PPOA Week in Review: Sept 17, 2022

PPOA Welcomes Recently Promoted Sergeants

September 12: PPOA representatives met with 35 recently promoted Sergeants during their first day of Supervisory School at STARS Center to answer questions and discuss their crucial new roles on the Department. Participants from PPOA included President Nancy Escobedo, 1st Vice President Jose Rios, Board Member Jim Schallert, Executive Director Wayne Quint Jr. and union staff.

National Police Woman Day

National Police Woman Day is celebrated each year on September 12th and PPOA is honored to acknowledge women across the nation who serve as dedicated public safety professionals. As a union, we are particularly proud to be guided by the leadership of LASD Lieutenant Nancy Escobedo — PPOA's first female president in our 71-year history.

PPOA Welcomes New Custody Assistants

September 13: PPOA representatives spent time with 40 new Custody Assistants during their final week of academy training at Biscailuz Center. 2nd Vice President/C.A. Tony Coleman was joined by President Escobedo, Executive Director Quint and Senior Labor Rep. Venise Wallace in speaking with the class, congratulating them on their new careers and welcoming them to PPOA.

Unit 614 Salary Contract Negotiations

September 13: PPOA members on the Unit 614 negotiations team met in the union board room for contract bargaining with County executives, who participated via videoconference.

This bargaining unit is composed of Criminalists, Sr. Criminalists, Forensic ID Specialists I/II and Criminalistics Laboratory Technicians.

Support for Members at TTCF

September 13: PPOA staff delivered a treadmill and elliptical to personnel at Twin Towers on Tuesday for their employee gym. In a continuing effort to support members, PPOA's Star & Shield Foundation teams up with New Life Cardio Equipment (NLCE) each year to secure a limited number of treadmills and ellipticals for employee gyms at units throughout the County. The machines are purchased by the Foundation at discounted pricing and delivered by PPOA to units in need of new exercise equipment. We've also arranged for NLCE to extend special pricing to any PPOA members interested in purchasing cardio equipment for personal use at home. Call New Life Cardio for more info: (323) 345-7216 and tell them you're a member of the Professional Peace Officers Association.

PPOA Board of Directors Meeting

September 14: PPOA's monthly Board of Directors meeting was held in San Dimas on Wednesday. Directors in attendance included President Nancy Escobedo, 1st Vice President Jose Rios, 2nd Vice President Tony Coleman, Secretary Jay Chapman, Treasurer Joyce Kato, and Board Members Joel Barnett, Jim Blankenship, Gerry Garcia, Chris Lee, Tab Rhodes, Tony Romo and Jim Schallert.

PPOA Board Elections

September 15: Per PPOA bylaws, nominating petitions from members interested in running for a seat on the Board of Directors had to be submitted to PPOA by close of business (5:00 PM) on Thursday. This year, members in three units will elect board representatives to fill five seats. Please see the candidate list below.

Two Unit 612 seats (LASD)

Incumbents:

Sergeant Jose Rios
Sergeant Tony Romo

Challengers:

Lieutenant Kellee Hicks
Lieutenant Victor Palacios
Lieutenant Jose Salgado

One Unit 612 seat (LADA)

Incumbent:

Sergeant Jay Chapman

No challengers. Chapman will be automatically re-elected.

One Unit 615 seat (LADA/LASD)

Incumbent:

Commander Joel Barnett

Challenger:

Commander Johann Thrall

Two Unit 621 seats (LASD)

Incumbents:

Law Enforcement Technician Jim Blankenship (not running for re-election)*
Custody Assistant Tony Coleman**

Challengers for Blankenship’s seat:

Law Enforcement Technician Michelle Fabro
Law Enforcement Technician Patricia Helfend
Law Enforcement Technician Vonetta Mays
Crime Analyst Joe Walker

Challenger for Coleman's seat:

Custody Assistant Anthony Harris

*Unit 621 seat held by Blankenship is open only to Civilian Investigators, Court Services Specialists, Crime Analysts, Law Enforcement Technicians and Public Response Dispatchers.

**Unit 621 seat held by Coleman is open only to Custody Assistants.

One retiree seat

Incumbent:

Jim Schallert

No challengers. Schallert will be automatically re-elected.

Candidate statements will be published in the October issue of Star & Shield magazine. Per PPOA bylaws, ballots and statements will be mailed to eligible members on October 21. Please ensure that PPOA has your correct home mailing address. Completed ballots will be due by November 18 and a ballot count will be conducted at PPOA on November 21 at 10:00 AM. Members are invited to observe the ballot count in the PPOA conference center.

Custody Assistant Class 106 Graduation

September 16: PPOA representatives were proud to attend the graduation ceremony for Custody Assistant Class 106. 2nd Vice President Coleman was joined by Executive Director Quint at Biscailuz Center for the event. PPOA congratulates all of the graduates for the teamwork and dedication required to complete the academy and begin their promising new careers.

Click here for photos from the graduation ceremony.

Fraternal Order of Police News Update

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. Click here to read the latest California State Lodge biweekly news update.

An important note regarding FOP membership for retired PPOA members: Once a sworn PPOA member retires, and he/she wishes to reactivate their FOP member/benefits, the following steps must be taken:

To reactivate your membership as a retired peace officer, you will need to pay FOP annual dues of $40 for 2022. The link below is available to pay online should you wish to expedite the process. If by check, the mailing address is:

LA County FOP Lodge 1

P.O. Box 6919

Buena Park, CA 90622-6919

Credit card link below:

FOP Los Angeles County Lodge 1 (unionly.io)

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.

Click here to read this week's Washington Watch.

Boxes of Hand Sanitizers Available to PPOA Members

A local warehouse has donated pallets of hand sanitizers to PPOA for distribution to members. If you would like to pick up a box (24 bottles in each), please send an email to rescalante@ppoa.com. Use subject line "sanitizers" and include your full name and phone number.