UAEA at 15 Years

This post was modified from a 8/20 Weekly Email

UAEA celebrated our 15th anniversary yesterday on August 19th. This is an important milestone and one we’re happy to promote - many unions never get off the ground and few, outside of national groups, tend to last for more than a few years. Unions have been under attack in America for decades, a combination of federal lawsuits, state and national policy, and turbulent economic conditions. We and other public sector groups in Arizona have also faced legal restrictions and setbacks in just the last 2 years that have forced us to make major structural adjustments to how we operate - that said, despite those attacks we’re still here, and we have no plans to go anywhere any time soon. Work is noble and workers deserve all of the protections and support we can provide to ensure they have safe working conditions, top-tier pay and benefits, and plentiful opportunities for growth and advancement. 

What has UAEA done over the last 15 years? Well, just focusing on some of the top-level work, UAEA has grown from 80 members to 280 members, we’ve quadrupled the length of our MOU (and associated benefits and protections), we’ve represented hundreds of staff in disciplines, investigations, and inquiries, we’ve vastly improved the fairness of Tempe’s pay structure, we’ve fixed toxic and abusive work environments (sometimes through litigation), and we’ve weighed in on (and improved) dozens if not hundreds of City policies, contracts, and RFPS. There are many people to thank for these successes and I would be remiss to not mention every person who has served on UAEA boards over the years - their time, passion, and commitment has allowed our organization to grow and thrive far beyond the original aspirations of the founders. I apologize in advance if I am missing anyone, but our historic files indicate the below 56 people have served on UAEA boards at different points in the past 15 years, and I want to individually recognize these employees, past and present, for all they have done to keep our organization running. 

Alisha Diaz

Angela Jackson

Annette Betancourt

Barbara Blue

Bianca Gallego

Billy Vickers, Jr.

Brent Pugmire

Brian Gonzales

Brittainy Nelson

Brooke Myers

Chris Hester

Corey Lines

David Boivin

David McAllister

David Zazueta

Dee Hodson

Elaine Patterson

Elizabeth Guzzo

Evelina Wilson

Jackie Awosika

Jeff Stocker

Jennifer Routhier

Jeremy Hopf

Jerome Guzman

Joel Guy

Josh Roffler

Kathy Johnson

Katie Riemersma

Keith Smith

Keith Stepp

Kelly Taylor

Kimberly Miller

Laura Truett

Lauri Vickers

Leah Sergeant

Lisa Johnson

Lynn Fletcher

Marvin Carter

Matt Plemmons

Michael Ulmer

Michelle Fedor

Natalya Ennels

Nathan Porter

Olivia Calderon

Peter Verdugo

Ray Hagen

Royce Horn

Rufino Uribe

Sandra Jaramillo

Sandra Miller

Seth Lewis

Sophia Flocken

Susan Giger

Sylvia Whittle

Valorie Smith

Wally Torres

I also don’t want to forget to mention the importance of our members for our success. Arizona is a right-to-work state and there are many incentives for workers to not join unions - this is why many of our sister cities across the Valley lack employee bargaining groups. It is only when employees come together for mutual benefit that actual change can occur, and your membership in UAEA is what has allowed us to continue to operate and grow over time. The lesson of labor history is that it takes organized groups to tackle systemic issues - individual labor fights have never yielded nearly as much success as collective group action. 

UAEA doesn’t have a huge number of available resources to throw a big shindig, but we did at least want to commemorate the occasion with a few public recognitions. Tempe City Manager Rosa Inchausti mentioned us in her update newsletter from last week - if you missed that, I’ve attached it to this email. Tempe’s Mayor Corey Woods will also be reading a proclamation about UAEA at the 8/31 Council meeting around 6PM. Members are welcome to attend and there is free parking at the City Hall garage (one hour free, longer periods with free validation in the Council Chambers). Finally, the UAEA Board is producing some limited-edition variants of our logo and will be printing these on some nice high-quality stickers that can go on water bottle or electronics. We do not plan to replace our current logo with these, but are open to feedback - if members really like specific designs, we can definitely consider making some logo tweaks to separate our next 15 years from our first 15. Please see the attached file (produced by our amazing Communications Director Sophia Flocken) to review all those variants. 

UAEA has survived for 15 years and has no plans to go away anytime soon. We have established a solid business structure, transcribed most of our existing processes and procedures, reduced our legal exposure, and are working on clear succession plans to further strengthen our organization, ease transitions, prevent future litigation, and maintain operational continuity regardless of who sits on the board. But thinking of our organization as the only defense against worker abuses is perhaps the wrong perspective to take. Regardless of whether or not we exist in 15 years, worker power will not go away. Workers will always have the ability to dispute their working conditions whether or not there is a formal structure advocating for them, and none of our members should think that this power disappears if we disappear. Unions are an answer to the question “Is there any way to make work better?,” but they are certainly not the only answer, and as labor fights continue into the 21st century we should continue to explore and experiment with additional ways of tackling the shared concerns that bind us together. Structures and institutions make these fights easier, but their absence does not and will not mean labor struggles are concluded.