How many postal workers?

[mailman2004]

It seams that we have a lot of postal workers on here, thought I would start a thread to see just how many we have.
I'm a rural carrier, in northern Michigan, was a RCA for 7 years, have been a regular carrier for 3 years, also the local steward

 

[inkjunkie]

Retired....disability......both Ernestina & I......

 

[/6 Matt]

Well I'm a worker and I've postal a few times, does that count?

 

[magnumdust]

Not to hijack, but does it pay well?? I've seen a few openings near me and i've thought about trying to jump ship to a new career.

 

[dodgedifferent2]

 

[inkjunkie]

Not to hijack, but does it pay well?? I've seen a few openings near me and i've thought about trying to jump ship to a new career.

Pay & benefits are pretty good but.....there is almost always a but aint there?

It is not what it once was. When I started in NJ it was very laid back. Could be that every last one of us was a worker. When I transferred to Phoenix it was entirely different. Micro manged at its finest. Thanks to the number of human speed bumps it was an entirely different atmosphere.
When you first start there is no such thing as a holiday. Also no such thing as a 9-5 weekend off job. Don't get injured, either on the job or off. Used to be if you got hurt on the job you were given a limited duty job so that you would get paid. Thanks to every thing falling apart now you will be told to stay home until you can fulfill the obligations of your job. A bit of reading about the Reassessment Program , might want to search for more current info on it but you get the idea. When this happens, as long as you have an accepted claim thru Injury Comp you are supposed to get paid. The above mentioned program is what will happen if you end up out on Workman's Comp...Anyhow if you do find yourself out because of an on the job injury best of luck getting paid by OWCP, the federal workman's comp. You get hurt off the job, just stay home until you are healed.
My perception has always been that the USPS does not there best to not want you there. Look at the hiring process, takes most folks several years to get in. Depending on what craft you are in and where you are at you will be a Part Time Flexible employee, which means no guarantee of getting 40 hours, or a set schedule. When I was a PTF in NJ I was lucky to work the day shift, days off were Sunday/Friday. Worked every Friday, most Sundays. Several days I was off the clock, going to my car only to be told I had 4 more hours to go. Would get a call at 2 a.m., I was needed at 4. Other folks were lucky to get 20 hours a week.
If you are serious about wanting to work there I would suggest trying to get into maintenance. IN particular as an ET, an electronic technician. They are full time employees at hire...and pretty much always in demand. And for the most part they are left alone by management. Sure, your will get the occasional douche like Terry Cook was. But for the most part they have to deal with very little crap, compared to a mail handler (what I was) or a clerk.
Or get into the Inspection Service. But for that you will have to be flexible in where you reside. I have a buddy that did an internship with them, and has a job waiting for him pending him getting a degree....
The USPS also has it's own versions of Federal Laws. Don't bother trying to fight it, as the Justice Department is the USPS's legal side. File an EEO complaint and you will be told that if they treat everyone similar it is not discriminatory, even if it is in direct violation of a law...
Then there is the Family Medical Leave act scam...sorry for rambling...

 

[mailman2004]

It pays well, not as well as it once did there has been a somewhat of a restructuring. Existing employees kept their wages the same but new hires are in lower pay scales, for example a new hire will make at the top of his/her pay scale what I will make half way in to my pay scale. Being a carrier is a nice job because you are out of the office for most of the day, however it takes years in most cases to become full time, and as stated above, as a part timer you pretty much kiss your life good bye, and if you have a second job the post office has to come first if you get called in to work you have to go

 

[ducter]

I use to hear that once you got on you were pretty much set, don't hear that much anymore. It's odd though, our mail carrier is anyone of about 8 different people. Often I see the carrier come up my street then about 30 minutes later another one comes, haven't really been able to figure that out yet.

