4/23 UAEA Weekly Email + Crafts Contest and Election
Hi all,
I have a few big updates this week about our Craft Contest and 2026 Elections. Please keep an eye out for next week’s email which will also have a big announcement about an upcoming program.
UAEA Elections: Nominations for the 2026 UAEA Elections can be submitted between now and Thursday, May 7th. There are 5 positions available for nominations, the President, Secretary, Communications Director, and 2 Citywide Representatives. Members can nominate either themselves or their fellow members to these positions - please see the attached documents for information about eligibility for each role and what each position does for UAEA.
UAEA Elections are handled by the Elections Committee, an independent group of UAEA members who set schedules, determine eligibility, and verify results. This year the committee is composed of members Julie Reveles, Heather Armstrong, and Alima Dia. They have proposed the following schedule for our elections.
Thursday, May 7th - Nominations due
Thursday, May 14th - Candidate Bios due
A candidate forum or forums will be held in May if there are multiple candidates vying for a role. The Committee will decide whether or not to hold forums if only one candidate is running in each category.
Monday, June 1st - Voting (if multiple candidates vying for a role)
Monday, June 8th - Results announced
If you would like to submit a nomination, please fill out the linked nomination form. You can also download and fill out the attached form and return it to any member of the committee by the deadline.
Crafts Contest: Our Quarter 2 Crafts competition is now open and will be accepting entries until Thursday, May 21st. This contest does not require you to create anything new - we simply want to see the best/most-interesting hand-made crafts that members or their children have made. Prizes will be awarded to the top crafts in each of three categories and additional prizes will be distributed if a certain number of people enter in each category. The board will also let members vote on their favorites if we receive more than a few entries. A full list of contest rules are available to review on our blog and members can enter pictures of their crafts at this link.
Open Enrollment: Open enrollment for the 2026-2027 Healthcare year will begin on May 4th. You do not need to make any changes this year if you are happy with your current insurance options, but I would advise you at least double-check your records to ensure you aren’t paying for anyone you don’t want to and that you are familiar with everything you’re contributing to like the FSA/HSA funds.
Scholarship Reminder: Just as a reminder, the 2026 Jackie Awosika Scholarship Competition is open until next Thursday at 5PM. 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. Members can find the full list of rules at this link, and apply to the contest here.
Remote Work Survey Update: As an update to the Alternative Schedules survey sent out in March, we had 27 responses. I will keep it open for another 2 weeks if people have additional comments, but we are currently looking at the feedback and discussing how to best address some of the requests. A lot of respondents are interested in remote work but some are in areas that prohibit that type of work arrangement - we are already talking with both the directors of those areas and city leadership to see if there’s anything we can do to provide some additional flexibility. We will reach out to the individual respondents if we have any updates on that or the possibility of changes to their weekly schedules.
UAEA ID Survey update: As an update on the UAEA Affiliation survey sent out in March, we have only had 12 responses so far. I will keep it open for another 2 weeks if people had additional comments, but it appears so far that nearly every respondent was fine identifying themselves as a member of UAEA and a majority wanted to know who in their workgroup and across Tempe were fellow members. The below chart shows the types of swag/giveaways respondents were interested in - we will definitely refer to this when we place our next orders.
Documenting Concerns: We’ve gained some new members in the last few months so I wanted to provide some reminders to members about topics I’ve mentioned in prior emails. The below information on documenting concerns in your work environment is from an email I sent out on September 11th, which you can also find in our weekly email archive.
I’ve received some questions from members in recent months about how to document concerns they may have about their workplace. Concerns may include things like how employees are treated, whether sufficient training on certain procedures was given, whether the MOU is being followed properly, or if specific City policies are not being followed (or direction is being given to do things in a way differently than how City policy would indicate). Generally UAEA is able to address issues and achieve better outcomes if there is documentation of the concern over a period of time. That’s not to say that every concern requires our involvement - sometimes they may simply be a misunderstanding or miscommunication that is resolved with a simple conversation. That said, it is probably better to have notes and not need them then need notes and not have them - here are a few tips just in case. Please note that not all of these will apply to every situation - they’re more of general best practices.
