Utah Public Employees' Association
UTAH WORKS BECAUSE WE DO
Join us for our annual HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE at the UPEA office on
Wednesday, December 8 from 11:00am-1:00pm.
Our office is located at 1000 W Bellwood Ln, Murray. Members and non-members are welcome to stop by for food, treats, and prizes to celebrate the season!
If you have questions, please contact Kendle Zdunich
at 801-264-8732 ext. 209 or kendle@upea.net.
In the spring and summer of 1985, the Utah Public Employees’ Association launched the first “Whirlwind Tour”, with the aim to publicize UPEA goals and show appreciation for public employees. Over the 45-day tour, UPEA staff held 82 presentations, traveled more than 4,000 miles, and recruited 252 new members, averaging 5.6 new members per day.
After multiple pandemic-related delays, UPEA staff members were finally able to set out on an homage to the original Whirlwind Tour. The objective was the same; to share UPEA’s goals and appreciation for Utah’s public employees in agencies all over the state. UPEA staff designed retro-themed Whirlwind Tour t-shirts and swag to hand out at every stop along the way. Current staff members, consisting of UPEA Executive Director Todd Losser, and Employee Representatives Kendle Zdunich, Hannah Gorski, and Sam Unruh, hit the road August 9, 2021.
In the first week of the tour, staff traveled through Price, Moab, Blanding, Kanab, St. George, Hurricane, Cedar City, Panguitch, Richfield, Gunnison, Mount. Pleasant and ended the week with a final stop in Nephi. Staff originally set a goal to recruit 100 new members over the course of the tour, calling it the “Road to 100” initiative. Following the tremendous success of the first week, the recruitment goal was increased to 200 new members.
On August 17, the staff dedicated a full day to the Salt Lake Valley Local Government District, starting early at Salt Lake County Public Works and ending the day at the Salt Lake Valley Landfill.
The next full week of the tour began on September 27. Staff traveled through Roosevelt, Vernal, Heber and Midway on Monday; Spanish Fork, Salem, Provo, Orem, American Fork and Nephi on Tuesday; and Ogden, Logan, Brigham City, and Clearfield on Wednesday.
The final week of the tour took place all over the Salt Lake Valley. Staff visited offices on North Temple and in downtown Salt Lake City, Taylorsville, Murray, Sandy, Draper, West Valley City and all the way out to Tooele. Over 12 days of the 2021 Whirlwind Tour, UPEA staff held events at 100 agency locations, traveled 2,198 miles, and signed up 252 new members, recruiting an average of 21 new members per day.
A special thank you to the district leadership and members who helped UPEA staff schedule events, reserve rooms, pick up food, and bring their nonmember coworkers. It would not have been such a success without your help!
At the conclusion of the legislative session in March 2021, Representative Christofferson (R-Lehi) formed a workgroup to discuss Governor Cox’s vision to modernize the state employee workforce. The workgroup included representatives from the Governor’s Office of Planning & Budget, the Department of Government Operations, the Department of Human Resource Management, the Utah State Auditor’s Office, Legislative Research & General Counsel, and UPEA.
The workgroup met in April to discuss career service, performance management, supervisor/manager training, compensation, and streamlining the current grievance process. The UPEA State Board gave input regarding the lack of funding, pay increases, training, high turnover, recruitment and retention of quality employees, and the difficulty of competing with other agencies and public employers.
COMMUNICATION WITH GOVERNOR COX
Based upon the recommendations from the UPEA task force, the UPEA State Board made a motion to formally support a performance-based compensation model, mandatory training for managers and supervisors, and streamlining the current grievance process. The State Board endorses these recommendations centered on the fact they will have an empowering and positive effect on state employees.
However, UPEA continues to express concern about eliminating career service protections for supervisors. On September 15, 2021, the State Board sent a letter to Governor Cox asking for his position regarding “at will” and career service employment. The letter stated, “These protections are in place to protect against political influence, safeguard fair hiring and termination practices, and preserve an employee’s ability to grieve an adverse job action.”
Jon Pierpont, Chief-of-Staff for Governor Cox, replied to the letter and stated that the Governor “understands that these discussions are central in the lives of many thousands of employees working on behalf of Team Utah and wants to communicate that our administration will continue to work alongside [UPEA] collaboratively and in good faith. We know that the work being done is helping to modernize our workforce and deliver a strong employee value proposition to our workforce. As this bill develops and the conversation continues, our senior representatives will carry forth the governor’s collaborative spirit, making sure to keep us apprised of developments continuously.”
