A postal worker is one who works for a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, such as a

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...

carrier. In the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, postal workers are represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers,

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

, National Postal Mail Handlers Union – NPMHU, the National Association of Rural Letter Carriers and the

American Postal Workers Union The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) is a labor union in the United States. It represents over 200,000 employees and retirees of the United States Postal Service who belong to the Clerk, Maintenance, Motor Vehicle, and Support Services divis ...

, part of the AFL–CIO. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, they are represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by the Communication Workers Union. The US Postal Service employs around 584,000 people.Postal Employees Stats at a Glance
The bulk of these work as: *Service clerks – Sell stamps and postage, help people pick up packages and assist with other services such as passports. * Mail sorters – Physically sort the mail to go to the correct place. As automation has become more common, some of these people now operate the sorting machines. *Mail carriers – Deliver the mail. In densely populated areas this is done on foot. In

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

s the carriers often use a mail truck and drive and walk different parts of their routes. In rural areas, carriers drive to most of their stops. *Vehicle Operator – Drive the truck/vehicle carrying mails/pallets and dispatch from one place to another. The phrase was not very often used until a spate of workplace violence incidents by postal workers in the late 1980s made headlines. The incidents also led to the coining of the phrase "

going postal ''Going Postal'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 33rd book in his '' Discworld'' series, released in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2004. Unlike most of Pratchett's Discworld novels, ''Going Postal'' is divided in ...

Notable postal workers

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

, writer and poet *

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

, American

country folk Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid 20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from tradit ...

singer-songwriter

Postal workers in fiction

The Postman ''The Postman'' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia science fiction novel by David Brin. It is about a man wandering the desolate Oregon countryside who finds a United States Postal Service uniform, which he puts on and then claims he is a mail carri ...

Postman Pat ''Postman Pat'' is a British stop-motion animated television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendal ...

* Mr. McFeely * Cliff Clavin * Jacob Singer * Newman ('' Seinfeld'' character) *'' The Postman Always Rings Twice''

References

External links

Alabama- NPMHU State Local 317American Postal Workers Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postal Worker Government occupations United States Postal Service

Notable postal workers

Postal workers in fiction

See also

References

External links