Join Union Members on March 31st to Demand Salary Increase;
Sheriff Villanueva Announces His Support for Higher Pay
PPOA members are strongly encouraged to join fellow LA County employees on a unified march through downtown LA on March 31st. The march will stage at Grand Park and bring together members of more than a dozen unions (including PPOA, ALADS, County Fire, and more) in a show of force to draw attention to the crucial need for long overdue salary increases. This event is being coordinated by LA County Unions United (LACUU). PPOA representatives took part in multiple LACUU meetings this week to help plan the March 31st event and we look forward to strong participation from PPOA members who understand the importance of sending a forceful message to the Board of Supervisors. The march begins at 10:00AM so please plan to arrive no later than 9:30AM.

It should be noted that Sheriff Villanueva has publicly declared his "enthusiastic support for a significant salary increase" for Sheriff's Department employees in a letter to the Board of Supervisors this week. Click here to read that letter.
Meeting to Discuss COVID-19 Legal Issues
March 15: COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations may be declining in LA County, but the ongoing ripple effect on County employees continues to pose significant issues. Case in point: last week, the Sheriff's Department began informing management and executives of its plan to begin unilaterally implementing discipline related to those employees who have not registered in either the Fulgent system or the Department’s stand-alone registration portal. Click here to read the email PPOA sent to members about this matter.

PPOA representatives held their weekly teleconference on Tuesday to continue discussions on this matter and other COVID-19 issues impacting PPOA members.

Meeting participants from PPOA included President Rhodes, Executive Director Quint, Sr. Labor Rep. Venise Wallace, Labor Rep. Teresa O'Neil, Intake Rep. Kevin Thompson and PPOA legal counsel.
California Peace Officers Memorial Foundation
March 16-17: Representatives of the California Peace Officers Memorial Foundation (CPOMF), including PPOA Executive Director Wayne Quint Jr. — who also serves as Executive Director for CPOMF — met for their board meeting. Discussions were focused on finalizing logistics for the 2022 memorial ceremonies to be held on May 1st and 2nd at the State Capitol.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined the CPOMF meeting on Thursday to advise the Foundation of his commitment to honoring California's fallen heroes and their families at the May 2nd ceremony. He will serve as the Master of Ceremonies that afternoon as California enrolls 36 peace officers who died in the line of duty.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 and 2021 ceremonies were cancelled and all fallen officers who were to be honored at those ceremonies are now scheduled to be memorialized at the 2022 ceremony (click here for list of honorees.)
 
For more information about CPOMF, visit CAMemorial.org
Meeting to Discuss Heroes Ride Tribute to Military Veterans
March 16: PPOA representatives met with the Director of the Los Angeles National Cemetery to discuss plans for a poignant tribute to U.S. military veterans as part of the upcoming Heroes Ride on March 27th. In addition to honoring the sacrifice of fallen officers, PPOA's annual Heroes Ride brings hundreds of motorcycle riders into the sacred grounds of LA National Cemetery each year for a ceremony to acknowledge those who served our nation. Military veterans speaking at this year's Heroes Ride include Sheriff Alex Villanueva, State Senator Tom Umberg and Retired Army Brigadier General Robin Umberg.
Star & Shield Foundation Board of Directors Meeting
March 16: PPOA's Star & Shield Foundation hosted its monthly Board of Directors meeting via teleconference on Wednesday. Since its establishment in 2001, the Foundation has proudly raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthy organizations and causes -- with the single, most important mission of providing support to the families of fallen officers.

Meeting participants included Board Members Tab Rhodes, Nancy Escobedo, Tony Coleman, Jose Rios, as well as Members-at-Large Juan Carlos Calderon, Gold Lee, Julie Sherman and Kevin Thompson.
Coalition of County Unions Meeting
March 16: President Rhodes and fellow Coalition of County Unions (CCU) representatives met to address upcoming negotiations for a successor Fringe Benefits Memorandum of Understating (MOU) with the County. Discussions were centered on proposals the CCU plans to present to the County at the bargaining table. The current Fringe Benefits contract expires on March 31, 2022.
Sheriff Discusses Current Issues
March 16: Sheriff Villanueva hosted a Facebook live stream on Wednesday to discuss current issues including staffing shortages, the current hiring freeze and more.

