Asm. Isaac Bryan Wants Incarcerated Firefighters to Earn More on Assignment

Edward Henderson | California Black MediaAssemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights) wants to amend the state’s penal code to increase the salaries incarcerated firefighters earn while they are actively fighting fires.Assembly Bill (AB) 247 would require inmate firefighters who have completed training for assignment to a state or county facility to be paid an hourly rate equal to the lowest nonincarcerated firefighter in the state (around $28 per hour).“I think every time we have a major wildfire, we call in incarcerated firefighters who step in heroically to help suppress these fires. And every time that that happens, we have a long conversation about how they’re risking their lives for subminimum pay,” Bryan told California Black Media (CBM).“I refuse to let this moment where California and Los Angeles in particular, has experienced its largest wildfire, be another moment where we just talk about this issue,” Bryan continued.During the wildfires that raged in Southern California last month, more than 900 incarcerated firefighters were dispatched to battle the flames. Incarcerated firefighters work on teams called ‘hand crews,’ using hand tools to clear vegetation and create firebreaks that slow the spread of wildfires. During the emergencies, it’s common for responders to work in 24-hour shifts...