Dismantling of County Services Bureau

In September, members of PPOA, County Services Bureau and BOLRAC conducted a meet-and-confer regarding the proposed dismantling of County Services Bureau. Ultimately, the rumor of salvaging the bureau was just that — a rumor. There was no progress with the Department, and a job fair will be conducted for the affected members in October, with the new assignment start date on January 1. To say the Department’s decision not to continue the contracts is disappointing would be an understatement. To be clear, the Department of Public Social Services did not request the termination; instead, it was pushed by the Department heads in the name of “officer safety” and the “staffing crisis,” reasons that do not make sense considering the Department has failed to promote the Sheriff  Security Officer classification and has only hired 10 new SSOs in the past few years. This is not the way to address a staffing crisis — this is a failure of management, but I do not expect anything different, considering the consistent track record of cutting assignments for LASD personnel and filling them with poorly trained private security that will only watch as assailants do as they please. I wish the staff and patrons at the DPSS offices the best, and hope the cost of pulling our personnel isn’t paid with the public’s safety.

UNIT 621 CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

In the latter half of September, the PPOA Unit 621 team will meet again to prepare for contract negotiations with the County and Department. If you have any questions, concerns or recommendations before that, please feel free to contact me. I know we share the common goal of improving the conditions and livelihood for us all. Once negotiations officially begin, the information we can share will be limited, so please be patient and know we will do what we can to get the best possible outcome.