Jot down concerns in a personal notebook or in your personal cellphone’s Notes app. Don’t record anything on a City device. This is less of a concern about others having access to the data and more of a concern about maintaining access - if you’re placed on administrative leave after an incident you will not have access to City systems. It’s better to keep everything separated.
Try to capture major details like time and date, as well as who was present (who also witnessed the behavior or comments). Try to mention all employees, including supervisors. Try to record direct quotes if possible. You may not want to involve your peers in an incident (or they may not want to get involved) but it never hurts to have the information available - decisions about who to involve can be made at a later date.
Send an email from your personal email account to UAEA letting us know about the incident or concern. We may or may not be able to give you advice, especially if something was a one-off incident, but we can start creating a record on our system (completely separate from City servers) of your issues. Depending on the type of concern we may also speak to our attorney for guidance or request that you let us discuss it in an upcoming LMC with your department. We will not discuss issues if you feel uncomfortable but if anything occurred in a group setting we can usually keep your identity anonymous.
It’s important to start a record with date stamps as soon as possible. If you are written up for poor performance or violating procedure, for instance, it is extremely helpful to have documentation showing that you were following the advice of your supervisor/a peer/an authority figure. Employees can always raise the same issue for the first time in their Part 2 Disciplinary response, but without date-stamped logs it can be easily interpreted as that person making up excuses to avoid accountability. Date-stamped logs tell a stronger story.
If you were given a direction to do something that you believe violates policy/is unsafe/illegal/or unethical, generally speaking you shouldn’t do that action. Please contact Risk Management or your HR rep immediately for guidance and feel free to then follow up with us. UAEA understands that not all situations are the same though and employees may feel compelled to do improper procedures due to peer pressure. If you believe you did something improper, please contact UAEA and explain the situation. We will take notes and may speak with legal counsel. In many instances we may then help you communicate the issue to HR or Risk.
This mainly applies to procedures but the same can apply for situations with inappropriate behavior. If you believe you are receiving improper advice or training from a peer or supervisor, please send an email (from your city email) documenting the concern with the supervisor. The email does not need to say “I have a concern” or otherwise state that you are documenting a perceived issue - it can be as simple as “Hey, (employee name/you) mentioned that we should (insert procedure causing concern) earlier and I wanted to check if that was right.” It is helpful if you add in a few additional details such as whether or not you received different training, if you don’t have the tools to do that task in that manner, or if staffing problems are limiting your ability to do it in the way you’ve been requested. This communication is a record showing you attempted to resolve issues through the proper channels. A supervisor responding is great - they will either confirm the improper approach or affirm the proper approach. If they don’t respond via email that can also be helpful - it showed you raised a concern which was ignored.
The same basic template applies to improper behavior you witness in the workplace (offensive comments, violations of policy, disparate treatment, etc). If you are uncomfortable speaking with your supervisor about the issue, UAEA may be able to send an email on your behalf - you can also send an email or call your HR Analyst to relay the issue. They will usually understand if you feel too uncomfortable to address the issue directly with your supervisor. If you call your HR Analyst, please make sure you document the call with notes and a brief summary of the conversation. Please note they might remember the conversation differently though - emails will always be the best way to document concerns and what advice they gave you.
It is important to add in details about ways you are unable to do things as intended, especially if it relates to staffing or training. If you are written up for violating policy, employees who have proof of inadequate training or staffing tend to do better. Here are a few examples of ways to document those concerns:
“We were told to have 2 people present whenever we do X repair but due to staffing we aren’t able to do that without falling behind on our workload. What do you suggest we do?”
“I was told during training that we should have a supervisor check our work when we’re done but it usually requires us to wait around for 30 minutes after we’re done waiting for them to be free. Should we move on to the next job or wait for the feedback?”
“(Employee name) told me that I should have learned how to do (some procedure) during training. I don’t think training covered (some procedure) - where can I get a refresher?”
“(Employee name) told me that I should be doing (technique A) when doing (some procedure) but the training manual says (technique B) is the best approach. Which should I do?
