6/4 Weekly Email + Elections Update
Hi all,
I have a lot of new things this week. I have some announcements about the outcome of the UAEA Elections, the MOU Ratification Vote, a new Member Recruitment Event, a new survey on how rising gas prices are impacting your household, an upcoming Kiwanis Pool Event, a reminder about the summer reading program, a reminder about the Employee Survey, and some plugs for open jobs
UAEA Elections: The Elections Committee has let the UAEA Board know that the 2026 Elections can conclude. Only one person ran for the Secretary, Citywide Representative, and President positions - per our bylaws, all will win their seats unopposed. Those new members will be as follows.
Jacob Epps - Senior Court Services Specialist - Serving as Citywide Representative.
Victor Diaz - Senior Heavy Equipment Operator - Serving as Secretary
Joel Guy - Solid Waste Operations Coordinator - Serving as President
The Executive Board for the 2026-2027 Year will thus be as follows:
President: Joel Guy (term ends June 30th, 2028)
Vice President: Brittainy Nelson (term ends June 30th, 2027)
Secretary: Victor Diaz (term ends June 30th, 2028)
Treasurer: Brian Gonzales (term ends when Treasurer would like to leave the role)
Resolutions Director: Natalya Ennels (term ends June 30th, 2027)
Communications Director: VACANT (term ends June 30th, 2028)
Membership Director: Jeremy Hopf (term ends June 30th, 2027)
Citywide Representative: Jacob Epps (term ends June 30th, 2028)
Citywide Representative: VACANT (term ends June 30th, 2028)
Citywide Representative: Leah Sergeant (term ends June 30th, 2027)
Citywide Representative: Sandra Jaramillo (term ends June 30th, 2027).
The board will have 2 open positions as of July 1st, 2026, a Citywide Representative spot and the Communications Director role. Per our bylaws, the board is now allowed to directly appoint people to those roles. We will talk to the current people in those positions and see if they are interested in continuing - we are also willing to look at statements of interest from anyone else who would like to be considered. Please reference our bylaws for descriptions of each position and feel free to send those to president@uaeatempe.com by Friday, June 12th.
I have one final note to close our 2026 Elections on - I want to encourage all members to consider stepping up to serve in the next year or two. Running an organization takes a lot of time and energy and passion - everything we do for members from disciplines to communications to special events to monthly meetings is the result of countless hours of work per year behind the scenes, in addition to the work board members do in their normal jobs on a daily basis. Passion can help organizations thrive and be successful, but it isn’t sustainable to expect that the same people will be able to commit the same level of time and energy to an organization indefinitely. UAEA has been partially successful over our existence because we’ve had a clear throughline of support and knowledge - board members like Sandra Jaramillo, Leah Sergeant, and Natalya Ennels have all served for over a decade - but that support will not last forever and several of them are approaching retirement/the end of their board tenure. We will eventually need new talent and passionate people to sign up and help us continue to be successful for the next phase of our organization’s existence - please consider the call of leadership if the opportunity presents itself.
MOU Ratification: I am pleased to announce our MOU was ratified by membership with a 97% approval rate. 33 members voted, with 32 in favor and 1 against. Thank you to everyone who voted. The document will be ratified by the City Council in a week or two, then will take effect on July 1st.
I will share an updated copy of the MOU once it has been signed and approved by Council. It will also be available at this link once approved. We are also working on a condensed version of the MOU that summarizes the document and makes it easier to understand your rights - you can expect to see a copy of that in the next month, with the new changes included. Finally, UAEA plans to print physical copies of the MOU for distribution to staff - let us know if you would like a copy.
Member Recruitment Drive I’ve attached a flyer with details about our new Member Recruitment Event. This will also be posted on City bulletin boards soon. We will be running a promotion from June 1st through August 1st of this year where every new member will receive a $25 giftcard. If they report on their membership form that a current member recommended them, that member will also receive a $25 giftcard. Both new and existing members who sign up for this promotion will receive entries into another giftcard drawing at the end of this promotion - the more people who sign up, the more giftcards will be drawn. A full list of the promotion rules can be found here.
The City has rules against soliciting non-members, so please be mindful that you are not harassing your fellow employees if you want to participate in this. You can have conversations stressing the benefits of joining (member meetings, member resources, disciplinary support, legal services, etc) and your personal experiences, but if the non-member expresses any disinterest, please disengage and not discuss it with them again. Please also note that donations of FHL time are prorated depending on when someone joins each year - if they join after July 1st, they will only need to donate 4 hours this year (and then the standard amount next year).
Kiwanis Event: UAEA is hosting a pool party event at Kiwanis Recreation Center on Sunday, July 19th, from 11-1PM. We will be providing free entry, food, and drinks for attendees. My understanding is that the pool is reserved just for us during our first time slot, then will be open to the public afterwards - attendees are welcome to stay past 1PM if they’d like. We currently have 150 spots available for members and their families and may be able to secure additional slots if there is significant interest.
If you’d like to attend, please fill out this rsvp form by Thursday, July 9th.
