PPOA Second Vice President
tcoleman@ppoa.com
One of the issues most commonly voiced by our tenured Custody Assistants is our retirement. You put in the work, long hours and years of service — however, the percentages received don’t seem to equate to what you’ve done or been through.
One misconception over the years is that retirement is a negotiated item through our memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the County. It is not. Therefore, an attempt to change it is not as simple as some may believe, and other aspects surrounding it would also have to change along with it.
There is a legislative component to it, and the rash of recent attempts by some groups to go after the retirement of public safety employees will add to the task of trying to improve retirement for Custody Assistants.
I imagine the percentages inception was based on the original concept of what a Custody Assistant was supposed to be and do. Originally, that concept included no inmate contact, no handcuffs or pepper spray, being escorted to and from their workstation and wearing the light blue top and navy blue pants. I was told that look often confused Custody Assistants with Law Enforcement Technicians and FSB workers who, at one point, all wore the same uniform. Hence, we had the eventual changes to the current Kelly green uniform to distinctly identify and separate those groups of employees.
Nevertheless, as the duties evolved, the risks increased. Plus, with the added equipment and training, along with the station jailer and court items, obviously more was expected of the position by the Department by expanding the role while supplementing sworn shortages at a lesser cost.
As those additional responsibilities were added, discussions should have included compensation for the classification going forward.
There are a lot of layers to peel back in order to unearth where to begin and what course of action to take to change what we feel is a glaring omission to those winding down their careers.
I’ve had an initial discussion with a LACERA representative and will continue to do some fact-finding and groundwork. It will be a “heavy lift,” however. No progress for Custody Assistants has ever been easy or given to us because it was the right thing to do. There has always been a fight to be had. And this will be no different, yet the impact would be of great significance.
Also, I encourage you to check with the PPOA to make sure your information is up to date. I’ve spoken with peers who did not receive the contract news and other updates from PPOA, only to discover that their contact information is incorrect. This will be important for PPOA members as you will have the opportunity to vote to ratify your contract and elect your representative for the PPOA Board of Directors.
Take care and be safe.