In a historic policy change, California is moving to pay inmate firefighters the federal minimum wage during active fires. The wage increase has been funded through the new state budget.
CDCR inmate firefighters currently earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, according to the Department. During active emergencies, Cal Fire compensates them an additional $1 per hour.
That appears to be changing. Gov. Gavin Newsom last week signed a new state budget with $10 million to pay incarcerated firefighters $7.25 an hour when they’re on a fire. It will take effect Jan. 1 as long as the Legislature passes a bill that would mandate the policy.
“It’s the right thing to do and it’s long overdue,” said Assembly member Isaac Bryan, a Democrat from Culver City who authored the bill that would raise inmate firefighter pay. “It feels really beautiful and life changing for folks who have sacrificed to save others during their time being held accountable for whatever harms they may have caused in their past.”
Bryan initially set out to raise wages for incarcerated firefighters to $19 per hour, but settled on the federal minimum wage after budget negotiations. The bill, which received bipartisan support from nearly two dozen lawmakers, was opposed by the California State Sheriffs’ Association over concerns of its potential fiscal impact on counties.
Both state and federal legislation have been introduced this year to try and shore up the pipeline for incarcerated people to land in firefighting careers once they’ve been released.
U.S. Reps. Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Judy Chu, both from California, introduced a bill that would establish national protections for incarcerated firefighters, including a uniform framework to clear their records that would ease the barriers to employment.
The critical work CDCR inmate firefighters perform seems be gaining more recognition. Interestingly, the inmate firefighter pay raise would take effect at the same time the CDCR correctional officers see a small decrease in take-home pay. The CDCR officers union negotiated to defer pay increases for state correctional officers to help the California budget crisis.
Rev Red