PPOA Legislative Committee Meeting
March 17:  The PPOA Legislative Committee hosted a teleconference with our full-time Sacramento legislative representatives — Lang, Hansen, Giroux and Kidane  — to discuss legislation that may potentially impact PPOA members and public safety employees statewide. Participants from PPOA included President Rhodes, 1st Vice President Escobedo, 2nd Vice President Coleman and Board Member Gerry Garcia.
Meet and Confer re: LASD Mandatory Registration
March 18: PPOA representatives joined Employee Relations and Personnel on Thursday for the latest in a series of Meet and Confer teleconferences to discuss disciplinary issues pertaining to the Department's mandatory registration requirement. PPOA and the Department agreed to continue the Meet and Confer series on this matter for the foreseeable future.

Participants from PPOA included President Rhodes, Executive Director Quint and Legal Counsel Jim Cunningham. 
PPOA Members End of Watch: January 2022
We extend our sincere condolences to the family members and friends of the following PPOA members who passed in January 2020:

Retired Lieutenant Harvey Cantor – 1/3/22
LASD ret. 1994
US Army veteran

Retired Sergeant David Demerjian – 1/5/22
LASD ret. 1986
Academy class 59
US Navy veteran

Retired Deputy John Paillet – 1/8/22
LASD ret. 1988
Academy class 59

Retired Sergeant Barry Wish – 1/9/22
LASD ret. 2000
Academy class 131
US Navy veteran

Retired Sergeant Ed Sznaper – 1/12/22
LASD ret. 1993
US Marine Corps veteran

Retired Sergeant John Concialdi – 1/20/22
LASD ret. 1983
Academy class 116
Condolences may be emailed to family: lov2dec@aol.com

Retired Captain Duane Harris — 1/20/22
LASD ret. 2017
Former PPOA Delegate
Condolences may be emailed to family: jimharris1937@gmail.com

Law Enforcement Technician Lorraine Guajardo – 1/21/22
LASD active member
Condolences may be emailed to family: guajardokg43@gmail.com

Retired Lieutenant Don Greene Jr. – 1/22/22
LASD ret. 1995
Academy class 95
US Army veteran
Married to retired LASD Sergeant Sue Greene
Condolences may be emailed to family: suegreene4312@gmail.com

Retired Deputy Dennis Stephens – 1/23/22
LASD ret. 2001
Academy class 172
US Army veteran
Condolences may be emailed to family: heather.mclain82@yahoo.com

Retired Sergeant Thomas Bush – 1/24/22
LASD ret. 1985
Academy class 60
US Army veteran

Retired Deputy Richard Mardiros – 1/25/22
LASD ret. 1983
Academy class 45
US Army veteran

Retired Deputy Peivi Tauiliili – 1/27/22
LASD ret. 2017
Academy class 228
Condolences may be emailed to family: pmtauiliili@gmail.com

Retired Sheriff’s Security Officer Michael Dery – 1/28/22
LASD ret. 2019
Condolences may be emailed to family: c.dery@sbcglobal.net

Retired Lieutenant Joseph Callanan Jr. – 1/28/22
LASD ret. 1989
Married to retired LASD Lieutenant Nancy Callanan
Academy class 119

Retired Deputy Marshal James Jordan – 1/28/22
Marshal’s Office retired 1981
US Navy veteran
Condolences may be emailed to: jimmycomicraft@yahoo.com

Retired Lieutenant Clyde French – 1/30/22
LASD ret. 1997
Academy class 114
US Marine Corps veteran
Fraternal Order of Police
PPOA members have long benefitted from our longtime affiliation with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the world's largest organization of law enforcement officers, with more than 364,000 members in more than 2,100 lodges nationwide. All active PPOA members are part of California FOP Lodge 1, which represents public safety organizations throughout LA County and operates under the capable leadership of former PPOA President Roger Mayberry. Click here to read the latest weekly news update from the California FOP.

Please make it a point to check out the Washington Watch — a weekly update provided by the National FOP. We encourage PPOA members to stay up to date on the legislative news and activity impacting public safety personnel nationwide. 


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