POSTAL CLERKS & MAIL CARRIERS
Nature of the Work
Each week, the U.S. Postal Service delivers billions of pieces of mail,
including letters, bills, advertisements, and packages. To do this in an
efficient and timely manner, the Postal Service employs about 773,000
individuals. Most Postal Service workers are clerks, mail carriers, or mail
sorters, processors, and processing machine operators. Postal clerks wait on
customers at post offices, whereas mail sorters, processors, and processing
machine operators sort incoming and outgoing mail at post offices and mail
processing centers. Mail carriers deliver mail to urban and rural residences and
businesses throughout the United States.
Postal service clerks also known as window clerks, sell stamps, money
orders, postal stationary, and mailing envelopes and boxes. They also weigh
packages to determine postage and check that packages are in satisfactory
condition for mailing. These clerks register, certify, and insure mail and
answer questions about postage rates, post office boxes, mailing
restrictions, and other postal matters. Window clerks also help customers
file claims for damaged packages.
Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine
operators prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution. These workers
are commonly referred to as mail handlers, distribution clerks, mail
processors, or mail processing clerks. They load and unload postal trucks
and move mail around a mail processing center with forklifts, small electric
tractors, or hand-pushed carts. They also load and operate mail processing,
sorting, and canceling machinery.
Postal service mail carriers deliver mail, once it has been processed and
sorted. Although carriers are classified by their type of route—either city
or rural—duties of city and rural carriers are similar. Most travel
established routes, delivering and collecting mail. Mail carriers start work
at the post office early in the morning, when they arrange the mail in
delivery sequence. Automated equipment has reduced the time that carriers
need to sort the mail, allowing them to spend more time delivering it.
Mail carriers cover their routes on foot, by vehicle, or a
combination of both. On foot, they carry a heavy load of mail in a satchel
or push it on a cart. In most urban and rural areas, they use a car or small
truck. Although the Postal Service provides vehicles to city carriers, most
rural carriers must use their own automobiles. Deliveries are made
house-to-house, to roadside mailboxes, and to large buildings such as
offices or apartments, which generally have all of their tenants’ mailboxes
in one location.
Besides delivering and collecting mail, carriers collect money for
postage-due and COD (cash-on-delivery) fees and obtain signed receipts for
registered, certified, and insured mail. If a customer is not home, the
carrier leaves a notice that tells where special mail is being held. After
completing their routes, carriers return to the post office with mail
gathered from street collection boxes, homes, and businesses and turn in the
mail, receipts, and money collected during the day.
Some city carriers may have specialized duties such as delivering only
parcels or picking up mail from mail collection boxes. In contrast to city
carriers, rural carriers provide a wider range of postal services, in
addition to delivering and picking up mail. For example, rural carriers may
sell stamps and money orders and register, certify, and insure parcels and
letters. All carriers, however, must be able to answer customers’ questions
about postal regulations and services and provide change-of-address cards
and other postal forms when requested.
Working Conditions
Window clerks usually work in the public portion of clean, well-ventilated,
and well-lit buildings. They have a variety of duties and frequent contact with
the public, but they rarely work at night. However, they may have to deal with
upset customers, stand for long periods, and be held accountable for an assigned
stock of stamps and funds. Depending on the size of the post office in which
they work, they also may be required to sort mail.
Despite the use of automated equipment, the work of mail sorters, processors,
and processing machine operators can be physically demanding. Workers may have
to move heavy sacks of mail around a mail processing center. These workers
usually are on their feet, reaching for sacks and trays of mail or placing
packages and bundles into sacks and trays. Processing mail can be tiring and
boring. Many sorters, processors, and machine operators work at night or on
weekends, because most large post offices process mail around the clock, and the
largest volume of mail is sorted during the evening and night shifts. Workers
can experience stress as they process ever-larger quantities of mail under tight
production deadlines and quotas.
Most carriers begin work early in the morning—those with routes in a business
district can start as early as 4:00 a.m. Overtime hours are frequently required
for urban carriers. A carrier’s schedule has its advantages, however. Carriers
who begin work early in the morning are through by early afternoon and spend
most of the day on their own, relatively free from direct supervision. Carriers
spend most of their time outdoors, delivering mail in all kinds of weather. Even
those who drive often must walk periodically when making deliveries and must
lift heavy sacks of parcel post items when loading their vehicles. In addition,
carriers must be cautious of potential hazards on their routes. Wet and icy
roads and sidewalks can be treacherous, and each year dogs attack numerous
carriers.
Employment
The U.S. Postal Service employees approximately 77,000 clerks, 334,000 mail
carriers, and 253,000 mail sorters, processors, and processing machine
operators. Most of them worked full time. Most postal clerks provided window
service at post office branches. Many mail sorters, processors, and processing
machine operators sorted mail at major metropolitan post offices; others worked
at mail processing centers. The majority of mail carriers worked in cities and
suburbs, while the rest worked in rural areas.
Postal Service workers are classified as either casual, part-time flexible,
part-time regular, or full time. Casuals are hired for 90 days at a time to help
process and deliver mail during peak mailing or vacation periods. Part-time
flexible workers do not have a regular work schedule or weekly guarantee of
hours but are called as the need arises. Part-time regulars have a set work
schedule of fewer than 40 hours per week, often replacing regular full-time
workers on their scheduled day off. Full-time postal employees work a 40-hour
week over a five-day period.
ORDER "Post Office Jobs"
Occupations List (Partial Listing)
"Post Office Jobs" by Dennis V. Damp provides complete
occupational listings with salary information for the entire Postal Service.
|
CRAFT & WAGE PER HOUR POSITIONS |
PROFESSIONAL
|
Administrative Clerk
Auto Mechanic
Blacksmith-Welder
Building Equipment Mechanic carpenter
Carrier
Cleaner, Custodian
Clerk Stenographer
Data Conversion Operator
Distribution Clerk
Electronic Technician
Elevator Mechanic
Engineman
Fireman
Garageman-Driver
General Mechanic
Letter Box Mechanic
Letter Carrier
LSM Operator
Machinist
Mail Handler
Maintenance Mechanic
Mark Up Clerk
Mason
Mechanic Helper
Motor Vehicle Operator
Painter
Plumber
Scale Mechanic
Security Guard
|
Accounting Technician
Architect/Engineer
Budget Assistant
Computer Programmer
Computer System Analyst Electronic Engineer
Transportation Specialist
Industrial Engineer
Technical Writer
Stationery Engineer
MANAGEMENT
Administrative Manager
Foreman of Mail
General Foreman
Labor Relations Representative
Manager Bulk-Mail
Manager-Distribution
Manager-Station/Branch
Postmaster-Branch
Safety Officer
Schemes Routing Officer
Supervisor-Accounting
Supervisor-Customer Service
System Liaison Specialist
Tour Superintendent
|
ORDER POST
OFFICE JOBS ONLINE
