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.
Regarding Monday and Tuesday, it is normal to feel overwhelmed, especially Monday where I work. My suggestion is to just work carefully and don't goof off or take extra breaks. You can't be disciplined for doing your job correctly even if it takes too long. As for foot pain, I wear cushioned socks which can be purchased with the uniform allowance and comfortable shoes. No magic formula.
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I'll answer your second question first Nat. The carriers I work with (as well as I myself) use GPS on their smartphones to find streets and neighborhoods they may not be familiar with. I've been working in the same area for many years but sometimes get sent to streets I haven't been to in awhile. I break out the maps App on the iPhone to get me there. Management used to give out route maps to assist carriers but I don't know if they still do since GPS is easily available to most. Please be careful using it when driving. I try to picture the directions ahead of time so I'm not fumbling with the phone while driving. With regards to how long it takes to make career employee from CCA, it really depends on the attrition/retirement rate in your office/area. CCAs are usually made into career employees when a somebody retires or leaves the office or area where you work which would create a vacant position. It could range from a few months to several years to be converted from a CCA to career employee. In my opinion it is generally worth the wait. Your wages don't go up significantly when you become a career employee but you are entitled to health and retirement benefits and paid annual leave. If you access the NALC website and search for pay chart you can see what the wage progression is. You have to make sure you look at the section for CCA or Career letter carriers hired after 2013 I think as the pay scale is different than those hired before then. Good luck and work safely. The NALC is the labor union that represents city letter carriers employed by the USPS. I recommend joining that organization.
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Dustin, Fortunately my body doesn't hurt due to the strain on the body and the repetitive motions on the job. There are quite a few co-workers who have hip, back, and foot pain. A couple of carriers have had joint replacement and returned to full duty, maybe a bit slower, but back at work. I don't think there is coverage for long-term illnesses if it is not specific. If the injury got to be so bad that you couldn't perform the job for more than 1-year you could apply for a disability retirement. Work, doesn't cover any short term disability. That is one reason you get 13 days of sick leaver per year.
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The rate does seem a bit slow for a residential walking route. I don't know what the rate should be, except I could probably deliver at a rate of 1 house per minute or less. But you being a newer carrier you understandably would go slower than that.
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I don't know for sure what would happen with your package. It could be returned to you for better packaging, delivered in the condition it was found, or re-wrapped by the USPS and delivered. I suppose they could throw it away if they can't figure out who it is intended for or who it came from.
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I don't have any good advice as to what to do re: the check. On occasion mail isn't delivered as quickly as it should be. Sometimes it could be diverted by accident to a different PO and then take time to get to the correct PO. ultimately, after waiting a few more days, you may contact the sender and see if they can issue a replacement check.
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Depending on how long you were out of town, the mail was probably being held at the PO you to pick up. If you were out for a certain amt of time and never contacted the PO, it's possible they returned the mail to sender. If a mailbox is full, the overflow is usually held at the PO until the cust. Mailbox is emptied. I am just giving you scenarios on what I think should happen. As much as there are sets of rules to be followed in this situation, nobody seems to know exactly what is correct and different carriers will handle it differently.
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