Please note you don’t even need to admit to doing a procedure in a possibly improper way or who told you something - you can say something like “Hey, I heard someone in the breakroom say that (insert thing you had a question about) and wondered what you thought about it?”
Next Member Meeting: Our next membership meeting will be on Wednesday, May 20th, from 12-1PM at the JGM Water Treatment Plant. You can rsvp here until Thursday, May 14th, at 5PM. Please note that the parking for the JGM Plant is a little hard to find if you haven’t been there before. Please reference the attached photo or the instructions on our Events Page if you need directions. Please also note that this will take place on a Wednesday, not a Thursday as usual.
HR Benefits Fair: The annual benefits fair will take place at Tempe Center for the Arts from 9AM-2PM on Tuesday, May 5th. This is a good opportunity to learn about your benefits and ask questions to providers, all on City time. Some of the conversations, like about retirement plans, may be counted towards your 2026-2027 health insurance incentive. There will also be opportunities to win a variety of prizes from the attendees. If you’re interested in attending, please let your supervisors know soon - some workgroups may need to limit attendees due to operational needs like ensuring sufficient coverage throughout the workday.
UAEA will be tabling at the event and offering $25 giftcards to people who sign up as members and $25 gift cards to the person they said recommended them. If there is someone in your workgroup who has been on the fence about joining, let them know there is an extra incentive if they do so on this date.
Employee Childcare Survey: Tempe employee groups were asked by management to gather some additional details on what employee’s childcare needs are, so UAEA and TSA have put together a joint survey looking for feedback from our members. The linked survey gives parents an opportunity to provide feedback on what they’re looking for in terms of childcare services from Tempe or a community partner - we will then use that information to make some proposals to Tempe about the best ways to support staff.
Please note that as of today the survey has 71 response…60 of which are from TSA members. We want to make sure the data reflects the needs of UAEA members - if you have childcare needs, please fill this out.
Bereavement Policy Change: I shared a proposed change to the existing bereavement policy in last week’s email. This change would remove aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews from Tempe’s bereavement policy but would double the amount of time employees would receive to grieve their parents (raising it from 5 to 10 days). UAEA’s board has not committed to anything and would like to know what our members think. If you would like to provide feedback on this policy change, please fill out this survey in the next few weeks. Our MOU’s current bereavement policy is in section 4-5.
Community Resources: UAEA is aware of rising fuel prices and how this is impacting members. We are having some internal city discussions about possible workplace changes, but also wanted to post some resources for members who may be struggling to make ends meet. This is a similar list to what we posted in November with a few new additions. Please feel to reach out if you have additional recommendations about local resources.
AZ Food Bank Network: This link contains information about dozens of food banks and assistance sites across Arizona. You can search by the directory and the zipcodes they provide services for to find food banks in your areas.
AZ Medical and Nutrition Assistance: This is an Arizona-State run program that can help connect people with Arizona State programs that provide assistance for people who need medical coverage, WIC support, or additional access to nutrition. I do not know all that the program entails.
Maricopa County Utility Support: This is a Maricopa County program that can help people receive assistance paying for utilities. Some cities have unique offerings while others are covered under one umbrella program.
AZ 211: This is a Arizona-State run help line that can help people connect with a variety of resources and support they may be unaware of in their area.
Tempe Employee Relief Fund: This is a Tempe-run program (paid for by employee donations) that can provide support of up to $1,200 to assist Tempe employees with unplanned emergency bills (housing, mortgage, utilities, etc).
Employee Assistance Program: If you have insurance through the City of Tempe, you can take advantage of the EAP, a group of resources which can provide free therapy, legal consultations, or classes on stress management.
Cheap Recipe Guides: These are two free cookbooks designed for cooking high-nutrition and easy meals on a budget. Even if you’re not a fan of the recipes, there are some good tips on stocking a kitchen with affordable and long-lasting staples.
Free Transit Pass: This contains information on how to obtain your free bus, streetcar, and lightrail pass as a Tempe employee.
Thanks for a great week, everyone!