Los Angeles: 900 prisoners fighting wildfires for additional $1 an hour payment

Over 900 prisoners are currently helping firefighters battle the deadly wildfires that have engulfed the city of Los Angeles, causing heavy devastation. While they are providing significant manpower to the already depleting fire crew in the city, questions are being raised about how low they are being paid for an extremely dangerous task.

California Prison Agency’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said that the inmates are “working to cut fire lines and remove fuel to slow fire spread." For time immemorial, the state of California has relied on incarcerated people to help fight wildfires that cause havoc in the state every year. However, several prison reform activists raised concerns regarding how low they are being paid.

According to The New York Times, activists have claimed that the prisoners are often getting paid less for a full day of work, than the state of California’s hourly wages. They also pointed out that because of their criminal record many of these inmates don’t end up getting a firefighting job after being released.

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So how much are they getting paid?

The practice of using prisoners as manpower during a disaster relief operation traces back to the 19th century. The current firefighting prisoners are members of California’s conservation fire camp program, which is operated by the Corrections Department, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

According to the correction department, incarcerated firefighters usually earn a maximum of $10.24 per day, plus an additional $1 an hour during emergencies. However, they are being paid way less than the minimum wage, which is $16.50 an hour in California. What makes the matter concerning is the fact that the job they are doing is extremely dangerous and can be life-threatening.

Criminal justice advocates have often argued that California’s fire camp program — like other prison labour programs — exploits incarcerated people. The salary of the full-time firefighters employed by the city of Los Angeles starts at over $85,000 a year. Apart from a small amount of money, most of the prisoners earn time credit. For example, two days are removed from their sentences for every day they serve on a fire crew.

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How are they different from regular firefighters?

According to The New York Times, incarcerated firefighters are obligated to wear distinctive orange firefighting gear and not use hoses or water to fight fires. Instead, they are only allowed to use “hand tools to aid in fire suppression” and also work as support staff for other emergency workers.

The department noted that by working as a support staff, they can earn a one-to-one time credit — a day off their sentences for each day spent helping crews. Back in 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved a law that sought to make it easier for some prisoners who worked as firefighters to get their records expunged.

The intent was to enable them to join fire departments once they were released. While some have successfully petitioned to expunge their records, many are still stuck in the hurdles for the prisoners to qualify for the program and to clear their records. These hurdles do not sit well with prisoner reform advocates, as they believe the challenges make the whole ordeal a thankless job.

With inputs from agencies.