7/24 Weekly Email
Hi all,
I only have a few items this week.
Newsletter: The newest version of our newsletter is now available! If you want to know who won the Employee of the Quarter for the third quarter of this year, check inside! We have already gone around and updated many of the cities’ bulletin boards - if we haven’t gotten to your boards yet, we should do so within the week. This newsletter also has a writeup on managing healthcare costs - there’s a slightly longer version available on our blog with embedded links to some resources.
I also mention in my intro that we’ve sent out several surveys looking for feedback - I am specifically referencing the survey on the content of my emails, the survey looking for MOU negotiation topics, and the survey looking for feedback on UAEA in 2025. The email survey indicated to me that members have interest in learning more about events hosted by the City of Tempe and local organizations/municipalities - if you come across anything you think employees would be interested in hearing about, feel free to email me (or Kelly Taylor, our Communications Director) and we may include it in a future email.
August Member Meeting: Our next member meeting will be at the JGM Water Plant on Thursday, August 21st, from 12-1PM. You can rsvp here until Thursday, August 14th. Please remember that we now need rsvps 1 week in advance to give people union business time for our meetings.
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.
Employee Development Day: Employee Development asked that I remind members of the upcoming Employee Development Day happening on August 4th at the Tempe Center for the Arts. You’ll be able to meet one-on-one with City of Tempe experts for personalized coaching on career growth and development (limited slots available), update your professional headshot, meet with the Educational Partners, and walk away with practical tools for delivering feedback, navigating difficult conversations, and more. There are longer descriptions of all the available sessions here. As a bonus, the first 100 attendees will receive a free book from the keynote speaker, Nicole Lance!
If you’ve been thinking about taking advantage of the City of Tempe Educational Partnerships to get a new degree, I would strongly encourage attending this event. Maricopa County Community Colleges were recently added as a partner and they’re one of the cheapest and most accessible set of degree programs in the area - if you sign up through the Rio Salado online program you can finish dozens of degrees completely online. The representatives attending should be able to answer all of the questions you might have about going back to school - if not, you can at least share your information so they can follow up down the road.
School In Session: Kyrene schools in Tempe are back in session for fall as of this Wednesday, July 23rd. ASU’s Fall session will start in another month on August 21st. Please be extra careful if you work or drive near Tempe’s schools - there will be a lot of students and drivers who may not be paying attention over the next few weeks. If you start work at or later than 8AM each day also consider that there may be an increase in Tempe traffic which would impact your commute time.
Employee Assistance Program: I’ve mentioned this a few times but only in passing - Tempe has a program to assist employees experiencing major stressors and the inconveniences that can come with all stages of life. The EAP page on the Bridge goes into specific details and has contact links, but here is a brief summary of what they offer.
Legal Consultation - Receive a free, 30-minute legal consultation per issue with a local attorney.
Convenience Resources - Knowledgeable specialists provide referrals that help address a wide range of challenges such as child or elder care, adoption, pet care, home repair and more!
In-the-Moment Support - A licensed clinician answers 24/7/365 when you call for assistance with work-related pressures, depression, stress, anxiety, grief, relationship problems, substance abuse or other emotional health concerns.
Virtual Support Connect - Digital group support platform offers moderated sessions hosted by licensed counselors on topics such as grief, mindfulness, preventing burnout and more.
Short-term Counseling - Receive up to eight (8) counseling sessions, in-person or via video.
These resources are available to all employees, regardless of income - this is essentially one part of your total compensation package. As far as I know, any information you share is handled by non-City of Tempe partners and kept confidential to the same level you can expect from a licensed therapist. I have not used these resources myself and am interested in any feedback from members who have - if there were super positive experiences or areas where these resources missed the mark, I can bring them up in a Six-Sided Partnership Meeting.
Thanks for a great week, everyone!