The MEA members below are asking for your help. Due to a catastrophic event or major health crisis, they must take an extended leave without pay from the City. Under Article 73 of the MOU, employees are able to donate annual leave hours to employees in need.
Please consider donating leave hours to help the MEA members below as they face some of the most challenging times in their lives.
Note: if no employees are listed, there are no requests at this time.
Maria Gonzalez
Hello, my name is Maria Gonzalez. I’ve worked at the City for over 23 years and was a Navy Reservist for 22 years, where I served in Afghanistan for a year. I am scheduled to have the first of two major spinal surgeries in the coming months for complex regional pain syndrome. I’ve experienced continued medical issues for the past several years and used annual leave and furlough to cover time for doctors’ appointments and treatments.
I am proud of my years in the Library department and now, I am proud of the work that I do in SDCERS to help City employees with their retirement. However, for the past six months, I have been taking at least two hours per day without pay. I am not able to work a full eight-hour day because of the pain that I am in. I expect to exhaust my annual leave for these surgeries and the recovery time. Currently, I will not have enough time to cover the 29 days before I am eligible for long-term disability. I would greatly appreciate any donations of leave time you would be able to share with me. (May 29, 2025)
Christopher Miller
Dear City of San Diego Team,
I hope that this letter finds you and your family well.
My name is Christopher Miller, I have been a Code Compliance Officer for ESD for over two years. I am writing to you to share a deeply personal matter. Recently, I have been diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease (for baseball fans). ALS is a debilitating illness that will eventually paralyze me and cause my death. Most people diagnosed with ALS pass away within 2-5 years while the disease slowly takes away their ability to move, eat, and breath.
I am going through this with my wife Kimberly and my son Elijah. Elijah recently turned ten and Kim and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in June. I am trying to make the time that I have left on this earth special for myself and my family before this horrible disease takes away my ability to do the things I enjoy and eventually my life.
I know the city has a program, The Catastrophic Leave Program, which allows other employees to donate their time off to a bank that can be used to help others who need additional time off due to illness or other life events. I love my job and the team of people I work with. I hope to continue working for a long time while balancing out the time I have left with my family and friends. This program would go a long way to helping me do just that. I cannot thank you enough for considering my request. (May 2025)
Roz Cockerham
Hello, my name is Roz Cockerham, and I recently had surgery, unfortunately with complications, and my recovery is taking longer than expected. I will exhaust all of my leave time, so I will greatly appreciate any time that you can share, thanks again.