PPOA Week in Review: Sept 24, 2022

California Coalition of Law Enforcement Associations Meeting

September 19: PPOA President Nancy Escobedo and Executive Director Wayne Quint Jr. joined fellow members of the California Coalition of Law Enforcement Associations (CCLEA) for a special videoconference to assess the platforms of candidates running in the upcoming General Election on November 8th.

CCLEA is the state’s largest law enforcement organization, representing more than 40 law enforcement associations and 150,000 peace officers. For more information, visit CCLEA.ORG

LA County Federation 'House of Labor' Meeting

September 19: LA County Federation of Labor members, including Executive Director Quint, met on Monday evening for the monthly "House of Labor" teleconference. These meetings help County union leaders compare notes and consult with each other about the many issues impacting public employees throughout the County.

The County Fed is comprised of more than 300 unions and labor organizations, representing more than 800,000 members.

Meet and Confer re: COVID-19 and CDC Guidelines

September 20: PPOA representatives took part in a Meet and Confer with personnel from the Sheriff's Department to discuss COVID-19 Notice #60. Participants from PPOA included President Escobedo, Executive Director Quint and Legal Counsel Jim Cunningham.

PPOA also sent a letter to the LA County Board of Supervisors regarding County compliance to CDC guidelines.

Click here to read the letter from PPOA.

Acknowledging the Invaluable Work of Crime Analysts

September 20: In honor of National Crime and Intelligence Analysts Appreciation Day, PPOA is proud to acknowledge LASD Crime Analysts and their crucial roles in fighting crime in LA County. Thank you all for your dedication and expertise!

Unit 621 Contract Negotiations Team Meeting

September 21: Members of the Unit 621 contract negotiations team met in the PPOA conference center to assess the current state of negotiations and plan for the next round of contract talks with the County. To date, the Unit 621 team has met with County representatives nine (9) times to negotiate a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Unit 621 is the official bargaining unit for the following LASD classifications: Custody Assistant, Civilian Investigator, Crime Analyst, Public Response Dispatcher, Court Services Specialist, Law Enforcement Technician, Security Assistant and Security Officer.

Unit 631/632 Contract Negotiations Team Meeting

September 21: The Unit 631/632 contract negotiations team met in the union board room to strategize ahead of their next bargaining session with County executives.

Unit 631/632 is composed of Coroner Investigators and Supervising Coroner Investigators.

Coalition of County Unions Meeting

September 21: Executive Director Quint took part in the monthly videoconference with fellow labor leaders representing the Coalition of County Unions (CCU) to discuss issues impacting PPOA members and other County employees.

The CCU collectively represents more than 30,000 union members employed by the County of Los Angeles and is their unified voice on health insurance, vacation pay, retirement and more.

Click here for more information about the CCU.

Star & Shield Foundation Board of Directors Meeting

September 22: The Star & Shield Foundation hosted its monthly Board of Directors Directors meeting via Zoom. PPOA members established the Foundation in 2001 and it has now proudly raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthy organizations and causes — including its most important mission of providing support for families of fallen officers.

Meeting participants included Nancy Escobedo, Tony Coleman, Jose Rios, Juan Carlos Calderon, Kevin Thompson, Gold Lee (Lewis, Marenstein, Wicke, Sherwin and Lee) Julie Sherman (Strausser Sherman Lonne Treger Helquist), Aaron Straussner (Strausser Sherman Lonne Treger Helquist) and Wayne Quint Jr.

Quarterly Meeting for PPOA Delegates

September 22: PPOA Delegates gathered with union board members and staff on Thursday evening in Alhambra. Topics of discussion at the quarterly meeting included contracts, benefits, elections and more. PPOA Legal Counsel and Subject Matter Expert Jim Cunningham also provided the latest updates and changes regarding COVID-19.

We are grateful for the commitment of every delegate who joined us at the meeting. Thank you for making it a priority to stay up-to-date on news affecting PPOA members.

Acknowledging Sheriff's Security Officers and Security Assistants

Each year, the third week in September is recognized as National Security Officer Appreciation Week. As that week comes to a close today, PPOA would like to take a moment to acknowledge the work ethic and professionalism of Sheriff's Security Officers and Security Assistants throughout the County.

CALLING ALL SUPERHEROES:

Homicide Bureau Fundraiser for Arias Family

Please join Homicide Bureau in celebrating the life of our Superhero Mason Arias on Thursday, September 29, 2022. Mason is the 2-year old son of Homicide Detective Eric Arias and Elizabeth Blackwell of Personnel Administration. Mason battled a rare form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia for over 10 months before his passing.

PPOA has provided support for the BBQ fundraiser that will be hosted at 1 Cupania Circle in Monterey Park from 11:30am to 3pm. Each $10 donation gets you a hamburger, hot dog, potato salad, chips and drink. You may pay in advance by using the included Venmo QR code. All proceeds will go to the Arias family.

PPOA Board Candidate List and Election Schedule

Next month, PPOA members in three bargaining units will be tasked with electing board representatives to fill five seats. Please see the candidate list and election schedule 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, board elections will take place in adherence with the following schedule:

October 21, 2022:

Ballots and statements mailed to eligible PPOA members.

November 18, 2022:

Deadline for receipt of completed ballots.

November 21, 2022:

Ballot count at 10:00AM in the PPOA conference center. Members are invited to observe.

Updated Link for Custody Assistant Class 106 Graduation Photos

PPOA is honored to join Custody Assistants at their graduation ceremonies and capture memorable moments with photos. However, the album link we shared last week for the Class 106 graduation did not work properly so we're reposting the corrected link here in order for members to enjoy scenes from a very special day for 40 new Custody Assistants. Congrats again to all of you!

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.