PPOA Week in Review - Jan. 25, 2025

Custody Assistant Jeffery Mc Donald

End of Watch: January 18, 2025

Custody Assistant Jeffery Mc Donald was 33-year department veteran assigned to CRDF at the time of his passing. PPOA extends sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and friends during this very difficult time.

Support for Personnel at Zuma Beach Command Post

January 18: PPOA staff members were proud to bring the union barbeque trailer to the Zuma Beach Command Post on Saturday evening in order to provide support and freshly-grilled meals for members and fellow first responders from numerous agencies working tirelessly to safeguard residents and communities impacted by the Palisades Fire.

Fraternal Order of Police Reps Attend Inaugural Ball for President Trump

January 19: President Steve Johnson joined National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Patrick Yoes and fellow FOP representatives in attendance at the Liberty Ball for President Donald Trump following his inauguration at the US Capitol on Sunday. President Johnson serves on the FOP California State Lodge executive board as the sergeant at arms and represented the California delegation of FOP leaders at the inaugural ball.

Photo at bottom: National FOP President Patrick Yoes and PPOA President Steve Johnson.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 20: Monday marked the annual holiday observed nationwide to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — America's most compelling and effective civil rights leader. We are profoundly grateful for Dr. King's powerful advocacy for labor unions and workers' rights.

Unit 612 Contract Negotiations

January 22: PPOA members on the Unit 612 contract negotiations team met with representatives from the County of Los Angeles, the Sheriff's Department, and the District Attorney’s Office for the sixth round of contract bargaining in the PPOA conference center. The current Unit 612 salary contract expires on January 31, 2025.

We will continue to keep PPOA members updated throughout negotiations.

Support for PPOA Members at the Department of Medical Examiner

January 22: PPOA was proud to fire up our BBQ trailer for Department of Medical Examiner personnel. This yearly tradition of providing lunch is our way of acknowledging the invaluable work of our members at that department, including PPOA Executive Board Member/Coroner Investigator Joyce Kato.

National Coroner/Medicolegal Recognition Week is observed annually during the last week of January.

Meet and Confer re: Criminalist Class Specifications

January 23: PPOA representatives took part in a meet and confer with executives from the Sheriff's Department, Department of Medical Examiner, County CEO's Office, and Department of Human Resources, to discuss proposed job specification changes for Criminalistics Laboratory Technicians, Criminalists, and Senior Criminalists. Meeting participants from PPOA included President Steve Johnson, Executive Board Member/Sr. Criminalist Chris Lee, Executive Director Wayne Quint Jr., and union legal counsel. A follow-up meeting will be scheduled.

Support for Members Impacted by Wildfires

PPOA remains committed to supporting members who have been affected by the devastating fires in Los Angeles County. A number of PPOA members have lost their homes and President Steve Johnson has made it a point to contact and/or visit them to provide support from this Association.

Please click here to help us support PPOA members who have endured tragic loss.

Donations to the Star & Shield Foundation are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law (Tax ID: 95-4752410). Every donation helps provide much needed relief to our impacted PPOA members and their families during this difficult time. Include a note on the donation form: “For personnel impacted by LA County wildfires.”

PPOA Board Runoff Election Ballots Mailed to Custody Assistants

Runoff election ballots were mailed to eligible custody assistants on January 17, 2025 and are due back by February 18, 2025. This new runoff election was prompted by the unfortunate news that the post office used by Unilect (the election firm overseeing the Unit 621 runoff election) to receive ballots in the original runoff election, was located in Pacific Palisades. Tragically, that section of Palisades Village was largely destroyed in the wildfire.

In order to ensure consistency with PPOA's standard election process and in fairness to the custody assistants running for this Unit 621 seat, the board voted to commence with a new runoff election. Further details were provided in an email sent to custody assistants last week.

PPOA Bulletin Board Updates

Attention active members: Have you checked the PPOA bulletin board at your unit recently? We want to ensure the information posted on the PPOA boards is relevant for members.

PPOA members are needed at the following units in order to help us keep bulletin boards up to date:

Antelope Valley Court
Hall of Admin, 2nd Floor
LA Southwest College
LA Trade Tech College
Lomita Sheriff's Station
West LA College

If your PPOA bulletin board needs attention or you would like to help your union keep the bulletin board up to date, please send an email with your name, employee number and work location to: rescalante@ppoa.com.

Reminder for Unit 612 Sergeants and Lieutenants

PPOA recently informed members in Unit 612 of a valuable, new partnership between the Unit 612 Training Committee and Echelon Front, a widely-respected leadership development company. Forthcoming resources for members in this bargaining unit will include leadership books and specifically tailored webinars. These items are provided by the Unit 612 training fund, a byproduct of contract negotiations between PPOA and the County. The books will soon be mailed to members who are sergeants or lieutenants. If you are a Unit 612 member, please ensure PPOA has your current mailing address. Address updates (including full name and employee number) should be emailed to info@ppoa.com.

Fraternal Order of Police News Update

PPOA members have long benefitted from our affiliation with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the world's largest organization of law enforcement officers, with more than 374,000 members in more than 2,100 lodges nationwide. All active PPOA members are part of California FOP Lodge 1.

Important update re: FOP membership for retired PPOA members

When a sworn PPOA member retires and wishes to reactivate his/her FOP member benefits, the following step must be taken: To reactivate your membership as a retired peace officer, you will need to pay FOP annual dues of $44 for 2025. To do so, please send an email to the FOP Lodge 1 Secretary at wmwestermann@sbcglobal.net

Please make it a point to check out Washington Watch — a weekly news 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.