 

[mailman2004]

Depends on what your route is, if it is a aux route it could be carried by whoever is available, it could be that another carrier needs to pass through your area to get to their route

 

[A38Valiant]

Out here in the sticks, there are no Rural Carriers. Instead we are HCRs, or Highway Contract Routes. What this means is that I am an independent contractor, working under contract for the USPS to deliver mail. This way, they can get out of paying benefits and such. No vacation, no sick leave, no retirement, etc. I make a little over 2 bucks a mile, and my route is over 23,000 miles a year. Not bad money, but the whole six day a week groundhog day is getting old. I can't quit, because the way the contract is written, the Postal service holds me financially liable for any difference in cost for them to replace me if I do quit. There are only 2 ways out of the contract, either become disabled or become dead. Use your own vehicle, but it must meet their criteria, which for my route is 4WD, 90 cubic ft of cargo space, and model year 04 or newer. Therefore, my primary is a 2005 Durango. Spare vehicle can be whatever, as in my 83 Jeep 2wd. Fuel reimbursement rate is adjusted immediately if gas prices drop, and when they get around to it if fuel goes up. There have been times when I was losing over a dollar a gallon. Apparently, either I'm one dumb sumbitch, or a glutton for punishment, as I have done two 4 year hitches and am currently 2 years into a six year. But at the end of this one, they can kiss my *** goodbye.

 

[72dart]

I started as a letter carrier in 1983 and loved the job for the first 20 years but things started changing and it turned into a hell hole. About 6 months before my scheduled retirement they added 50% to my route and told me it was 8 hr route and started pressuring me to go faster. There were times I would be delivering mail in the dark until 9:00 PM or later during Christmas. I got so stressed that it caused my blood pressure to skyrocket. My Doctor told me to retire sooner because the stress would kill me. It was all designed to make me leave early. They want the older people to retire so they can hire low wage and few benefit workers to lower costs. I had three months to go and was on sick leave because of back pain. My doctor kept me out the last 3 months and by the time retirement date came I was fully healed and stress was gone. I retired in June of 2012 and life has been good and I feel I have been let out of prison. The postal service is not a good place to work anymore and runs like a sweat shop. I have friends still there that are trying to hang on until they can retire and just had one friend retire before eligible and will have to wait a year to draw his pension They do not care about workers and in my opinion it is corrupt in how they treat people. I still have nightmares delivering mail in the dark. Sorry to be so negative but after the way they treated me I have a lot of resentment and use UPS or Fedex when possible over my former employer.

 

[mailman2004]

I feel you pain, I was out until almost 6 tonight, most of the year I'm fine by 2:30-3:00, today I had 3 house to house, and almost could not fit all the parcels in my car

 

[mailman2004]

Use your own vehicle, but it must meet their criteria, which for my route is 4WD, 90 cubic ft of cargo space, and model year 04 or newer. Therefore, my primary is a 2005 Durango. Spare vehicle can be whatever, as in my 83 Jeep 2wd.

How does the Durango work for you? I used a 2000 Durango for a while and it used A LOT OF GAS do you have sux peddles? Or can you manage to stretch over?

 

[A38Valiant]

How does the Durango work for you? I used a 2000 Durango for a while and it used A LOT OF GAS do you have sux peddles? Or can you manage to stretch over?

Actually, I had a 2000 with the 4.7 for my first 4 year stint, and the current 05 HEMI gets the same mileage (HORRIBLE, LOL) as the old 4.7. The HEMI has a chip, 3 inch exhaust with a Cherry Bomb Pro Series muffler, and a few tiny tweeks. Estimated 370 to 380 horse. Pedals in this one are stock adjustable. On the 2000 I had put 2 inch blocks on the pedals so I could reach. My route has a few sections where it is a couple miles of straight stretch with no stops, and I have had both Durangos over 100 MPH driving from the passenger seat. Yep, I'm a crazy Fokker. The Jeep is a mixed bag. About $25 a day cheaper on gas, right hand drive, and super maneuverable. But, manual drums, 2wd, weak-suck 4 cylinder, no A/C, and a heater that won't keep your toes from going numb if it's below freezing outside.

