2020 was the largest wildfire season recorded in California history. It was easy to miss a pay loss that year. Not too mention be happy about the PLPs we picked up in trade. 
Today on NPR there hitting on it about every hour at the top of the hour.
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And everyone is surprised Newsom and his super majority Democrat legislature lied to us, 2881? Just maybe after this people will wake up and realize that the Dems and Newsom are not your friend. Maybe, our 2881 leadership will try something different this year and endorse/support the Outlaw, instead of automatically giving the Dems a blind endorsement just like every year going back decades.
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Hmm…the math for that doesn’t work out unless your talking “net” pay which for everyone will be different (deferred comp, tax rates, health contribution, etc) and is not a fair comparison. The 10% reduction equated to a little more than a loss of 28 hours of pay. Don’t see how somebody had to work 112 hr to compensate. Even to get your “net” pay back up to pre-reduction I don’t see it taking more than a couple of days.
Additionally, as far as I know (sorry I was gone by 2020), I thought we had the same setup in 2016 (?)) everyone received PLPs in exchange (correct if I’m wrong). The value of my PLPs were significantly more than the cut in pay. Yes cashing my paycheck was less, but I gladly took 1.5 cheeseburgers tomorrow in exchange for 1 cheeseburger today.
My gross pay and my net pay went down with no changes to deductions or changes in tax status. We “earned” 16hr of PLP every PP for 1yr. For me personally, the break Evan point was 112.5hr of 4.5 days of unplanned OT. After that the pay cut became a pay raise. The raise was a result of the clock change to account for OT above the 53hr.
When I say base pay, I mean base plus EDWC which together is the amount used to calculate PERSable income. Which was the reason so many retired on or before June 30, 2020.
Also, unlike the last several PLP “adventures” the PLP2020 were REQUIRED to be used before any other leave credits, except for SL and were “supposed” to be used completely by Jul 1 2022 if my memory serves me correctly.
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I’m still waiting to see anything anywhere that talks about the hit to the CAL FIRE budget proposal for next year. I am skeptical that we will walk away victorious, but I’m not living in the absolute like the naysayers in this thread.
I won’t believe either side until I see it in writing.
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State motto relating to their own employees? “Attack from the rear and never let go!”
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Just wondering why it matters that a fiscal emergency was declared.
The language states if funds aren’t available, then both parties will reopen to determine when to implement.
No where in the budget agreement does it state 66 hour is not being funded.
We were told last week that we are converting 2 engines to traditional staffing (3 FCs, 3 FAEs, and 3 FF1s).
Chief Tyler told attendees at the Redding COA graduation that we were hiring an additional 2000 employees and essentially our budget was untouched.
I’ve been through IOUs, PLPs, etc. and this is the first time I feel optimistic.
Fire Away
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- The fact that the state has structural budget deficits over the next 2+ years.
- Watching what the Governor has done to the SEIU Medical workers Minimum wage law. He signed the law last Sept knowing he had a budget deficit. He has pushed the laws implementation 3 times(July, 1, Oct 1, and Jan 1, 2025 if Q1 FY24 incomes isn’t above 3% of projected revenuse)
- He bowed down and found the funding for Schools, yet has not done the same for the most powerful Union is all of California SEIU.
There are the 3 reasons among many why I’m not optimistic for Nov 1 66hr with no loss in PERSABLE COMPENSATION.
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Most powerful? No way… largest… yes. Most dysfunctional…? Definitely yes. Everyone hates SEIU.
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Being the largest they are the most powerful
Fight for $15 minimum wages.
2016 then Governor Brown signed a SEIU law raising the minimum wage to $15/hr. On Jan 1, 2024 minimum wage is $16/hr and will continue to rise 3.5% or the CPi, not to exceed $0.50 per year.
2023 Gov Newsom signed the SEIU law for minimum wage in fast food with more than 60 locations nation wide
2023 Gov Newsom signed the SEIU law for medical Workers minimum wage.
See a trend here?
SEIU has almost double the members in California (700,000) members, than the entire IAFF of 346,000.
