The Grass Isn’t Greener on the Other Side

My fellow Custody Assistants, the past couple of months have held a lingering stench of uncertainty. From the ominous Department-wide email detailing a last-minute attempt to recoup $180 million in two months to the beginning of Unit 621’s contract negotiations — to be frank, times are weird and there is no telling when any sense of normalcy will return. 

We all became aware of the extreme budget cuts via email, social media or local news coverage. Rumors have circulated pertaining to who is impacted and to what severity. Here we are, as I write this article roughly a month into the budget cuts, and we are seeing the impact across the board. Although the cuts to custody overtime have been minimal, we are experiencing a lack of paper towels, toilet paper, toilet seat covers and hand soap in workplace restrooms. How did we get here? I don’t think anyone thought “tightening the belt” meant sacrificing basic hygiene products. If any of you are currently assigned to a work location that is not providing basic sanitary necessities, please call PPOA. That is unacceptable, and we will not stand by and watch this become the new norm.

On May 26, Unit 621 met for the second time with County representatives for our long-overdue contract negotiations. It has been 15 months since our contract expired. To sum up the meeting in one word: anticlimactic. I wish I had more to report; however, these “negotiations” have proven tedious and lackluster. And with only two meetings under our belts, I understand why both ALADS and Unit 612 still do not have a ratified contract after over a year of negotiations. Hopefully, there will be some traction to get this process rolling after our next meeting on June 23.

There is one more thing I would like to address that I have found to be a continuous conversation over the last year. It is not a secret that not all C/As are PPOA members. However, there is a lot of misinformation out there pertaining to the not-so-comparable alternative. I will begin by saying PPOA is the only recognized labor union that represents C/As. Therefore, it is only PPOA that will negotiate our labor contracts and take part in benefits negotiations with the Coalition of County Unions (CCU). 

The entity in which some personnel, for some reason, seek membership cannot challenge or dispute any discipline of five days or less once the discipline is handed down by LASD. That is because they do not have the ability to be heard by the Employee Relations Commission (ERCOM) — the only entity that you can appeal such discipline to. Instead, they offer the equivalent of up to five days of pay should you be given days off. That is a very dangerous and risky way to resolve discipline, noting that the County and Department use progressive discipline. If you get disciplined again, your discipline will likely be more because you didn’t appeal and successfully reduce or remove the prior discipline.  

To those who think the grass is greener on the other side as a member of a non-union, think again. The reality is that PPOA is, in essence, an insurance policy for job security, providing excellent representation for members. Countless terminations have been reversed and discipline reduced over the 75 years that PPOA has been safeguarding the careers of the men and women who comprise its membership. None of you are driving around without car insurance. Why would you take the same risk with your career?