2026 MOU Updates
This is a modified version of content from my 5/14 Weekly Email:
MOU Updates: The UAEA Negotiation team believes we have reached the end of negotiations and I have attached a copy of our proposed MOU language for members to review. This was a particularly tough year for negotiations due to budgetary constraints but we believe we have obtained some new language that will greatly assist members in matters of pay, discipline, and use of their benefits. I have attached a brief summary of the changes below.
As a reminder, any changes to the MOU need to be ratified by membership prior to them taking effect - the board would like to do a vote on these changes the week of May 25th so they can be sent to City Council, voted on, and take effect in July.
Summary of Changes:
Section 1-1-6: Tempe agrees to deduct FHL hours for UAEA from employee leave banks
This converts the City’s UB Guidelines to a contractual obligation. It prevents Tempe from simply stopping the practice at any point, which is something that occurred in other cities after the 2024 Arizona Supreme Court Gifts Clause issue (and caused a major blow to their associations). It also prevents them from modifying the process without our input. Our intention here is to continue to solidify our protections and make it very difficult for outside entities to further harm our ability to provide services to our members.
Section 1-1-15: UAEA has the ability to reserve City spaces and use City services like Microsoft Teams to conduct business.
The UAEA board is trying to keep operational costs as low as possible. This codifies our ability to use Tempe spaces without paying rental fees.
Section 1-2: Clarifies existing language surrounding layoffs to ensure the use and importance of seniority.
The old MOU language had a degree of ambiguity about how Tempe could lay off people and whether seniority was the primary consideration. This makes it the only consideration.
Section 1-2: Adds additional protections for employees when job reclassifications change their job duties or qualifications.
Tempe may occasionally need to reclassify roles due to organizational or technological changes. UAEA will support members in those roles and attempt to grandfather them in, but in cases that isn’t an option, this gives them options for a smooth transition.
Section 1-4: Adds significantly more guidelines and protections for employees in the disciplinary process.
There are some very big changes here that should greatly enhance the fairness of the disciplinary process.
This changes existing language from employees “may request” a representative be present with them at disciplinary or counseling meetings to “employees have a right to representation” at these meetings, something that prevents departments from blocking our attendance.
This gives employees an automatic extension to respond to a discipline when a discipline is issued right before they have pre-scheduled leave.
This limits investigations to 120 days, when they formerly could take an unlimited amount of time.
This gives employees the explicit right to record investigation interviews.
This allows employees and UAEA to request additional documentation for their Part 2 response, above and beyond what has been provided by the City (and Departments must comply with all reasonable requests). This has been a big barrier in the past
This allows UAEA to bring legal counsel to any meeting where the City has legal counsel present.
Section 2-3-4: Requires Grievance responses to be rendered in writing
Section 3-1-1: Codifies the new market salary step structure into our contract
This prevents the City from making arbitrary changes to pay or structure. As a City policy only management would have near-limitless ability to make further changes without employee input. This also guarantees employees receive a 3.5-4.3% increase in salary each year if they are not topped out, depending on where they are in the step structure - our former contract only guaranteed 3.5%. You can find a complete list of salary steps here.
Section 3-1-3: Codifies future market adjustments into our contract, gives UAEA additional opportunities to address study design concerns, and lets us highlight roles that need closer attention in future studies.
Again, this prevents the City from making arbitrary changes and creates a predictable salary structure for all staff. This also codifies the 2027 and 2029 market study dates where pay ranges may be adjusted based off of market movement.
Section 3-1-5: Increases bilingual pay to $60/month for occasional interactions and $150/month for frequent interactions
Section 3-1-6: Changes policy so that employees can be paid both shift differential and holiday pay when the two overlap.
Employees did not receive differential pay during holidays for several years due a policy change - this restores the old status quo.
Section 3-1-7: Changes policy so that employees in workgroups may propose changes to standby procedures
Section 3-1-7: Changes policy so that departments can open standby opportunities to employees from other workgroups.
This change does not require or incentivize departments to do this, it just adds it as another option. Multiple standby groups around Tempe have expressed concerns about being overworked - this gives departments more options to relieve that pressure. UAEA is aware that this will solve some problems and may potentially create new ones - please keep us in the loop about any concerns with this implementation.
Section 3-4-2: Changes reclassification policy to align with supplemental budgetary requests in the Fall of each year.
This gives UAEA an annual opportunity to bring attention to staff that may need to be reclassified, at a time that all departments are submitting additional budget requests. Conversations about reclasses can occur throughout the year, this is just the formal period for tweaks.
Section 4-2-1: Changes Cesar Chavez Day holiday to Farmworkers Day.
Section 4-3-1: Changes policy to allow departments/workgroups to let employees use vacation time for unexpected emergencies.
Employees occasionally face unexpected emergencies like a broken AC, flat tires, or sick pets. Before now departments have provided inconsistent support to staff so they can be paid for 40 hours that week - some have allowed employees to flex their schedules, some have allowed them to use sick leave if there were medical aspects, and some have forced employees to go without pay for the time period they were not working. Those options still exist, but this also allows them to let employees use vacation time to cover emergency situations. To prevent abuse, departments may request documentation of the emergency. UAEA will provide education to all departments this summer of this change.
Section 4-8: Changes policy to allow employees on unpaid administrative leave to use accrued vacation or compensatory time
This will prevent employees from going without pay for potentially months - this has been a real situation that has impacted employees in the last 2 years and one we will be able to avoid moving forward.
Section 5-2: Changes policy to require departments to schedule mandatory training around pre-approved leave
Section 5-5: Increases uniform and tool allowances for covered employees.
General uniforms - $180/year (from $150/year)
Tool Allowance - $600/year (from $500/year)
Public Safety Uniforms - $1080/year (from $900/year)
Section 5-5: Changes policy so that any changes to uniform standards in workgroups must coincide with the uniform allowances being issued.
Section 6-4-1: Adds additional protection for tuition reimbursement
If any other employee group in Tempe negotiates a higher reimbursement rate, UAEA-covered employees will also get the same amount.
Section 6-6: Increases Mediflex amount.
Now $733.92/year (from $639.12)
Term & Effect: Allows UAEA to re-open our MOU any year between now and the expiration of the contract to discuss benefits and conditions if “internal or external circumstances have changed to require discussion or modification.
This essentially says we have the opportunity to re-open if economic or internal work conditions change significantly, positively or negatively.
I want to add one last thought before I conclude this section. The UAEA Negotiation team fought tooth and nail for everything you see here and dozens of other items that we brought to the table this session. We did not (and never do) get everything that we wanted to in this round, but we did manage to obtain promises to discuss multiple items outside of our formal contract negotiations (since some benefits may impact all staff, not just our group). Those were not empty promises - we have already started several conversations with the 6-Sided Partnership about what new benefits like additional childcare support might look like. We are working on additional disciplinary reforms we’d like to see and are finalizing a joint request with TSA to modify the Personnel Rules - similar projects are being worked on for tweaks to hiring and retention. Finally, we also have, for the first time ever, obtained financial information about the costs of some of our requests, something which gives us a significant advantage when making and prioritizing proposals down the road. We are keeping a close eye on the City’s finances and will continue to make recommendations down the road - please understand that we will always be fighting for greater benefits and protections, whether we’re in formal contract negotiations or not.