PPOA Week in Review: Sept. 3, 2022

Agreement Reached on New Fringe Benefits Contract

Late yesterday (9/2/22) afternoon, the Coalition of County Unions (CCU) reached an agreement with LA County executives on a new Fringe Benefits contract. This successor fringe contract, worth more than $40 million, impacts 30,000 CCU-represented employees, including all active PPOA members.

Click here for contract details emailed to active PPOA members yesterday.

COVID-19 Legal Meeting

August 30: PPOA representatives took part in the latest teleconference to continue assessing the impact of COVID-19 on our membership. Meeting participants included President Nancy Escobedo, Executive Director Wayne Quint Jr., Sr. Labor Representative Venise Wallace, Labor Representative Teresa O'Neil, Intake Representative Kevin Thompson and PPOA legal counsel.

Los Angeles County moved into the “high” virus level in mid-July, due to an infection rate that topped 200 per 100,000 residents and an average daily virus-related hospitalization rate that topped 10 per 100,000 residents. In mid-August, however, the county moved back to the “medium” category when the hospitalization rate fell below 10 per 100,000 residents. Moving into the “low” category will require the county’s hospitalization rate to remain below that threshold, and for the rate of new infections to fall below 200 per 100,000 residents. That rate has been steadily falling, reaching 213 per 100,000 people as of Tuesday.

Click here for Los Angeles County daily COVID-19 data.

Hundreds Attend 21st Annual PPOA BBQ & General Membership Meeting

August 31: PPOA was proud to host the 21st annual Pre-Labor Day BBQ and General Membership Meeting at the Biscailuz Training Center. More than 400 PPOA members and guests gathered for an afternoon of food, friends and fun. Special thanks to Sheriff Villanueva for taking the time to stop by the event and visit with members. PPOA is grateful to all who helped us honor the hardworking men and women who truly put the “labor” in Labor Day!

Click here to view more photos from the event.

Voting Concludes for LACERA Safety Members

August 31: Wednesday marked the deadline for safety members to vote in the LACERA elections for the Board of Retirement and Board of Investments. PPOA is grateful to all members who cast a vote for our endorsed candidate, Captain Shawn Kehoe. LACERA expects to announce election results by the end of next week.

"On behalf of PPOA's safety members, I want to thank Captain Shawn Kehoe for seeking re-election to continue his service at LACERA and, most importantly, to safeguard our healthcare and pensions," said PPOA President Nancy Escobedo.

Sheriff Villanueva Addresses State of the Race for LA County Sheriff

Sheriff Villanueva was on set at Fox News this week to address the state of the race for LA County Sheriff. Topics discussed included polling, party politics, the LA County Board of Supervisors and more.

Click here to watch the video.

PPOA Member in Need of Support

Custody Assistant April Gingras, assigned to Palmdale Station, has exhausted all of her benefit time. In an effort to ensure her medical benefits continue, she is requesting leave donations.

If you are a represented employee and interested in donating vacation or sick time, complete and return the "Authorization to Donate Leave-Represented Employee" form and submit it to your unit's timekeeper. Personnel may only donate sick leave benefits if they have an excess of 160 hours on the books. Donating sick leave will not adversely affect your eligibility to be compensated for sick leave buyback. Thank you in advance for your contribution.

If you have any questions, please contact Ana Chong at the Leave Donations Unit: (213) 229-1904.

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.

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.