Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

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.

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

Hi! I need your recommendation for a good pair of walking shoes. I just started working @ my local MACY'S Dept. Store and the concrete floors are killing my feet! I need black, slip-on or lace up, shoes that will be comfortable.

Asked by Colin almost 12 years ago

New Balance 706 Men's Postal Walking Shoe MK706B is the only shoe I've been wearing for the last few years as a postal letter carrier. My feet don't ache at all, but I must stress that everyone is different. Also, my most recent pair wore out very quickly, but I am wondering if that is because it was in storage for years before I actually used it. I'm not sure and they are about $100/pair. I'm sorry that I can't give you any other recommendations than that. The ones I mentioned are black, leather, lace-up and have a slip resistant grip with the SR/USA safety certification. There must be many choices available at a work clothes store like Work 'N Gear or Work 'N Play, or Cabela's. The trouble with ordering from a catalog is if you choose the wrong size or the shoes just don't feel right you have to return them via mail which could be a pain or have a fee involved for return postage. Again, I really like the shoes I mentioned above, but I have a new found concern about their longevity. Colin, thanks for writing.

if i see a letter addressed to me balancing in the outgoing mail slot can I legally remove this letter from the outgoing mail slot as delivered to me?

Asked by anna over 12 years ago

I don't know the actual rule on this, but if you can clearly see that the letter is for you, I don't see why you couldn't take it. Again, this is just my two cents as I can't quote you an regulations on this. 

The USPS advertises starting as a carrier at $21 per hr. But, everything that I've seen suggests that you have to start as a CCA (roughly $15). Is it possible to start out higher. And if so, how?

Asked by Jeremy over 12 years ago

he starting salary for a Transitional Employee was $21/hr, but due to a recent arbitration decision in 2013, new hires are considered CCAs (city carrier assistants) who will usually start at $15/hr, a little bit more if they were previously a TE. Carriers who were TEs and then got changed to CCAs did take a significant pay cut as part of this arbitration decision.

Is the post office manager allowed to cut open a package (a book) I was sending out (wrapped in cardboard), simply to make sure I was not using one of USPSs priority mail envelopes to ship something (non-priority)?

Asked by buffy over 12 years ago

If the item was mailed via media mail, then it is valid for a postal employee to open a package to make sure that the item being mailed qualifies for the media mail rate. As far as just checking to see if a Priority Mail packaging was used to mail an item via non-Priority, I don't know the rule on that but I'm not too familiar with that being done. I thought that most, if not all, priority mail packaging now is printed on both the inside and outside making it very difficult to use for Non-priority mailing.

Hi,
Which part of Long Island do you work? Just curious because I live on LI. Also, do letter carriers spend their whole workday delivering mail, or do you also work inside the post office?
Thank you!

Asked by Name about 12 years ago

Thanks for your question. I work at the Syosset, NY 11791 PO. City Carriers usually spend 1.5 to 3 Hrs each day in the office sorting the incoming mail into delivery order and then spending apprx. 5-6 Hrs each day "in the street" delivering the mail. A lot of mail these days comes pre-sorted into delivery sequence which has reduced the amount of hours that carriers spend in the post office compared to many years ago. The volume of mail over the years also hasn't remained as high so there is less mail to sort in the post office and deliver. For myself and most of my co-workers there is certainly still 8 hrs/day or more of work.

So my significant other is in the military and she sent two letters on the same day, one to her mother who lives one street over was received, mine however i have yet to get and its been 4 days since her mother got hers? Is this common?

Asked by shawn about 12 years ago

Shawn, I'd say that this isn't common. Even if "one street over" meant a different town it still shouldn't differ by more of a day in my opinion. It's likely that the letter was missorted somewhere along the way or missdelivered, both which aren't rare. Hopefully the letter will arrive soon. Thank you to your S/O for her service to the country.

Can a mailman leave mail if there is no mailbox?

Asked by Wayne over 12 years ago

If the letter carrier feels it is secure enough to leave mail in a place without a mailbox, I think they can though it's probably not a great idea. I don't know the official rule on the proposed situation.