2022 LEGISLATION
Representative Christofferson made a presentation to the Government Operations Interim Committee on October 20, 2021, and outlined his draft legislation to give supervisors the option to move from Schedule B (career service) to Schedule A (at-will). The option will be a voluntary election for current supervisors – new supervisors will be hired solely as Schedule A employees.
UPEA Executive Director Todd Losser testified on behalf of the State Board and provided the following statement:
“On behalf of the UPEA State Board of Directors I would like to thank Rep. Christofferson, and the other participants in the workgroup, for their time and effort in discussing and recognizing the importance of public employees. UPEA has been involved with the workgroup for several months. UPEA also created an internal task force that conducted an in-depth overview of pay for performance, the grievance process, training, and career service. We look forward to providing additional input as we work through the final details of this bill.”
UPEA will continue to provide updates on the status of this bill including communication between the UPEA State Board and Representative Christofferson. It is important to remember that any potential legislation is considered a work in progress and UPEA will remain part of this process.
As a Utah state employee, you are going to see decisions made in the next four months that will affect you, your job, your family, and your lifestyle. You can help make those decisions positive and helpful for you and other state employees. You owe it to yourself to have a relationship with the elected officials who represent you. As they get to know you, they will value your expertise and input.
The Utah Legislature is going to hear proposals regarding your salary, health insurance, retirement, and career service status. If you have not already established a relationship with your legislators, now is the time to introduce yourself.
Your legislators need to know who you are. They need to know what you do to help Utah and its many government entities fulfill their responsibility to the citizens of Utah. They need to know what you do to help make the quality of life better for all of us who live here.
In addition, they need to know what they can do to help you better fulfill your responsibilities. They need to know how they can help you to be able to do a better job for the people in your communities. They need to know what you think about changes they are considering.
Click here for suggestions on effectively communicating with your state senator and representative, or review video tutorials from the previous session.
The important work of putting together Utah’s budget for the 2023 fiscal year is underway, as legislators meet with various stakeholders throughout Utah, and interim committees meet to discuss potential legislation for the 2022 session.
Over the past year, UPEA lobbyists are emphasizing the need to increase compensation for public employees. UPEA representatives have been meeting regularly with DHRM and state legislators to address the severe compression impacting employee morale, recruitment, and retention across all state agencies.
Utah public employees have proven their dedication and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to provide outstanding services to the citizens of Utah despite ongoing challenges. Due to high turnover and low recruitment, employees are taking on new positions and workloads to provide these critical services. Employees should be recognized in the form of a generous pay increase.
This year, UPEA will lobby for a 6% total compensation package with the intent of securing a 3% across-the-board increase and an additional 3% for targeted hot spot positions. Contrary to the legislature’s past practice of funding low state employee salaries with cost-of-living adjustments, UPEA believes that targeted position funding is the most effective way to make a true impact.
Your personnel file includes employment documents, such as your job description, annual personnel evaluations, and if applicable, record of any disciplinary actions you’ received. Your employer may refer to personnel files when considering promotions or disciplinary action. To ensure accuracy, it is important to be aware of which records are in your file.
As a public employee, you are entitled to review your personnel file. Utah State Code 67-18-1, grants you the “right to examine and make copies of documents in [your] own personnel files.” If you want to look at your personnel file, you must request so with your agency’s human resources representative. A human resources representative or designee will be present when you examine your file. If you want to make copies of anything in your file, we suggest keeping the copies at your home.
If you have any questions or concerns about your personnel file and how to access it, reach out to your UPEA representative or call the office at (801)-264-8732.
UPEA representatives attended the Salt Lake County Council Work Session on October 26, 2021, to participate in the first budget workshop of the season. At the meeting, an HR representative presented Mayor Jenny Wilson’s proposed budget recommendations, including:
During their discussion on compensation recommendations, council members showed support for funding increases for employees, but uncertainty on how to distribute them. Council members expressed concerns about across-the-board adjustments, favoring increased merit adjustments in the future. It was addressed that these policy decisions should be discussed in the long term and not rushed during this budget season.
Following discussion, council members voted to adopt the benefit package as recommended by the mayor. The motion passed with four county council members voting in opposition. The budget process is ongoing; conversations continue for how to distribute a compensation increase for employees.
UPEA representatives have been in discussions with Mayor Wilson’s office and Salt Lake County Council members. Support for Mayor Wilson’s proposed budget— $12 million be distributed to employees as a 2% structural pay adjustment across the board and a 2.75% merit pay increase for those with a performance rating of 3 and above—is growing. Although support is growing, the final budget has not been passed and UPEA continues to advocate for the mayor’s proposed budget including redlined employees receiving increases as a lump-sum bonus.
