Dear Editor,
I’m a rural mail carrier in Newbury Park, CA. In my office we
are facing the same problem about
”
authorized
”
dismounts.
The solution I’ve bargained with the station manager is this: On
non-trash days, if the box is blocked
– meaning I can’t properly service the box without leaning on a
vehicle – we leave what is known as a Notice 38, a postal form. We
band up the mail and redeliver the next day.
Dear Editor,
I’m a rural mail carrier in Newbury Park, CA. In my office we are facing the same problem about “authorized” dismounts.
The solution I’ve bargained with the station manager is this: On non-trash days, if the box is blocked – meaning I can’t properly service the box without leaning on a vehicle – we leave what is known as a Notice 38, a postal form. We band up the mail and redeliver the next day.
Your mail carrier can be held financially responsible for any damage to that vehicle, such as a scratch or dent. The postal service doesn’t have our back in this matter.
On trash days, all boxes blocked by cans are dismounted, not pushing the cans out of our way with our vehicles, others blocked by vehicles or basketball hoops and things like that are handled with a Notice 38.
District headquarters goes over my time sheet and questions me every time I am over my estimated route time of eight and a half hours a day (with a 30-minute lunch, which after five years of service I’ve yet to take but still have to clock out for).
If you would like to ride along on a typical day of delivery, maybe you would see for yourself that although we may have to redeliver mail the next day on occasion, there are several things most carriers do for “their customers” that haven’t been mentioned by everyone that’s crying on your shoulder.
Jim Watkins