Gas Prices Survey: UAEA is trying to gather more information about how fuel prices are impacting our members and what solutions, if any, the City could provide staff to help ease their burdens. Please fill out this survey whether you commute by car or public transportation and whether you are being impacted or not - we’d like a representative sample we can bring to City Management. Please also fill it out if you have additional suggestions about how the City can use its resources to best support staff.
Summer Reading Program: The Maricopa County Summer Reading Program is running between June 1st and July 20th of this year. Adults and children can participate for a chance to win a variety of prizes, including free food, books, basketball tickets, and a variety of gift packages.
Employee Survey: The 2026 Employee Survey is now open. I strongly encourage all members to take the survey and share their honest thoughts about the state of their workgroup and the City. This is some of the strongest data UAEA can reference when we’re arguing for new citywide policies or department-level changes - it also lets us know about positive trends in certain areas and gives us insight into what changes can be copied and mimicked in other divisions. Employees who take the survey also are eligible for some prizes.
The survey data is collected and handled by ETC, a third party company not affiliated with Tempe. Your data, including your IP address, is not shared with the City of Tempe, and there is an option to send in a physical paper copy of the survey if you would prefer. I also understand that members sometimes have specific criticism about workgroups or individuals that they feel might expose themselves - feel free to share that with UAEA if you do not feel comfortable bringing it up in the survey proper and we’ll see if there is anything we can do.
Job Highlight: UAEA is here to support people’s career development in 2026, and I wanted to continue highlighting some open roles on the Tempe hiring site (keep in mind there are far fewer than normal due to the hiring pause - the site normally has 60-80 open roles). Some of these may be interesting to seasoned employees, others might be entry-level roles good for friends or family who are looking for work. There are 37 open positions but I think these 4 are ones that more than 1 or 2 UAEA members might find interesting - that said, if you have direct experience in advanced water sampling techniques, GIS mapping, or civil litigation, I would take another look at the hiring site for those specific opportunities.
WATER QUALITY SPECIALIST - Job Code 902462 , Range 109
This position collects water samples and performs water quality checks across the City. It requires one year’s worth of experience in “treatment, maintenance, or laboratory testing of water or wastewater systems or related experience” - if you have a background as a utility services technician, an inspector, or some other role that required meticulous sample collecting and record keeping, you may have transferable skills. This role does not require a college degree but has one required certificate that could be earned through the City if you have a related role already. This role also does not have a formal promotion track but has a lot of overlap with the Environmental Compliance Inspectors (Range 110), and the Environmental Compliance Specialists (Range 112), giving some potentially lucrative promotional opportunities.
HOMELESS OUTREACH SPECIALIST - Job Code 902460, Range 107
This position provides direct support services to homeless individuals in the Tempe community, documents homeless data and trends, and works with other departments on creative solutions to unhoused issues. It does not require any certifications or a college degree, but does require 1 year’s experience in “homeless outreach, social services or related experience.” Experience in data collection and customer-facing roles will probably help, but a passion for this field and an ability to deal with stressful situations may also serve you well in an application or interview.
PLANT ELECTRICIAN - Job Code 902451, Range 111
This position maintains and repairs electrical systems around Tempe Water Plants and field sites. It does not require a college degree or any immediate certifications, and only requires “(2) years of experience in journey-level electrical work, or related experience.” Someone currently working in a role involving electrician responsibilities, such as signal technicians, fleet mechanics, or certain facility technician staff could be eligible for this.
HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR / SENIOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR (Streets and Public Works) - Job Codes 902459 and 902443, Ranges 105 and 107
These roles operate heavy equipment in either the streets maintenance or solid waste divisions. These could be entry level for some people but I bring it up mostly so members in both areas are aware of transfer opportunities between departments. Both roles require a highschool diploma and a Class A CDL - the only big distinction is the type of equipment that is used on a daily basis. One interesting difference is the promotional opportunities and possible career tracks - Solid Waste Leads are in Range 109, while Street Maintenance Leads are in Range 110. Solid Waste Supervisors are also at Range 113, while Streets Maintenance Supervisors are at Range 114.
Next Membership Meeting: Our next membership meeting will be on June 18th, from 5:30-6:30AM at the Kyrene Water Plant Main Building (311 W Guadalupe), in the first floor conference room. The plant can be accessed off of Guadaulpe through the main gate, then members can enter the SE door of the building on the SE side of the property. You can rsvp at this link until Thursday, June 11th.
Mill Avenue Closures: Tempe employees should be aware that chunks of Mill Avenue will be closed for construction from late May to early July. You can see a complete list at this link, with photos of each section and the impacted intersections.
Phase 1: North of University Drive to south of Fifth Street, May 26 – June 7
Phase 2: Intersection of Mill Avenue and Fifth Street to south of Third Street, June 8 – 21
Phase 3: Third Street and Mill Avenue intersection to south of Rio Salado Parkway, June 22 – July 8
HSA/FSA Deadlines: Just as a reminder, employees have until June 30th, 2026 to use funds from their FSA and HSA accounts. You can carry up to $680 from one plan year to another, but you will lose any additional funds in your account above that amount.
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.
Sun Bucks: This program offers direct payments in the summer to families whose children receive free or reduced cost school lunches