And the 2023 Steward Award Winners Are …
Dear OCEA member,
Each year OCEA’s Board of Directors and OCEA staff celebrate OCEA’s stewards with an end-of-the-year awards ceremony to recognize their collective achievements and some outstanding individuals who stepped up in big ways for their co-workers and the Union.
OCEA stewards are the heart and soul of the Orange County Employees Association. They are the few who act for many; the workplace leaders who fight for fairness, safety, stronger standards, and higher wages. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, OCEA wants to express our gratitude for our incredible stewards by simply saying—WE ARE THANKFUL FOR ALL WHO VOLUNTEERED THEIR TIME to take part in our movement in 2023.
The OCEA President’s Award recognizes OCEA stewards who demonstrate outstanding service and dedication to their fellow OCEA members. To properly recognize the winners of this year’s 2023 OCEA President’s Award, we are announcing them and highlighting their accomplishments before the awards dinner. Below you will find the names of our 2023 OCEA President’s Award recipients and learn more about their contributions.
Kendall Ackroyd | Social Services Agency
Kendall has been doing the work of a steward for years and officially signed up this year! Back when SSA’s Children & Family Services had a Caseload Management Forum, she was an active participant that would regularly speak up on behalf of her co-workers. As a steward, she regularly attends meetings and she’s always available to help give insight to the pulse of her workplace at any given time. Kendall is dependable and always a call away.
Analilia Barajas | Social Services Agency
Analilia has been an instrumental voice for SSA workers within Children & Family Services and their fight for manageable caseloads and critical resources. She is known for putting flyers on every desk in her workplace to raise awareness of member meetings, and for bringing new faces to meetings consistently. She joined the 2023 County OCEA Negotiations Team where she advocated for CFS workers, and even took Board of Supervisors Chair Don Wagner on a ride along to provide him with a better understanding of the challenges faced by Orange County’s social workers.
Julie Bott | President, ASAP / City of Irvine
Julie always ensures ASAP (Associated Supervisory / Administrative Personnel) is doing more for their members: by providing training, solving problems, making sure members are updated on news, and more. She keeps people organized and on track toward the Union’s bigger goals and has done a great job leading in Irvine. Last year during negotiations, Julie was a key member of the team that engaged in coalition bargaining between all five Irvine bargaining units. As negotiations continued for some items this year, Julie remained at the forefront of ongoing discussions working to mitigate the impacts to members.
Louise Dionne | Brea City Employees Association Treasurer / City of Brea
Louise jumped into the role of BCEA Treasurer from the moment she volunteered to be on the Board. From that point, Louise worked tirelessly until all the books were in order. BCEA finished negotiations in June 2023 and Louise went to great lengths to secure some of the benefits of the new MOU for a new full-time member who otherwise would have missed out. Louise is appreciated by BCEA for always going above and beyond!
Kim Long | Health Care Agency
Kim, who served on the 2023 County Negotiations Team, worked closely with OCEA staff to negotiate a side letter related to the implementation of SB 1334, legislation which ensured rest break and meal periods for nurses and others providing direct patient care. Kim’s expertise and insights played a critical role in OCEA’s ability to reach an agreement with the County. While not a perfect outcome, Kim’s efforts helped preserve critically important correctional health services practices for the betterment of impacted nurses.
Richard Lopez | Public Works
Richard is a new member this year who has immersed himself in what it means to be an OCEA steward. He’s worked hard to let his co-workers know he’s the one to come to if they have questions, especially as they navigated changes with their Health Reimbursement Accounts. Richard took the time to delve deep into the change and made sure his fellow members understood this complex issue and had the information they needed to make their HRA choice.
Stephanie Marquina | Social Services Agency
Stephanie has been on our CFS Clerical Labor Management Committee from the beginning. She excels at making sure workers’ voices are heard in the workplace and at the LMC. Stephanie worked along with Tricia Shirata and others to achieve great wins in telecommuting. She challenges management and isn’t afraid to speak up to create the positive change her co-workers need. There’s still a way to go but Stephanie will be there advocating for her co-workers all the way.
Irania Osornio | Clerk-Recorder
Irania is a steward who consistently has the MOU readily accessible to answer questions for her co-workers. At one point she was the only steward at OC Clerk-Recorder and, before she would reach out to OCEA on any issue, she would always try to answer the question herself first. She signs up new members and tells them about the benefits of being a member. During negotiations she helped organize the conference room for Members Only seminars and was an alternate on the negotiations team. She is often the direct contact between her co-workers and the department head, sharing feedback and trying to improve her workplace for all.
Olga Savedra | Public Works
Olga became a steward this year and immediately made her mark. As a custodial lead at County Admin North, Olga helped to organize meetings between her team and OCEA’s labor relations representatives. She did a great job letting us know their concerns and helped to be a conduit for change in her workplace. Olga works the night shift, where it’s harder to foster workplace leaders, but she has stepped up in a big way for the benefit of her co-workers.
Tricia Shirata | Social Services Agency
Tricia is one of the original members of the CFS Clerical Labor Management Committee. Over the last couple of years, the committee has worked to make meaningful changes in the department. When the committee was assigned a new executive from the County, progress slowed, and we had to start over on many items. However, Tricia always keeps our positive progress in perspective, which is key to finding success in the LMC. Tricia worked along with Stephanie Marquina and others to achieve great wins in telecommuting for her co-workers.
Sharmie Velasco | Sheriff’s Department
Sharmie was an alternate on the 2023 County Negotiations Team, and she did an excellent job regularly attending debrief meetings and keeping her co-workers in the know. She was also instrumental in the work to negotiate a side letter related to SB 1334, which ensured rest break and meal periods for nurses and others providing direct patient care. By collecting about 100 signatures from co-workers in response to the County’s implementation of SB 1334, Sharmie demonstrated her commitment to labor, organizing, and improving the working conditions of our members.
Lois Wilson | Social Services Agency
Simply put, Lois holds it down for OCEA out at SSA South. She’s been involved in OCEA for many years by making sure everyone knows what’s going on, passing out swag, making sure her location is included in Health Fair swag drops, and more. Lois makes sure her co-workers down south are as represented as those in the Civic Center. We’re glad she made her union activism official in recent years by becoming an OCEA steward.
Please join us in congratulating this year’s recipients!
STAY TUNED—next week when we announce who will receive the 2023 Distinguished Board Member Award!
In Solidarity,
Judy Bowling
OCEA President
Publication Date: November 21, 2023