Salt Lake County Councilmember, Aimee Winder Newton, presented the following Leg Intent on Performance Pay at the County Council Work Session on November 16, 2021:
“It is the legislative intent of the Salt Lake County Council to support a new performance pay plan that would incentivize and reward high employee performance. It is the Council’s intent to revise policy to no longer provide an across-the-board merit adjustment to all employees who scored 3 or higher on their performance evaluation. The County Council will only provide funding for merit increases in the 2023 budget to those departments and offices that can adequately demonstrate a pay for performance methodology that distributes increases to employees based upon their performance evaluations, and which rewards higher performing employees with greater merit increases. The County Council will work with Human Resources to build a program and revise HR policy, as needed, in order to effectuate these changes in a systematic, rational, and fair manner throughout the County. Other compensation measures will also be examined as we look for the best way to attract and retain hard-working employees.”
UPEA will work with the mayor’s office and councilmembers to make sure employees’ voices are heard during the transition from the current pay structure to a more enhanced pay for performance structure.
If you have questions about the budget, contact employee representative Hannah Gorski at hannah@upea.net or 801-264-8732 ext. 216
The Utah Public Employees’ Association (UPEA) is proud to participate in the Public Employee Salute Program. The idea for the program originated in 1999, when a past UPEA executive director noticed that KSL Radio had a special segment to recognize Utah teachers. The segment is commonly known as the “Teacher Feature.” However, there was no feature recognizing Utah’s public employees. The following year, the UPEA and Mountain America Credit Union Public Employee Salute program began.
The following individuals have been nominated and recognized with the
Public Employee Salute for their hard work for the state of Utah.
Tyler Rutner is an Environmental Health Scientist with the Salt Lake County Health Department. He has been helping other employees by doing extra Temporary Food inspections. The division of food protection has had many employees retire and leave employment during the past year. Tyler has been proactive in training the 4 new inspectors. He also helped a food establishment get free paint by referring them to HHW when they did not have money to buy supplies to fix their floors and walls. Thank you, Tyler, for going above and beyond to protect public health!
Dr. Jenny Pedersen has been an audiologist with the Utah Department of Health’s Children with Special Healthcare Needs (CSHCN) Bureau since 2013. Providing public health audiology is a passion of hers and although the CSHCN Clinics lost their funding and closed in 2015, Dr. Pedersen still provides hearing screening services at community health centers and tele-audiology assessments for infants in rural Utah. She also serves as the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Hearing Aid Programs Coordinator, managing the Children’s Hearing Aid and Hearing Aid Recycling Programs, helping families in need. Dr. Pedersen has established excellent community partnerships and frequently meets with the legislature, advocating for children who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing. She is an incredible asset to the Utah Department of Health and a respected member of the pediatric audiology community. Dr. Pedersen has a kind heart and is an amazing public employee, providing the BEST service, always with a smile.
Neil Opperman is an Environmental Health Scientist with the Salt Lake County Health Department. He has gone the extra mile during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, Neil was contract tracing six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. Even while working long hours, he always had a smile on his face. Neil’s friendly and calm demeanor makes him a pleasure to work with. Neil currently works in food protection and has performed all the plan reviews and preopening inspections for food establishments at the airport. Thank you, Neil, for going above and beyond in your assignments and working hard to protect public health.
Sergeant Parm Patrick exemplifies what it means to be a Correctional Sergeant with the Utah Department of Corrections. Sergeant Patrick is always willing to answer questions, provide training, and teach staff members about aspects of the job. He creates a warm and inviting environment for all staff and facilitates weekend events so each employee can feel a part of the corrections team. Sergeant Patrick also officiates sporting events in the community and volunteers all year round, specifically during the holidays with fund raising and Angel Tree donations. Thank you, Sergeant Patrick, for being a role model to everyone.
Joe Herrera, a District Permits Officer for Region 2 of the Utah Department of Transportation, moved through the permits department from blue stakes locator to permits inspections. Joe took charge after the small amount of training that was given to him and stepped up to oversee several contractors each day. He is always willing to work the needed nights or weekends or answer emergency work call outs. Thank you, Joe, for being proactive in keeping those in right of way to wear proper safety attire and keep active traffic control and lane closures to protect workers and traveling public.
Sherri Pitts has been working as a Purchasing Agent for nearly 31 years at the Central Utah Correctional Facility. She shows extraordinary competence while performing her tasks. Sherri saves the state thousands of dollars every year by putting inmate food items out for second market bid even though it’s more difficult and time consuming. Sherri is recognized for being excellent at her job, knowing the ins and out of FINET and can handle any problem that arises. She is very helpful in answering questions, has made training templates for CUCF in FINET and shows patience while guiding and developing the skills of a new employee. Thank you, Sherri, for being an asset to CUCF and the state of Utah.
