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ENGLISH
PORTUGUESE LINGUISTICS & CULTURE |
Autor: | Dale-USA |
E-mail: | dale_thomas2004@yahoo.com.br |
Data: | 06/AGO/2010 1:11 AM |
Assunto: | Paperboy? Yes! |
Mensagem: |
Maybe PPAULO is searching for the word "carrier", like a "mail carrier",
is there such a job in American companies? The context of the cartoon strip indicates "newspaper". Note that it is a boy talking to his grandmother about his job. A mail carrier is an employee of the US Postal Service. In private companies and some government agencies too, there are sometimes "couriers" or "messengers" who take files, dictation, blueprints, parts, office mail, etc. from point to point. Some couriers are international. I know
that Fedex and UPS people go to the companies which hire them on a daily
basis, like the Coca-Cola vendor in Brazil that visits Coca-Cola
customers every day. I don't know the name for that. "The Fedex man"? "The UPS guy"? I understand what you are talking about, but I don't know the term. Did Fedex and UPS
consolidated the mail carrier job? There was talk of that, but I doubt it ever happened. If it were to take place, thousands of people would be out of work and lose their government pensions. Most men in the USPS seem to be veterans (they receive additional points on the exam for having served in the military). I'm sure veteran groups would be up in arms about such a takeover by private industry. (Remember that I have not lived in the States for over five years.) In the US we joke a lot about postal employees, but the truth is they have very stressful jobs and the working conditions can be quite bad. A friend of mine lost his job at Sears where he was a high ranking executive. He thought it would be simple to find another job. Well, it wasn't. He was hired by the USPS and lasted one day. He complained he was treated worse than a beast of burden. And this was a man in his 30s who had a wife and family to support. To say "no" to a job must have been very difficult for him. And another thing: he had paid money he didn't have to take a course so he could pass the exam with a grade of 100%. The competition for USPS jobs is terrible. |