25th Annual Pre-Labor Day BBQ … Roger That!

Two PPOA milestones are being celebrated in 2026. In January, PPOA proudly marked its 75th year of professional representation. Without question, PPOA continues its mission of protecting and enhancing our members’ individual and collective labor rights and will never waver in our core belief that a well-compensated workforce attracts and retains the very best public safety personnel from a labor workforce that is becoming increasingly scarce.

PPOA’s second milestone is our 25th annual PPOA Pre-Labor Day BBQ and General Membership Meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, September 2, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Biscailuz Center (BC). A summer-ending grilled menu of freshly prepared chow with all the fixings will be served under the big top at no cost to PPOA members. The annual general membership meeting will be held at approximately 11:30 a.m. I encourage PPOA members to carpool to BC as we collectively begin our early celebration marking the upcoming Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 7.

My annual Labor Day message is usually focused on the significance of this holiday, and I am in no way minimizing America’s 132nd celebration of the rich history of the labor movement. I am, however, going to shift my focus locally to a person I believe epitomizes extraordinary past and present labor leadership. This individual’s PPOA roots date back to September 20, 1973, and I’m honored to pay tribute to Roger Mayberry. Before his law enforcement career, Roger served our country as a sergeant in the U.S. Army and is a proud Vietnam veteran.

Roger dedicated 31 years of service to the County of Los Angeles, retiring as a Lieutenant. He was elected by the PPOA Board of Directors to serve as president in 2000. Our annual Pre-Labor Day BBQ was Roger’s vision, as he was steadfastly committed to ensuring that Labor Day in Los Angeles County was celebrated for its significance as the only holiday dedicated to America’s 13 million union members. This idea became a reality as PPOA celebrated its inaugural Pre-Labor Day BBQ on August 30, 2001, in the PPOA parking lot and conference center in Monterey Park.

I am once again looking forward to seeing Roger on September 2, and I know how delighted he is that PPOA is having our 25th annual Pre-Labor Day BBQ. Roger is a public safety labor legend with boundless energy and a passion for ensuring the women and men who selflessly provide public safety services are afforded the labor rights that protect their occupations and their families.

During Roger’s 42 months of leading PPOA as president, he served as president of the Southern California Alliance of Law Enforcement (SCALE), president of the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation (CPOMF), president of the L.A. County Fraternal Order of Police (FOP Lodge #1) and president of the California State FOP. Roger retired from LASD on January 19, 2004, but to this day remains equally unswerving in his commitment to safeguarding and defending the labor rights that public safety personnel have bargained for at the local, state and national levels.

Roger currently serves as president of FOP/CA Lodge #1, a position he has held for more than 20 years. Every active PPOA member is also a member of Lodge #1. Roger currently serves on the California State FOP Executive Board as the immediate past president, where he previously served 22 years as the state president. Roger was the State Lodge national trustee for four years, and he also served on the National FOP Executive Board as sergeant at arms.

Roger has been a member of the FOP for 36 years and is currently the director of Labor Services for the National FOP, which is the world’s largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers, with more than 382,000 members in more than 2,200 lodges. As director of Labor Services, Roger oversees labor support for more than 180 collective bargaining units across 20 states.

Thank you, Roger Mayberry, for your incredible contributions to public safety labor. PPOA must also remember the many sacrifices made by our founding PPOA members, who expended blood, sweat and tears to allow future PPOA members the legal ability to collectively bargain for wages, hours and conditions of employment. Happy Labor Day!