Jake Serago, an engineer for the Utah Division of Water Resources, is a brilliant water modeler. He takes complex water systems and creates a virtual water model that replicates what we see in the real world. His models allow water planners to model “what-if” scenarios and make better decisions for the state’s water future. Jake considers factors and variables that other modelers might overlook, caring about getting input from all sides of an issue. Jake is recognized for being positive, upbeat, and a friendly and sincere person. He cares about improving his office, the state, and the entire planet. Thank you, Jake, for always looking for ways to improve air quality, reduce use of plastics, and use limited water supplies wisely.
Julie Armstrong is recognized for her work for the Utah Department of Health’s Division of Medicaid and Health Financing. She provides education and support to employees, Medicaid members and providers, and key stakeholders. She always ensures that the information being requested is complete, concise, and understood by all parties involved. Julie has a knack for finding things that aren’t working well and providing well thought out suggestions to improve efficiencies within her own team, in addition to key stakeholders for Medicaid. Thank you, Julie, for your commitment to serving the Medicaid population and taking pride in the team you are a part of.
Stephanie Hofeling is a dedicated employee of the Department of Human Services Division of Juvenile Justice Services. She is recognized for working harder than anyone on her graveyard shift. Her coworkers want her to know how much she truly means to her team. Thank you, Stephanie, for your dedication and service to the state of Utah.
Mary Morales is the Community Resource Liaison for Department of Workforce Services in Davis County. She is responsible for making connections with community partners and developing resources for customers in need. She has created a Clothing Donation Closet where she provides interview clothing for customers, has worked to create a resource for kids needing glasses and supplies to go back to school, and developed a connection with the Victim Advocate Office to help families experiencing homelessness. She also works with a countless number of other advocacy groups. Mary touches the lives of everyone she works with and is an integral part of her work team. Thank you, Mary, for being a hero in the community.
Thank you all for your dedication to the citizens of Utah!
Click here to nominate an outstanding employee for recognition in the Public Employee Salute.
Throughout the 2021 Legislative Session UPEA followed House Bill 280, State Employment Amendments, sponsored by Representative Kay Christofferson (R-Lehi). The purpose of HB280 was to exempt state employees in supervisor positions from the safeguards of career service status. UPEA began a series of conversations and meetings with Representative Christofferson about HB280, which eventually did not pass during the session.
The Legislative Session concluded in March 2021, and Representative Christofferson formed a workgroup to discuss the vision of Governor Cox to modernize the state employee workforce. The workgroup included representatives from the governor’s office, DHRM, the State Auditor’s office, Legislative Research and General Counsel, and UPEA.
The workgroup began meeting in April to discuss career service, performance management, supervisor training, compensation, and streamlining the current grievance process.
During this same time UPEA also convened an internal task force to study these same items from an employee perspective. The task force included the UPEA officers and members representing the Departments of Corrections, Health, Workforce Services, Natural Resources, Transportation, and Human Services.
For an in-depth overview of the UPEA internal task force and their recommendations, please click here.
Based upon the recommendations from the UPEA task force, the UPEA State Board made a motion to formally support a performance-based compensation model, mandatory training for managers and supervisors, and streamlining the current grievance process. The State Board endorses these recommendations centered on the fact they will have an empowering and positive affect on state employees.
However, UPEA continues to express concern about eliminating career service protections for supervisors. On September 15, 2021, the State Board sent a letter to Governor Cox asking for his position regarding “at will” and career service employment. The letter to Governor Cox also stated, “These protections are in place to protect against political influence, safeguard fair hiring and termination practices, and preserve an employee’s ability to grieve an adverse job action.”
The governor’s office replied to the letter, stating that Governor Cox “understands that these discussions are central in the lives of many thousands of employees working on behalf of Team Utah and wants to communicate that our administration will continue to work alongside [UPEA] collaboratively and in good faith. We know that the work being done is helping to modernize our workforce and deliver a strong employee value proposition to our workforce. As this bill develops and the conversation continues, our senior representatives will carry forth the governor’s collaborative spirit, making sure to keep us apprised of developments continuously.
On September 21, 2021, the workgroup met and one of the discussion items was a review of UPEA’s letter to Governor Cox. Representative Christofferson and members of the workgroup offered to meet with the State Board. This meeting took place at the UPEA offices on October 7, 2021, and included the following participants:
The State Board believes the in-depth meeting with representatives from the workgroup was positive and UPEA’s participation is essential in providing valuable input as the representative for state employees.
