Letter from our CCWA President

The Chicano Correctional Workers Association
“ WE ARE FAMILY” “SOMOS FAMILIA”
2007 Association Newsletter

First of all I would like to express what a great privilege it has been to have been able to draft our first Association Newsletter in many years. It is also the first time that the Association has utilized its website (ccwa.net) as a form of communication with its members.

2007 was a great year for The Chicano Correctional Workers Association. We like to call it the year of the “First”. Let me explain why.

1. On August 6, 2007, CCWA Recruitment Committee went to the Basic Correctional Officers Academy in Galt. We felt since this was a historical moment for CCWA, we wanted to share it with other Employee Bona Fide Organizations. We invited ABCW and CCVC to join us in informing the cadets of the different organizations that are part of CDCR.
2. We attended the CCPOA Convention and recruited numerous members. Some worked for DJJ (CYA) and wanted to help us start chapters in their work site.
3. CCWA attended the NLPOA Training Convention in October and was invited to speak at NLPOA’s National Board Meeting.
4. CCWA was invited to speak at ABCW’s State Board Meeting in October. We also attended their Training Conference.
5. Began going to institutions and meeting with the Wardens. Most Wardens expressed their interest in CCWA and invited us to continue to meet with them.
6. We will be attending the Quarterly Warden’s meeting in San Francisco in June to do a presentation.
7. We celebrated our 35th Anniversary with a formal event. There were 5 Wardens, 1 Chief Deputy Warden, a Representative from Congressman Joe Baca’s office, Representatives from ABCW, and Representatives from National Latino Peace Officers Association.
8. We have been working on a “Membership Survey” that will be mailed to members that we have addresses for. It should be mailed out as soon as we get our non-profit bulk mailing permit.

As you can see, we have been working very hard this year. We can walk with our heads held high.

In addition to all that we have accomplished, we are working on many other new ideas. One of our first priorities is developing the CCWA Child Safety Coloring Book. We are very proud of this project. Together with the corroboration from other organizations, such as The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, we will be able to get this project off the ground.

Our second priority is drafting our first professional news magazine. We hope to have the first draft by 2008. Accomplishing this job is not just a task full, but also expensive. For that reason I have asked the Chapter Presidents to update their members’ addresses. Please assist them with this assignment. This will insure that all the information and newsletters we mail out to you will arrive at the correct destination. We hope that you will be proud of your news letter.

If you have any information that you think would be beneficial to our members, contact your Chapter President. Their names are on the CCWA website.

CCWA is busy working on establishing new chapters not just within our department but also in the Department of Youth Authorities. If you know of someone who works in an institution that doesn’t have a CCWA Chapter and is interested in starting a chapter, please have them contact one of the Vice Presidents. Their email addresses are on the website.

Chapter elections will be held in 2008. If you are interested in running for a position at the chapter level, here is your chance. We will be posting the requirements along with the notice of intent to run on the website in January. If you have any questions, you may contact the Association Sgt. @ Arms, Frank Velez, at fvelez@ccwa.net.

CCWA has several standing committee positions that have vacancies. We are looking for representatives from all regions to fill those positions. If you are interested, please contact your Chapter President and/or the Committee’s Chairperson listed below:

1. Recruitment Committee Kelly Santoro
2. CCW Foundation Committee Esther Lara
3. CCW PAC Jacinto Chavez
4. Bylaws Committee Raymond Din
5. Election Committee Frank Velez

If you want to contact an Executive Member of CCWA, here is the contact information:
Chicano Correctional Workers Association
P. O. Box 3680
Visalia, Ca. 93278
Office Phone: 559-730-3630 Office Fax: 559-730-3632
Website: www.ccwa.net