Serious talk about EMA

[ATCBigE]

I find EMA ridiculous anymore.

I can drive office to another office for .725 cents a mile. Gone up over 10 cents since I was RCA 4 years ago. It was 56 cents mile in 2021. Now it is 725 cents a mile. That's 16+ cent increase in 6 years.

YET EMA for POV is .97 cents a mile. Never gotten above a dollar a mile. In 2020 EMA was 70 cents a mile. Now it is 97 cents.

How is that even close to being fair??????

 

[tonsillitis]

and if our vehicle die while on the route. no wait time for us.

 

[oi veh.]

and if our vehicle die while on the route. no wait time for us.

yup.

and every year, the resolution fails to pass. i don't get it.

 

[Rt2mailman]

What is worse, you drive from the box to the house, sometimes adding 10 miles to your daily miles and get no extra ema for it. With Rrecs the Usps knows exactly how many miles you drive per day, why not pay that amount?

 

[stillfirstclass]

What is worse, you drive from the box to the house, sometimes adding 10 miles to your daily miles and get no extra ema for it. With Rrecs the Usps knows exactly how many miles you drive per day, why not pay that amount?

x that by 87000 routes that is why

 

[oi veh.]

x that by 87000 routes that is why

and a lot of them are goobermint vehicles...for which our employer is paying the fuel.

disparate treatment.

 

[Gotrope]

The OP was referencing two different items. One is IRS transportation rate. The other is EMA. They are different rates because they have different uses for the vehicle.
I do agree, EMA needs to be around $1.20 to actually cover cost and repairs these days.

 

[mail1000]

The OP was referencing two different items. One is IRS transportation rate. The other is EMA. They are different rates because they have different uses for the vehicle.
I do agree, EMA needs to be around $1.20 to actually cover cost and repairs these days.

sorry but even 1.20 wouldnt cut it with repair costs

 

[Shannonboy]

sorry but even 1.20 wouldnt cut it with repair costs

I agree completely...

 

[ATCBigE]

Look at this way.

29.5% increase in just regular EMA for driving office to office.

38.6% increase in EMA for routes

If regular mileage has went up that much, EMA should be at least double percent increase of mileage office to office.

Think about it.

Almost 30% increase in EASY MILES ON VEHICLES. Yet only 39% for beating the crap out of car when insurance, gas, parts, & labor rates have went up. Labor rates have SKY ROCKET in last few years

 

[ATCBigE]

Just quick and simple google search comparing prices and labor rates from 2020 to now


Labor rates

2020 80 an hour to 130 hour
2026 120 an hour to 200 an hour

Insurance rate (FULL COVERAGE)

2020 $1500 an year
2026 $2300 to $2700 an year

Car parts cost roughly 26% more in 2026 than they did in 2025

So example if you spend $1000 bucks on parts in 2020, it cost now $1257 in 2026

Tires

2020 $167 bucks
2026 $200 to $215 bucks

Please someone explain to me why the union will not do anything to help us POV.

 

[stillfirstclass]

explain to me why the union

the last time an arbitraitor listened to about ema... union convinced him it was short, but he said in the report the post office was too low on funds to increase the e.ma.

 

[ATCBigE]

the last time an arbitraitor listened to about ema... union convinced him it was short, but he said in the report the post office was too low on funds to increase the e.ma.

I mean we don't have money but yet we can advertise 24/7 and become official shipping partner of NHL!?!?!?!

 

[Worve]

Preaching to the choir here about ema. I have tracked it since I started as a sub. No I don’t do any of my own work on vehicles. My skills and knowledge are in other areas which have been good to me. I average 6k lose a year. This includes buying vehicle, maintenance, repairs, gas, insurance costs.

