EV Employees

Connie Ochoa-Moreno: Member Organizer

Connie Ochoa-Moreno

Connie Ochoa-Moreno is a ten-year veteran in Chandler’s Management Services Department. She is also serving as an elected vice president of the Chandler Chapter. And recently, Connie became the first “Member Organizer” of SEIU Arizona.

As a Member Organizer, Connie will be working mornings in her city job and afternoons talking with and listening to Chandler city employees – both members and non-members – in an effort to get more and more people involved with the union.

“I work half the day at my city job and half the day as a Member Organizer,” said Connie. “In the afternoon, I contact people and make an appointment to talk with them face-to-face – when we’re face-to-face, they can see who I am and that I really believe in what I’m saying.

“I tell them that being a member makes a big difference. I ask non-members about what they would like to see or do better in the city and then tell them that the more members we have in the union, the better chance we have of making the changes they want to see.

‘The Single Most Important Thing’

“Increasing membership is the single most important thing we can do because I know membership gives us a strong voice. And with that we can be better workers, better partners with management and better able to serve the community.”

As an original member of the Chandler ACT Organizing Committee, Connie has seen the chapter grow from a few committed employees talking with their co-workers to a city-wide union that talks with the City Council, negotiates contracts and has created a forum for employee-management discussions focused on job improvements and new ideas. It’s an idea that is becoming a model for public service employees across the state.

“After the past three years, I feel that I am pretty well qualified to go out there and talk to people and try and get it across to them how important it is to get into the union, to be a member,” she said.

But she also recognizes that, for many, joining a union is a new experience.

“I think it’s just a big change for people – they have never done this before – and a lot of people don’t accept change very easily. I think many people don’t yet understand that we’re a different kind of union.

Sure, wages and benefits are important; they are for anyone who works no matter what their job. But we’re also very focused on creating relationships that will make it easier to solve problems that come up, to improve the workplace and to ensure the respect that every good employee deserves,” she said. “And that adds up to better service for the community.”

Connie likes her new role. For the city, she works as a customer service representative and loves working with people.

“I think the best part is that I get to meet a lot of people working in different departments, people I don’t know and ordinarily wouldn’t meet.

“Management respects us, so I can go into departments and say ‘here I am’ and then sit and talk with different people and answer their questions.”

“I am really, really grateful that I have this opportunity to talk with my co-workers. The more I do it, the more I learn, and that’s great.”