9/11 Weekly Email + Documentation
Hi all,
I have a short writeup on documenting workplace concerns and then a few new updates and pieces of information.
Documenting Concerns: 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?”
Finally, please remember that you have rights and many aspects of your work environment can be changed. You are not a stronger employee or better employee because you put up with inappropriate conduct or let yourself be railroaded into making bad decisions. You are also not weak or rude for wanting respect and clear guidance in your day-to-day - that’s a basic expectation all Tempe employees are entitled to. My point here is that you do not need to tolerate an inappropriate or unsafe work environment and you have a great tool (us!) to have the tough conversations you might not want to initiate. Yes, UAEA can’t address every situation we encounter (sometimes managerial discretion wins out) but we can usually do something - we’ve sometimes found that simply voicing member concerns to managers and directors can be enough to cause immediate changes as bad actors realize they are now being observed.
9/11 and Weekend: Tempe Beach Park is hosting its annual “Healing Field” event from today, 9/11, thru Monday, 9/15. They are setting up a display of 3,000 flags and there will be a few events like a concert throughout the weekend. More information can be found here. All credit to the Tempe Tourism site for the use of their photo.
Member Meeting Survey: UAEA is planning the member meetings from January through June of 2026. We’d like some feedback from members about the best time/weekdays to host meetings and may make adjustments to our normal 12pm start times accordingly. Please fill out this survey and let us know the best times for your workgroup as well as your preferences for meeting content and food. Eagle-eyed members will notice this is very similar to a survey we sent out last year. The board discussed those results and made some changes to meetings - we hope to do the same with some more up-to-date data.
IT Classes: IT is starting Fall sessions of some of their computer classes. Adobe Acrobat, Excel Mastery, and Sharepoint in-person sessions are about to start and may still have spots. If you don’t think you have time for in-person classes there are also several on-demand courses on their website. See the attached email for more details and a link to signup.
New Peoplesoft Feature: HR/IT just added a new feature to Peoplesoft which lets employees check their pay grade, step, title, compensation, and any other elements of their pay like standby or bilingual modifiers. You can find more information here.
Ice Cream Socials: We had three ice cream events last week and one scheduled this coming week. I’ve attached the list again for reference.
12pm on Wednesday, September 17th, at the South Water Conference room.
If you don’t see your work area represented on this list please feel free to reach out - even if we don’t schedule a formal event we’re more than happy to drop off some treats in your breakroom freezer.
September Member Meeting: Our next member meeting will be at the Tempe Fire Station 1 (1400 E Apache) on Thursday, September 18th, from 12-1PM. One update - our attorney, Kathryn Bailie, will be present if you have questions for her. You can rsvp here until tonight at 5PM. Please remember that we now need rsvps 1 week in advance to give people union business time for our meetings.
Thanks for a great week, everyone!