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.
I don't know the policy for whether or not to leave a package inside the door or not. I will leave a parcel inside a mailbox if it fits. If it doesn't fit, then I will bring the package to the front door of the house or put it inside a vestibule. I will leave the item if nobody is home and a signature isn't required because I deliver mail in a very safe,suburban NY community. The suggestion that I have in your situation is to call your PO and speak with the delivery supervisor or postmaster to see if an exception can be made for your situation. I dont know what the result will be or what the official policy is.
I agree Lili that 0600-2200 is a terribly long day. A normal shift for a regular postal worker is 8 hrs plus :30 lunch. There is often OT available but for most "regular" employees it shouldn't be mandatory. n my office it seems that some of the CCAs (city carrier assistant) have worked as long as 12 hours, but in don't think that is too common. This holiday season seems to have been very heavy with the parcel deliveries which would extend our delivery day. It's possible your mother's office is shorthanded which is why she is working so many hours. During the 4 wks around Christmas, the work/pay rules are suspended which require double time to be paid after 10 hrs of work (8 hours if you are working on your scheduled day off). For this reason, the mgmt isn't as pressured to limit the hours worked, and the truth is that the mail needs to get delivered somehow.
You can give a mailman any package that has the postage paid on it either via a computer printed label (such as Click 'N Ship) or a label where the recipient will pay the return postage. In the latter case, the label will clearly say "No Postage Necessary If Mailed Within The United States". Every letter carrier should accept the package no questions asked. The exception to this would be a city letter carrier who may not have a USPS vehicle which they are operating from and are unable to bring the package back to the Post Office. In that case I believe you can go to www.usps.com to schedule a package pickup. Thanks for writing.
There is probably danger to any job. I don't feel any danger on my job for personal safety if you are referring to criminal activity. I work in a very safe area in suburban Nassau County, NY. The answer may be different if you delivered mail in an area with a higher crime rate. As far as danger when it comes to being injured, I am a very cautious driver and wouldn't want to have any type of motor vehicle accident. You have to be careful crossing streets and lawns, as well as icy surfaces in the winter. Also, dogs are a concern but if you must skip delivery to a house that has a dog loose you just do it and tell a supevisor when you return to the Post Office. Fortunately, I've not been injured or in a motor vehicle accident during my career. I hope it stays that way.
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Scott, you ask a very good question and I do understand your hesitation for wanting to address this issue with her for fear of retaliation. I would take the step of writing a note for the carrier and politely asking them to close the lid after delivering the mail. I realize I agreed with you that there was a slight risk in addressing the issue, but if dealt with politely I'd hope there would be no cause for retaliation. Also, a call to the delivery supervisor would be appropriate if you dI'd see any obvious retaliation.
I am not sure what will happen re :your license being suspended and being offered a CCA Position. How long do you think it will be before you get your license back? I don't believe it is legal to have you driving a USPS vehicle with a suspended driver license.
I looked on Google Maps how far apart those 2 areas were and it said about 17 miles. In most cases, that piece of mail would be delivered the next day as long as it was put in a mailbox before the daily collection.
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