really shouldn't have to do this because when I see a new name to deliver that I'm not familiar with, I deliver the mail anyway and if it's not correct the current resident would usually leave the mail out for me to take back to the PO with a note saying "person doesn't live here"
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