AMEA Strength and Solidarity: Reflecting on 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025
Dear AMEA member,
On behalf of the AMEA Board of Directors and the Executive Board, I want to thank you for the hard work you put in for the residents of Anaheim each day. Not only does your work help our city function, but it will benefit Anaheim for years to come. Just as your work keeps the City running, our collective work in 2024 helped to build bridges among our membership, politically, and in our communities, that will also resonate for years to come.
Last year AMEA members mobilized in ways we have not before, whether that be hosting EVERY City Council member at our Board of Directors meetings to directly supporting Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava in the effort against her recall, Board Director Tierney Brooks showed that when we stand together, we can achieve great things. Tierney represented AMEA joining Councilwoman Rubalcava walk to her electoral district and educating constituents as to why our union opposed this recall.
Our Political Action Committee and Board of Directors endorsed 3 council members and attended Mayor Ashleigh Aitken's fundraiser; Council member Carlos Leon's Backpack Drive; Council member Ryan Balius' election night watch party; a neighborhood BBQ for Council member Natalie Rubalcava and more. Most importantly, all 7 elected members of the Anaheim City Council came to speak to our Board of Directors over the course of the year, giving AMEA members face time with the elected leadership of our city.
We spent time throughout Anaheim with members, conducting site visits, new-member orientations, serving lunch from the OCEA Hot Dog Wagon or bringing in a taco cart. We also hosted our end-of-summer Oktoberfest to bring together AMEA for brats, union resources and more. And we celebrated numerous public employee recognition days, including those for staff at departments including Anaheim Convention Center, Code Enforcement, Finance, Libraries, Metro-Cities Fire Dispatch, Park Rangers, Police and more.
AMEA wants to thank members like Victor Antuna, a Board of Director from the Anaheim Convention Center who brought vendor site visits from AFLAC and Legal Shield to his workplace; to Alex Portillo from Public Works, who set up a site visit with skilled craftworkers to come and speak to members for workplace development; to Board Directors Delia Aranda and Omar Gazpar, who coordinated a site visit and appreciation day for members of Code Enforcement, Board Director Elena Camacho for coordinating a site visit with members of Finance; and so many more.
And, notably, we greatly enhanced wages and benefits for our part-time AMEA Police Cadet Unit in negotiations. In 2025, we hope to build even more solidarity as we prepare to return to the negotiations table. We hope more of you will reach out to us to join the Board of Directors, and to help bring AMEA into more departments and workplaces citywide.
Here's to 2025.
In Solidarity,
Jonnae Barreras
AMEA President
Publication Date: January 23, 2025
