3/12 Weekly Email + New Surveys
Hi all,
I have a few updates and reminders this week, and then some requests for member feedback.
UAEA College Scholarship: The annual Jackie Awosika Scholarship Competition will open this coming Thursday, March 19th, and run through Thursday, April 30th. Members, their children, and direct relatives who are entering college or already in college may apply and $2500 in scholarship awards are distributed to those who have the strongest applications. Winners will also be recognized at the June 4th, 2026, Tempe City Council Meeting. Full information and a link to the application will be available in the main announcement this coming week.
UAEA Art Contest: As a reminder, UAEA is hosting its first-ever union art contest, from now until March 26th (2 weeks from now). We are looking for your interpretations of what union work looks like in the 21st century and would love to see as many entries as possible, regardless of your skill level. We are also accepting entries from both members and their families, and have some great prizes for the eventual winners (who we’re aiming to announce in our Q2 Newsletter). You can use the QR codes or the attached links to submit entries or review the full rule list.
Tempe Care Fair: Community Health and Human Services is hosting their annual “Care Fair” event on Saturday, March 28th, from 9-12pm at the Tempe Library Complex (3500 S Rural). This event is an opportunity to learn about and sign up for dozens of free community resources - 80+ community non-profits and Tempe programs will be represented, there will be a job fair at the Pyle Center, and there will be free giveaways and activities for children. Even if you do not personally need resources, it is very likely that someone in your life may need some - please share this with friends or family who may be dealing with tough times. More information is available on the website.
Tempe Festival for the Arts: Just as a reminder, Tempe’s Spring Festival for the Arts is next weekend, from Friday, March 13th, to Sunday, March 15th, in Downtown Tempe. It’s a nice local event that showcases a lot of different artists and mediums - even if you don’t plan to buy anything, it’s fun just to walk around and see all the offerings. You can see a list of vendors and events on the website. Parking for the event may be difficult but you can access it quite easily if you take the light rail from a different part of town to the Mill Avenue Light Rail station. It’s probably too late to get a pass by this weekend, but don’t forget you are entitled to a free Platinum Lightrail Pass as a City employee.
UAEA Affiliation Survey: The UAEA Board is interested in learning more about ways we can recognize members, connect members with other members in their workgroups, and give members an opportunity to show off their UAEA affiliation. If you have strong feelings about any of those things, please fill out this survey, which has several questions about how you would like us to protect your membership status and what forms of UAEA giveaways you would be interested in. This information will help us develop new communication strategies in 2026 and beyond.
Work Scheduling Survey: Do you think your work week is too long? Would you be interested in working a 4x10 schedule or remotely if the options were available? Please fill out this survey if that is the case - UAEA would like to know which areas are still working on a 5x8 or 9x80 schedule and which members would like to see compressed work weeks. Please note we cannot guarantee that member interest is enough to change schedules - some departments may require 5-day work weeks to ensure some level of access to the public or for other coverage reasons - but UAEA is interested in following up on member interest if the opportunity arises. If applicable, please fill out the attached survey in the next few weeks - I’ll probably keep it open indefinitely, but would like to start looking at the data and having conversations within the month.
Health Advocate Benefits Change: The City has a new vendor for City employees using our health insurance. This group is called “Health Advocate” and provides a variety of services including connecting people to licensed clinicians who specialize in the health issue they need assistance with, providing information on ways to save money on prescription and drug needs, and doing research for employees to find medical providers who will provide the medical services they need at cheaper rates. This group replaces “Optavise,” Tempe’s former health advocacy provider - Tempe will be sending out more information in the next few months about all of their services and how employees can most efficiently use them. For now, if you’d like to read more about them, check out this link or this flyer on The Bridge.
City Manager Town Hall Meeting: This is a reminder that Tempe City Manager Rosa Inchausti will be hosting an Employee Town Hall on Thursday, March 12th (today) at the Tempe Center for the Arts. A calendar invite should have been sent to all employees - if not, all you need to know is that doors open at 8:30AM and the event starts at 9:30AM. If you’d like to attend, please let your supervisor know as soon as possible - management is encouraging as many employees as possible to attend, but some areas may need to limit employees attending to ensure adequate coverage of essential Tempe services throughout the morning.
March Meeting Signup: Our next membership meeting will be Thursday, March 19th, from 12-1pm at the Kiwanis Recreation Center (6111 S All-American Way, Tempe AZ, 85283). Representatives from Employee Development will be present with a brief presentation on upcoming class offerings and an opportunity for questions. You can rsvp here until March 12th (tonight).
Art Contest: UAEA is hosting its first-ever union art contest, from now until March 26th. We are looking for your interpretations of what union work looks like in the 21st century and would love to see as many entries as possible, regardless of your skill level. We are also accepting entries from both members and their families, and have some great prizes for the eventual winners (who we’re aiming to announce in our Q2 Newsletter). You can use the QR codes or the attached links to submit entries or review the full rule list.