3/19 Weekly Email + Town Hall Summary
Hi all,
I have a lot of new updates this week and then a summary of last week’s Employee Town Hall.
UAEA College Scholarship: I’m happy to announce that our 2026 Jackie Awosika Scholarship Competition is now open. This annual competition is an opportunity for UAEA members and their families to win some funds for college or trade school - all they need to do is fill out a quick application with some background information, copies of their transcripts, and answers to a few essay questions. Members, their children, and direct relatives who are entering college or already in college may apply from now through April 30th - $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. The attached flyer will be up on bulletin boards in the next week or so, but members can find the full list of rules at this link, and apply to the contest here.
Cesar Chavez Day: The City of Tempe announced yesterday that they will not be recognizing Cesar Chavez Day on March 31st. To be clear, March 31st, 2026 will still be a City Holiday - employees will still get the day off and the City will be closed. However, due to recent revelations about serious past misconduct, the City is looking to replace the holiday with something else. I also want to reassure members that the City cannot just take away one of our paid holidays. We have a contract which guarantees 13 paid holidays, and the UAEA Board made sure to include both Cesar Chavez Day and Juneteenth when they were added by City Council in the last few years - this is a very good example of why union contracts are important to preserve employee rights.
The City is moving very quickly on this, but UAEA and the other employee groups were invited to share our thoughts at a 6-Sided Partnership meeting this morning. City Council is ultimately the group that will make any decision changing the official City holidays, but they are looking for input from staff. The general consensus from the employee groups seems to be that we are flexible if the City would like to propose a new celebration or recognition to occur around the same date each year. UAEA would like whatever replacement to continue to be a holiday or recognition of the contributions of the Hispanic/Latino community, and have also requested that employees be given an opportunity to provide feedback before any changes are made. The City seems committed to removing the name of the holiday this year, but will then have a year to consider alternatives before March 31st, 2027.
If any of our members would like to share their thoughts on the topic, have new ideas for a commemorative holiday, or have no idea what I’m talking about and why these changes are occurring, please feel free to shoot me an email in the next 3-4 days - I don’t know for certain, but I imagine City Council will be discussing this at their meeting next week.
I want to provide one final thought - leaders do not and should not define movements. The success stories of the South Tenants Farm Union (STFU), the United Farm Worker’s Union (UFW), or the Agricultural Worker’s Organizing Committee (AWOC) are not changed by these revelations - if anything, they reinforce the importance of emphasizing that they were only possible due to the tireless efforts of thousands of people working together over decades to achieve a common cause. One person cannot solely impact the wages of thousands of people, bring schools and banks to communities that never had them, or sign up tens of thousands of people to vote. Leaders can inspire and help bring people together, but ultimately it is the people who follow them who make a movement successful. UAEA has not been successful because it has smart and impassioned people on the board - while that certainly helps, we’re successful because we have hundreds of City employees who believe in our mission and support our work. There will be setbacks in the American labor movement at times and complicated legacies to contend with, but ultimately the core of our success will always be remembering that this is a movement of the masses, of groups of people coming together for the common good. No one person defines it, so no one person can undermine it.
CARE7 Prom: I was asked by one of our members in CARE7 to plug their ongoing donation event, Prom Without Borders. Some students in the Tempe community are unable to go to prom because they cannot afford fancy clothing or cosmetic supplies - this clothing drive is collecting clothing from City of Tempe and Tempe HS staff to reduce barriers and make the option of attending prom even easier.
If you have gently used professional attire or beauty supplies for either men or women, please reach out to CARE7 Supervisor Maria Gonzalez (maria_gonzalez@tempe.gov), who can coordinate pickup. A full list of accepted items is attached. Donations will be accepted through April 6th.
Member Resources for Rising Costs: UAEA is aware that many City employees live outside of Tempe and are being impacted by the recent rises in gas prices. We’re looking into a few options to help employees reduce those impacts (please feel free to send us suggestions if you have any), but also wanted to remind members that they are entitled to a free Platinum Pass from Valley Metro, good for unlimited rides on the Tempe Streetcar, Valley Metro Lightrail, and all Valley Metro buses. This is a very good perk - unlimited use passes purchased directly from Valley Metro are $112/month, or $1344/year.
For a full list of program rules and information on how to pick up the pass in-person, check out this link. You can also use the below information to order one yourself through Peoplesoft, and it will be sent to you inter-office.
To get the Platinum Pass, log onto PeopleSoft HR, open the NavBar located on the upper right hand side of your screen, then go to Navigator > Self Service > Benefits >Request Transit Platinum Pass. Your pass will be sent to you via interoffice mail within 7 business days.
April UAEA Meeting: Our next UAEA member meeting will be Thursday, April 16th, 2026, from 12-1pm at the Tempe Transportation Center’s Don Cassano Room (200 E 5th St, 2nd Floor). Several members of the Tempe City Council will be present to talk a little bit about the projects they’re working on and answer questions employees may have about what they do and what’s going on in Tempe. You can rsvp to attend here by Thursday, April 9th, at 5pm - the link also contains an option to submit questions in advance.