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Looks like Gov Newsom and the Dem supermajority kept their promise to Calfire employees. A thanks is owed to L2881 who kept up the pressure on the proper players. Although I don’t benefit from anything that has been enacted in the last few years, I’m pretty impressed at what has been accomplished recently compared to 20 years ago.
“Approves $199 million ($197 million from the General Fund) and 338 positions in fiscal
year 2024 25 to begin implementing a shift to a 66-hour workweek as contemplated in the
2022 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Unit 8; approve $770 million ($756
million from the General Fund) on an ongoing annual basis and 2,457 permanent
positions by 2028-29”
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Wow! Absolutely WOW.
The 66hr schedule continues to move forward and the rebalancing of the FAE/FC ranks moves forward.
STRONG WORK TO ALL INVOLVED!!
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I’m glad I wasn’t wrong. Ehoss84 would have eaten me up. LOL.
Strong work L2881 and E-Team to get us where we needed to be.
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None of that makes them the most powerful.
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No we just need the answer to the age old question of what does it look like 
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Amen brother, alot of number crunching and reading of policy from some of the members here( much appreciated).
All I can think about is what does this change for me moving forward in my day to day. I spent quite a good amount of time working in green pants and always believed they were going to make things better, once I was fully committed to the reality that wasn’t happening here in California based on cost of living vs difficulty of job load in this profession I set sail to CF.
Everything since 2019 that has changed that people were unhappy with, I could care less about just based on how much better of an experience I’ve had here in comparison. Referring specifically to compensation, outlook towards retirement, and benefits to home life/insurance…
I wouldn’t trade any of my Green years away (except if I knew when the cut off would have been for 3/50), but this whole drastic schedule thing that’s being battled for all I can ever think of from my end is I hope we don’t fracture something that’s pretty good in my eyes for the sake of working one less day per week.
That being said I have faith in those behind the scenes moving the ball around to get us better benefits, and it’s not something I have an interest in doing in the least. So probably a symptom of my anxiety is I’m not a big fan of change, that’s why it took me so long to move over however, most times I’ve experienced change under a well measured decision it’s turned out fine or better so I guess we’ll see.
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So, based on what I’m seeing here and elsewhere, funding to support the 66 hour workweek has made it through the May revise and has remained relatively untouched in the budget as it jumps through the last few hoops on its way to final approval.
My questions are:
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What other steps are left before the 66 becomes a sure thing? It seems to me like we’re pretty close if not there already.
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President Edwards has said that the membership will vote on final adoption to approve shift patterns and how it will affect base pay and such. What’s the plan and timeline for that?
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At what point will the membership be allowed to review the proposed 66 hour schedules and how it will affect compensation? The TA said shift patterns were to be agreed upon in concept by July 2023. Well, that was a year ago and now we’re just 4 months away from a November 1 implementation date. Everyone should have a chance to plan…especially because some of the implementation plan rumors I’ve heard could really tweak someone’s MOU plans.
Another aspect of it is I’m hearing some people being apprehensive to promote or transfer because they’re hearing most positions not assigned to an engine, dozer, or crew won’t be going to a 66.
With it looking very favorable that the 66 will make it into the budget, I guess I feel like we’re getting to the point that these rumors, concerns, and questions should either be validated or definitively be discredited.
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Great questions
All unanswered at this time.
Valid point in what 66hr is suppose to look like being a year old on Monday🤨 seeing how we won’t have a new agreement to vote on and approve before July 1. The current agreement gets extended automatically for 1yr, including the 66hr.
Additionally, people who bid MOU AAV last year between Nov 1 and Dec 31 bid blindly not know what the last 2+ WP of the years schedule would look like. I believe it was that reason the 66hr schedules were supposed to be released by July 2023…
Finally, seeing that the 66hr has passed the May revised, the salary and benefits numbers used for budget purposes is the current MOU agreement. I haven’t read or seen anywhere in what has been provided so far, stated that the 66hr schedule includes “no loss in PERSable compensation” only that President Edward’s and The Director have stated that is the goal. At the end of the day, goals and objectives still have to be paid for and the Dept of Finance controls the purse strings as voted upon and approved by the Legislature and Governor.
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