The conversation with the State Board included a discussion of “at-will” employees. Representative Christofferson stated he would like to run legislation for supervisors to have the option of moving from Schedule B (career service) to Schedule A (at-will). The option will be a voluntary election for current supervisors – new supervisors will be hired solely as Schedule A employees.
The State Board provided input regarding the lack of funding, pay increases, and training for employees, high turnover, and the difficulty of competing with other government agencies and public employers relative to pay.
Representative Christofferson will provide an overview of the workgroup and his bill during legislative interim meetings on October 20, 2021. UPEA will testify and provide comments on behalf of the State Board after his presentation.
The State Board will continue to discuss this matter and will meet prior to the November legislative interim meetings to provide additional input to Representative Christofferson and representatives from the governor’s office.
UPEA will provide updates and communicate further developments, which may include additional recommendations from the State Board to Representative Christofferson and the workgroup. Any potential legislation is a work in progress and UPEA will continue to be part of the process. Utah’s greatest resource is its public employees and UPEA remains committed to work on your behalf.
After a long year full of heavy workloads and very little face-to-face contact, UPEA staff is setting off on a state-wide recruitment tour to spread the word about the importance of UPEA membership! In true whirlwind fashion, UPEA staff aim to visit over 50 agencies and recruit at least 100 new members over the course of this two-part recruitment tour.
All public employees in each area are invited to attend for food, swag giveaways, prize drawings, and to learn more about the benefits of UPEA membership! At each recruitment event, staff will give retro WHIRLWIND TOUR TEES to all new and existing members!
The first week of the tour took place August 9-12 and was a huge success! Staff visited 33 agencies throughout central and southern Utah, drove 1,039 miles, and recruited 70 new members! The following week on Tuesday, August 17, staff visited 6 SLCo agencies, drove over 50 miles, and recruited 18 new members for the Salt Lake Valley Local Government District – Bringing the Whirlwind Tour recruitment total up to 88 NEW MEMBERS!
Since we are so close to reaching our recruitment goal on the “ROAD to 100” after only one week, we are DOUBLING it and hope to recruit 112 more members during weeks two and three of the Whirlwind Tour. WE NEED YOUR HELP on the ROAD TO 200! See the detailed schedule for WEEK THREE below and stop by the event nearest you! Be sure to bring your coworkers, especially those who need to join UPEA – You’ll receive a $50 recruiter bonus for each member you recruit during the Whirlwind Tour!
WEEK THREE
monday, October 4: Salt Lake City & West Valley City
7:00-8:00am: Breakfast at the Region 2 UDOT
8:30-9:30am: Breakfast at the SLEC Workforce Services
10:00-11:00am: Breakfast at the Department of Natural Resources
11:30am-12:30pm: Lunch at the Cannon Health Building
11:30am-12pm: Lunch at the Split Mountain JJS
1:00-2:00pm: Lunch at the Tax Commission and Multi-Agency State Office Building
2:30-3:00pm: Treats at the Buffmire Voc. Rehab Building
TUESDAY, October 5: Salt Lake City & Tooele
8:00-9:00am: Breakfast at the Metro Workforce Services
9:30-10:30am: Breakfast at the State Office of Education
11:00-11:30am: Treats at the Metro Human Services
12:00-1:00pm: Lunch at the Heber Wells Building & Olene Walker DWS
1:30-2:00pm: Treats at the DABC Warehouse
2:30-3:00pm: Treats at the Tooele DWS & DHS
3:30-4:00pm: Treats at the Tooele County Building
WEDNESDAY, October 6: Taylorsville & West Valley City
7:00-8:00am: Breakfast at the Calvin Rampton Complex
8:30-9:30am: Breakfast at the Public Health Lab
10:00-11:00am: Breakfast at the Taylorsville State Office Building
12:00-1:00pm: Lunch at the Region 3 AP&P
1:30-2:00pm: Treats at the Taylorville Voc. Rehab
2:30-3:00pm: Treats at the Tooele DWS & DHS
3:00-3:30pm: Treats at the Decker Lack Youth Center
thursDAY, October 7: Draper, Sandy, & Taylorsville
8:00-9:00am: Tabling at the DOC Fred House Training Academy
9:30-10:00am: Tabling at the DMV/DLD in Draper
10:30-11:30am: Treats at the Sandy DCFS
12:00-1:00pm: Lunch at the South Valley DWS
1:30-2:00pm: Treats at the Sanderson Center for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing
2:30-3:00pm: Treats at the South Valley Voc. Rehab
FOLLOW UPEA on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all of the Whirlwind Tour details, find out how you can get involved, and follow along with staff throughout their state-wide journey!