If you haven’t been to the Tempe Transit Center before, it is located just East of the Tempe Courts Building and just to the West of the 5th Street Light rail station. Employees can park in the City Hall Parking Garage or on 6th St if they’re coming in a City Vehicle.
Employee Townhall Summary: I attended last Thursday’s Employee Town Hall and took some notes on the content and the Q+A period which I’ve included below. For those who were unaware, this event was created partially as a response to feedback from employees in the last employee survey - many employees expressed concerns about City communication and expressed a desire to hear more about what was going on across Tempe. I’m glad that the City took that feedback to heart and hope people will keep that in mind for the next employee survey - even if you don’t want to provide in-depth commentary on your workgroup, it is worth your time to provide feedback on what you’d like to see changed at the City level. (that said, feedback on your employee workgroup is also very valuable and I would encourage as many people as possible to participate).
Most of the Town Hall was a series of presentations by City Manager Rosa Inchausti and the Deputy City Managers (Keith Burke, Listte Camacho, and Greg Ruiz) about the projects and events happening in the departments that they oversee. Rosa spoke a little about some of the citywide employee events that occurred in 2025 (Family Day, the Employee Holiday Party), Greg spoke about some of accomplishments of the Tempe Fire and Police Departments (Tempe has a much better cardiac arrest survival rate than the national average, crime is down in many areas, traffic collisions and fatalities are down), Keith spoke about many of the City’s 2025 events and community impact (as well as noting that Tempe employees get priority registration to City classes and access to City fitness centers), and Lisette spoke about the budget and some of the larger projects she is helping coordinate (the Downtown Tempe Refresh project, the upcoming Peoplesoft replacement, etc).
I should mention once again that Tempe employees can get free preventative cancer screenings through Prenuvo if they are signed up on the Tempe health insurance plan and above the age of 40. These screenings have a direct connection to saving lives - one firefighter passed away in the last year from a rare form of cancer and Greg Ruiz mentioned how the Prenuvo screenings have already detected early stage forms of the same cancer in two others. Please take advantage of this perk - it’s a fairly simple screening process that can provide a lot of peace of mind.
The Town Hall wrapped up with a brief Q+A session where Rosa and the other managers discussed several questions that were submitted by employees in advance (there was one question that was skipped that I have followed up on - if I get a response, I’ll share it in a future weekly email).
The first question asked about temporary employees and whether there was any long term plans to convert those roles into permanent roles. Lisette and Rosa both expressed the desire to so, and said that several roles are converted in every new budget process, but that it would still take some time. The cost of transition is a big consideration and the reason they cannot switch everyone overnight. Lisette also caveated this by saying there would always be some temporary roles in the City - seasonal roles, such as summer lifeguards, will always remain temporary.
The second question asked about the Class & Comp Study and how employees could use the new structure to help them advance. The panel had a few suggestions, noting that the new job structure of 18 job families and simpler job descriptions makes it easier for employees to identify potential positions they may be interested in during their career. Multiple panelists encouraged employees to take advantage of Employee Development courses like the LEAD from Any Level class - they believe these teach valuable skills that are useful if employees plan to supervise or manage down the road. Finally, Lisette encouraged people to engage with the IQIP process and use it as an opportunity to develop skills throughout each year - it is easier to make the case that certain classes or trainings are needed if employees have articulated a clear desire for improvement in those areas in advance. I’m aware that very few areas are still actively utilizing IQIP and would like to see it return in some capacity - if you’d like to see it come back to your area (or believe it is being underutilized in your workgroup), let me know and I’ll discuss with management in an upcoming LMC.
The third question dealt with the costs of childcare and whether the City could do anything to assist. Rosa mentioned that her team is looking at ways they can use existing programs or develop partnerships with groups like ASU (which provides childcare to employees and students), but all of the discussions have been preliminary. The City's budget will obviously impact whether it can address this concern in the near future, but I believe this truly is a priority - I have had a number of discussions with management over the last 2 years where they have discussed the need to support parents more.
The fourth question asked whether the City’s homeless programs were actually helping address the problem and how City management knew for certain. Greg answered this question, noting that the City captures a huge amount of data about homelessness and has seen very positive trends in the last few years, ranging from the counts of people on the street at any point in time to success with City programs. Tim Burch, Director of Community Health and Human Services, recently reported that 85% of people exiting the Tempe shelters do so because they have found stable housing.
Finally, the last question asked management what they felt the top priorities for employees were at this point in time. They said that employees should “be ready for new opportunities,” and encouraged people to stay on top of training and be ready for career opportunities to open up. They want good succession planning in every department and people ready to take over when others leave the organization to prevent disruptions in service level or quality. Keith also noted that employees should look out for their own health and spend time taking care of their own needs, whether those be physical, mental, or financial. I think this was good advice whether it was intended to be career advice or not. It’s heard to be successful at work if you’re struggling with things at home - even if that isn’t the case, your overall quality of life will be much better if you can maintain stability of those three things.
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.
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.
Art Contest: UAEA is hosting its first-ever union art contest, from now until March 26th (next week). 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.