 

[stillfirstclass]

Preaching to the choir here about ema. I have tracked it since I started as a sub. No I don’t do any of my own work on vehicles. My skills and knowledge are in other areas which have been good to me. I average 6k lose a year. This includes buying vehicle, maintenance, repairs, gas, insurance costs.

peeps i worked with that said they made money on ema: 1) quit when the car their dad gave them died...2) were a mechanic/shade tree or spouse who worked at autozone

 

[Worve]

peeps i worked with that said they made money on ema: 1) quit when the car their dad gave them died...2) were a mechanic/shade tree or spouse who worked at autozone

Most in my office say they make money off it. Not a single one actually tracks expenses . All I do is shake my head smile and nod.

 

[Atimm693]

Are we able to see our yearly EMA totals anywhere? I have never crunched the numbers. I do know that 20-30% of my EMA goes to fuel alone. My taxes and insurance are cheap since I don't drive anything of value.

I was a mechanic before this job, have always done my own work. Usually go through two sets of tires in a year. 3-4 oil changes. Brakes x2. In addition to incidentals.

I certainly have never felt like I "made" anything. Just paying myself to do mechanic work. There's also the added mental load of being responsible for that vehicle, which is worth something.

I do feel like it's a bit of mental game, those bigger paychecks feel good, and we don't think about the expenses as much.

 

[ATCBigE]

Are we able to see our yearly EMA totals anywhere? I have never crunched the numbers. I do know that 20-30% of my EMA goes to fuel alone. My taxes and insurance are cheap since I don't drive anything of value.

I was a mechanic before this job, have always done my own work. Usually go through two sets of tires in a year. 3-4 oil changes. Brakes x2. In addition to incidentals.

I certainly have never felt like I "made" anything. Just paying myself to do mechanic work. There's also the added mental load of being responsible for that vehicle, which is worth something.

I do feel like it's a bit of mental game, those bigger paychecks feel good, and we don't think about the expenses as much.

Lite Blue you can see it on paystub. Just look on last pay stub.

 

[mail1000]

Are we able to see our yearly EMA totals anywhere? I have never crunched the numbers. I do know that 20-30% of my EMA goes to fuel alone. My taxes and insurance are cheap since I don't drive anything of value.

I was a mechanic before this job, have always done my own work. Usually go through two sets of tires in a year. 3-4 oil changes. Brakes x2. In addition to incidentals.

I certainly have never felt like I "made" anything. Just paying myself to do mechanic work. There's also the added mental load of being responsible for that vehicle, which is worth something.

I do feel like it's a bit of mental game, those bigger paychecks feel good, and we don't think about the expenses as much.

YES the MENTAL LOAD is above all of it...The EMA does not pay no where NEAR what I spend yearly on gas tires brakes rotors oil changes and whom knows what else. You say you just put brakes on 2x per year? Are you regular? If so you must have a VERY short route, as I put brakes and rotors on every 3 and or at most 4 months. On my days off I am preparing mentally what I can do maintenance wise to my POV. Again the EMA$ is no where near what I spend and the mental side and stress goes above that.

 

[Atimm693]

Lite Blue you can see it on paystub. Just look on last pay stub.

I see it now, in the deductions section.

YES the MENTAL LOAD is above all of it...The EMA does not pay no where NEAR what I spend yearly on gas tires brakes rotors oil changes and whom knows what else. You say you just put brakes on 2x per year? Are you regular? If so you must have a VERY short route, as I put brakes and rotors on every 3 and or at most 4 months. On my days off I am preparing mentally what I can do maintenance wise to my POV. Again the EMA$ is no where near what I spend and the mental side and stress goes above that.

RCA. I had 15k route miles last year, roughly. I always use Wagner OEX pads. Akebono is excellent as well.

My annual summary shows $3300 spent through various auto parts stores, although a portion of that was spent on my other vehicles. Can also add another $800 for tires, since that would be in a different merchant category.

Conservatively say 3k on parts, 833 gallons of gas at $2.70 avg per is $2350. Probably close to $6k in total expenses. Guess I "made" $9k last year for being a shadetree, but it was a good year, I didn't fix anything other than wear items.