5/19 MOU Ratification Email

Hi all, 

This is an announcement that we are at the end of this year’s MOU negotiations. As a reminder, UAEA and the City mutually agreed to discuss only two things in this negotiation, changes to the market study language and solutions to the UB time issue. The negotiating team believes we have accomplished both goals and are happy with the existing language - as such, we are sending it to members for approval. 

This new MOU has three major changes. I have attached a redlined version of the MOU document that shows the changes in detail, but everything is summarized below: 

First, New City Business (CB) and Union Business (UB) policies that outline how the union can use their time without running afoul of State Law. UAEA is happy with this language, especially as it outlines that certain things we already do like disciplinary meetings and interview panels will not count towards our use of Union Business time. 

Second, New Language on the Market Study Process. The City has finalized the Segal Study but we are unsure if we want to use that model. This language allows us to discuss the logistics of a new study in our 2026 negotiations, especially if we discover concerns about the Segal methodology after a few months. 

Third, More and Easier-to-Use Holiday Leave. The negotiation team not only extended the period of time Holiday Leave can be used (it can now effectively be used at any point during the year), but also secured 16 extra hours of Holiday Leave for every employee. That means every UAEA-covered employee will get a total of 24 hours of Holiday Leave each year, time that can effectively be used identically to VA time. Full transparency - UAEA will need a portion of that new time as donations to continue operating, but even with those deductions everyone will have an extra day off that they can use with minimal restrictions. 

(There are also some very minor changes to terminology - certain things like the Catastrophic Family Leave have been unimpacted but were renamed, so we simply updated the language to reflect that)

Let’s be clear - the Negotiation Team is very happy with the results. We have secured a new UB and CB time policy, we have obtained more time than we thought we could, and we have the ability to discuss Segal changes in the future written into the document. We believe this is a very good deal and would appreciate member’s support in ratifying this document and finishing this process so it can take effect July 1st of this year. 

If you are happy with this language, please confirm your approval by filling out this survey. I will keep the survey open until Thursday, June 22nd at 9AM, will tally votes, and then report the result to members and City Management. Per Article 11 of our Bylaws, MOU ratification votes require a plurality of voters to approve the changes - if there are only two options (Yes and No), a simple majority of votes will suffice.  

One final note - we are already gearing up for our 2026 negotiations, which will likely start this fall. If you would like us to discuss specific things in that negotiation please fill out this attached survey so the Negotiation Team can do some research in advance and prioritize our focus. 

I have attached a redlined copy of the MOU with all changes noted.