A postal worker is one who works for a post office, such as a mail carrier. In the U.S., postal workers are represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union - NPMHU and the American Postal Workers Union, part of the AFL-CIO. In Canada, they are represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and in the United Kingdom by the Communication Workers Union.

The US Postal Service employs around 875,000 people. The bulk of these work as:

• Service Clerks - Sell stamps and postage, help people pickup 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 maintain and operate the sorting machines.
• Mail Carriers - Deliver the mail. In densely populated areas this is done on foot. In urban areas the carriers often use a mail truck and in rural areas carriers drive their own vehicles.

Most postal workers in the US make between $36,000 and $43,000 per year. The number of postal workers is expected to decline very slightly in the future as automation and electronic communication become more prevalent.

The phrase wasn't 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.

Postal workers in fiction

• The Postman
• Postman Pat
• Mr. McFeely
• Newman (the Seinfeld character)

U.S. Postal Unions

• Alabama- NPMHU State Local 317
• California

American Postal Workers Union

• Alabama
• California

References