In the Durango, I spend $240 a week in fuel.

 

[Bad Sport]

I'm backed into a dock at the Lansing facility right now. Does that count?

I just haul mail as a Christmas extra for three weeks prior to Christmas. It doesn't pay too bad at around 25 bucks an hour, although it is a pretty good cut in pay to what I normally do. On the upside I'm home every day leading up to the holidays.

 

[inkjunkie]

They do not care about workers and in my opinion it is corrupt in how they treat people.

Sad but true. If you do get hurt on the job pretty much a guarantee that you will be treated like a criminal. A friend took one of the early outs, just to get away from the place. He ended up having to get a job to make ends meet. He is making less than half of what he was but is no longer miserable. The plant I was at was the same place where Louis Holley worked. Louis was the fellow that stole several million dollars and just walked out. Shortly after he did this we had the Maricopa County Sheriffs in the building. I was talking to one of them that was assigned to go out with me and collect the mail. He said in the 35+ years of being a working stiff he had never observed employees getting treated as poorly as Postal Employees.

 

[VDART]

I'm not postal but work for an eerily similar place-- the horror stories are true --most people do not believe the crap that goes on-- I need to hold out 5 more years to make my pension-- going to be rough.

 

[Leadfoot]

I started as a letter carrier in 1983 and loved the job for the first 20 years but things started changing and it turned into a hell hole. About 6 months before my scheduled retirement they added 50% to my route and told me it was 8 hr route and started pressuring me to go faster. There were times I would be delivering mail in the dark until 9:00 PM or later during Christmas. I got so stressed that it caused my blood pressure to skyrocket. My Doctor told me to retire sooner because the stress would kill me. It was all designed to make me leave early. They want the older people to retire so they can hire low wage and few benefit workers to lower costs. I had three months to go and was on sick leave because of back pain. My doctor kept me out the last 3 months and by the time retirement date came I was fully healed and stress was gone. I retired in June of 2012 and life has been good and I feel I have been let out of prison. The postal service is not a good place to work anymore and runs like a sweat shop. I have friends still there that are trying to hang on until they can retire and just had one friend retire before eligible and will have to wait a year to draw his pension They do not care about workers and in my opinion it is corrupt in how they treat people. I still have nightmares delivering mail in the dark. Sorry to be so negative but after the way they treated me I have a lot of resentment and use UPS or Fedex when possible over my former employer.

That's almost identical to Dad's story. It's almost as if they tried to kill him off before he retired.

 

[gunbunny]

I'm a retired city carrier (uniformed carrier to the non postal types)
It was a good job at for the first few years, then it went to pot.
It wasn't hell, but you sure could see it from there.
Mgnt is the most sorry bunch of A-holes I have ever dealt with.
Being out until 9:00 isn't uncommon this time of year. Getting an extra 3 hours of mail hung on your route and then being denied O/T for it, only to get wrote up when you go into O/T over the extra 3 hours.
It's not a job I would recommend to anyone I like.

 

[daliant]

Former PS-05 maintanance mechanic at the Brooklyn processing & Distribution Center here, couldn't stand the place or the mentality of the management so I didn't stay all that long. All the dust and lint in the air from processing letters would make my nose and throat itch, the noise from the conveyor system just wears on you after a while. Working nights and weekends kinda sucks anywhere you go but it seemed to suck more at the post office, you would have to wait for someone to either retire or die for a day shift position to open up, and speaking of the day shift, about 75% of the day shift employees had this beat down worn out look on their face (the about to go postal look) when they showed up for work in the morning, very few of them looked happy to be there. I didn't find the pay to be very competitive either for the amount of B.S. you have to go through to get in. Another thing I couldn't stand is the hurry up and wait mentality of management. The only good thing is once your in your in for as long as you can tolerate the job.

 

[72dart]

That's almost identical to Dad's story. It's almost as if they tried to kill him off before he retired.

