4/9 Weekly Email + Q2 2026 Newsletter
Hi all,
I have a few updates this week and then the latest copy of our newsletter.
April Members Meeting: Apologies for the last minute notice, but the UAEA board decided to cancel the planned attendance of several City Council members at next Thursday’s meeting. The City Attorney’s Office sent out an email to staff on Tuesday which contained several reminders about election policy - while we didn’t think we would be directly violating those, out of an abundance of caution we have decided to push their attendance to later in the year, post-election. The intention is to avoid any appearance of impropriety by both our board and members attending. The 4/16 meeting will be a more standard meeting where we will discuss MOU topics and negotiation status, our upcoming UAEA elections, opinions of members on a few citywide topics, and UAEA’s plans for the rest of the year.
You can rsvp to attend here. I have also extended the RSVP deadline to Saturday, April 11th, at 12pm.
Newsletter: I’m proud to drop the latest edition of our newsletter, which includes an update on elections, new Employee of the Quarter winners, the winner of our Art Contest, details on our next contest, and an updated local event calendar. This will be posted to bulletin boards soon.
Calendar of Events: I’ve attached a separate copy of the events calendar which has been on the last page of the last few newsletters. We’re trying to highlight things going on in and around Tempe so members have a convenient list of things to do - if there are certain events or celebrations that you’d like to see highlighted, feel free to reach out and we may include them in the next newsletter.
We’ve mentioned a few events at local museums in prior newsletters and I wanted to remind people (or let them know), that most Maricopa County libraries (both in and outside of the Maricopa County library district) participate in the Culture Pass program, which lets people check out 2 free admission tickets to local museums and venues for a period of 7 days. Check out your local libraries’ website for details about whether they participate and how to use the passes, but most offer free admission to places like the Phoenix Art Museum, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Western Spirit Museum, and the Arizona Heritage Center. Normal admission prices are $15 to $30/pp, so this can be a huge cost savings.
Nationwide Retirement Seminar: Nationwide will be hosting a retirement planning seminar this coming Wednesday, April 15th, from 10-11AM. This chat will cover some best practices for structuring how you take retirement funds - proper structuring could save you thousands on your tax bill every year. I’ve attached an email with more information. If you are still collecting healthcare points, this would count for 5 points towards the financial wellness incentive.
Updates on New Holiday Survey: I’ve attached a chart showing the initial results of the “Replacement Holiday Survey” I sent out last week. Please note that the survey had people rank their preferences from 1st thru 8th place - that means a lower score on this chart indicates more people preferred it (more 1st-3rd place rankings) and a higher score means less people preferred it (more 6-8th place rankings). Based on this data, our members generally prefer “Farmworkers Day,” followed by “Women Farmworker’s Day,” and “International Workers Day.” Several members also proposed slight variations of the “Farmworkers” title which I have passed along - those included a few variants like “Farmhands Day,” “Migrant Workers Day,” and “Agriculture Day.”
Again, I cannot guarantee that this is what Tempe will decide upon in the end, but I can assure everyone that we have had several opportunities to make our case and communicate the preferences of our membership.
Medical Insurance Premiums: I wanted to give employees a heads up that medical insurance premiums will be increasing slightly in July, a combination of more medical claims than anticipated in the last two years, more expensive medical claims over the past two years, and rising pharmaceutical costs. Costs for dental and vision coverage will not increase, and the City’s contribution to everyone’s Mediflex account will be going up by the same percentage as the premium increase. The City gets quarterly reports about medical costs from a third party and they have reported most municipalities have either already increased or are planning to increase their premiums by 13-15% for similar reasons - the current plan is that Tempe’s increase will not reach the double digits. Tempe HR is planning on sending out more details with exact amounts of the increase in May - I’ll highlight that when it drops.
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). These have been open for several months and the deadline for first reviews has come and gone - my assumption is that the departments have seen a lack of qualified candidates and are interested in interviewing anyone who can meet minimum qualifications. 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 43 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 museum curation, municipal litigation, or creating GIS maps, I would take another look at the hiring site.
UTILITIES SERVICES TECHNICIAN / SENIOR UTILITIES SERVICES TECHNICIAN / PRINCIPAL UTILITIES SERVICES TECHNICIAN - Job Code 902348. Ranges are 104, 106, and 108
These positions handle repairs to Tempe water systems. No experience with water infrastructure is needed to apply, just a high school diploma and some experience with “general construction, plumbing, HVAC systems or related fields.” If you have Facilities or Building Maintenance experience, you can probably get an interview. You can get all necessary certifications for this role in your first year on the job, and it’s a flex-series, meaning you can automatically be promoted to higher ranges once you have a certain amount of experience and certificates.
FIRE FLEET TECHNICIAN / SENIOR FIRE FLEET TECHNICIAN - Job Code 902406, Ranges are 108 and 112.
These positions do maintenance work for Tempe Fire, meaning they exclusively focus on fire equipment (compared to normal Fleet Technicians, who may handle almost any piece of Tempe equipment). The minimum experience for the roles are 1 year and 2 years of vehicle maintenance work, respectively, and the base level does not require any certifications when applying (with more needing to be gained within 24 months of hire). The senior level requires only 2 certifications to apply (with more needing to be gained within 24 months of hire), and they could be obtained while working in the base level role. I recognize these probably are jobs that only our Fleet Technicians will be interested in but I urge them to consider taking a look - Senior Mechanics in the main Fleet shop top out in Range 110, but this Senior role tops out in 112, which is $12,000/year higher at the highest level.
FACILITIES MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN - TCA - Job Codes is 902393. Range is 108.
This position involves performing minor maintenance work around Tempe Center for the Arts. It requires 2 years of experience with facility maintenance or related experience - if your position currently involves repairs, maintenance, or cleanup, it may be worth putting in an application - being able to show you can follow directions (like install instructions) and have an attention to detail will likely help you out. The roles only require a high school diploma/GED and 2 years of maintenance experience.
PLANT MECHANIC (Openings at Water Treatment Plant and Wells/Lift Stations Team) - Job Code is 902385 - Range is 108.
This role is an entry level position at the Tempe Water plants or some of the field sites and involves performing minor fixes and maintenance to our water systems. It only requires a high school diploma/GED, one of three water certifications, which can be obtained within a year of hire, and 2 years’ experience in maintenance, plumbing, or HVAC work. If you already work for the City in Water, Facilities, or even as a TCA Maintenance Technician, this would be a good role to get your foot in the door at the water plants, then potentially move into Plant Operator roles when they open up (which top out at 112).
UAEA College Scholarship: The 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. Members can find the full list of rules at this link, and apply to the contest here.
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.
Valley Metro: April is Bike Month and Valley Metro is offering a variety of prizes for people who bike and log their trips on the SharetheRide app. You can check out the competition here. As a reminder, the SharetheRide app offers a variety of discounts and incentives for people who log clean-air commutes (biking, taking the bus or lightrail, walking, carpooling, using an electric vehicle, etc) and Tempe offers giftcards each month to employees who do the same
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!