The sad truth is that postal service management is indirectly responsible for many deaths. Generally when you hear of a postal shooting it was caused by employee abuse by management. You would not believe some of the tactics they use to manage by intimidation and threat of discipline. The culture of abusive management techniques used is rampant within the Postal Service and would be a great investigative documentary for tv.

 

[gunbunny]

The sad truth is that postal service management is indirectly responsible for many deaths. Generally when you hear of a postal shooting it was caused by employee abuse by management. You would not believe some of the tactics they use to manage by intimidation and threat of discipline. The culture of abusive management techniques used is rampant within the Postal Service and would be a great investigative documentary for tv.

The reality of it is, there is no need for it. Most carriers are proud of their routes and become attached to their customers. I had a 90+ yr old lady on my route. every tuesday I pulled her garbage can in from the curb to her porch. I was being watched (yes, happened all the time) by an out of town post master who promptly wrote me up.
I grieved it of course, and won,but that's the type of petty harassment you have to put up with on a daily basis.
Doug can tell you about the cat walks, 2 way mirrors, and test pieces of mail. There are some bad apples out there, but 10-1 the biggest thieves in the postal service are management, especially with postal money orders.

 

[inkjunkie]

Postal Management....now there is an oxymoron if there ever was one. This may be a bit of a stretch but....My wife worked at the West Valley facility. They process only parcels. They did not have enough Postal Pack Dumpers so management had them pulling them over. They are about 6' tall if I remember correct. As she was pulling on one to tip it over it ripped, putting her on her ***. Was diagnosed with a sprained tail bone initially. Ended up with a bruised sciatic nerve. Push comes to shove she was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. From everything her docs have told us firbro is often caused by a traumatic injury.....so......
Same week Ernie fell 4 others fell as well. This *** clown Junior was in charge of the place. Fast forward a few years and said *** clown had an EEO complaint filed against him. By the time all was said and done he/the USPS lost. Paid the guy the 300k, paid for both is move to CA and then back to AZ....all the court costs, legal fees for the fellow that filed it. 4 years worth of salary, complete with the average amount of OT that the OT desired list got etc. All said & done it was close to 2 million dollars.....Juniors punishment....a 9 month detail job in Hawaii...with a $450 a day per dium......along with the same amount for his wife, who was not a Postal employee....
I despise the place. Even if they have the lowest price for shipping things if given a choice I will use another carrier.

 

[mailman2004]

I'm backed into a dock at the Lansing facility right now. Does that count?

I just haul mail as a Christmas extra for three weeks prior to Christmas. It doesn't pay too bad at around 25 bucks an hour, although it is a pretty good cut in pay to what I normally do. On the upside I'm home every day leading up to the holidays.

My dad drove for causley for a few years

 

[Frankie]

Actually, I had a 2000 with the 4.7 for my first 4 year stint, and the current 05 HEMI gets the same mileage (HORRIBLE, LOL) as the old 4.7. The HEMI has a chip, 3 inch exhaust with a Cherry Bomb Pro Series muffler, and a few tiny tweeks. Estimated 370 to 380 horse. Pedals in this one are stock adjustable. On the 2000 I had put 2 inch blocks on the pedals so I could reach. My route has a few sections where it is a couple miles of straight stretch with no stops, and I have had both Durangos over 100 MPH driving from the passenger seat. Yep, I'm a crazy Fokker. The Jeep is a mixed bag. About $25 a day cheaper on gas, right hand drive, and super maneuverable. But, manual drums, 2wd, weak-suck 4 cylinder, no A/C, and a heater that won't keep your toes from going numb if it's below freezing outside.

In the Durango, I spend $240 a week in fuel.

We have a friend who is a rural contractor delivering mail in SC. He purchased a new 98 Saturn wagon that was set up with RH drive, supposedly a "Postal Option". The last time I spoke to him, he still had it, and it had a little over 450,000 miles on it, with no major failures, yet. That was about a year ago, or so. I need to give him a all to say Merry Christmas, and ask about that car.