Unfortunate, you all should be paid fairly without the BS. When I was a ff1 ff2 and lt fae I was young enough to just work as much as possible and get paid. Add longevity into it and all of these issues start to compound.
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That’s the problem.
When I was a young, single seasonal, I felt like I was swimming in money and didn’t care how much I worked as long as I was making money.
Now that have a family to support, I can’t work months on end without destroying things at home.
The problem is that I was so indoctrinated into the CAL FIRE “work every single day until you either retire or die” culture, that I didn’t see how hard that is on the family.
It took me many years to realize it and try to figure out how to break that pattern. The missed holidays…the missed kids school and sporting events…the missed weddings…the damage is done. Now I’m trying my best to make up for it and I worry it might be too late.
It kills me to see all the other people-rookies through the chiefs-that are so used to that “work till you drop” mentality that they don’t know any different.
That culture needs to change.
To me, accepting anything less than a REAL 56 with no loss of compensation is unacceptable and the fact that the state would fight so hard against the welfare of their employees shows their true colors.
As the old saying goes, you’re no better than that Pulaski (or fireman’s axe for you Schedule A types) on the engine…if they can’t sharpen you up and put you on back on the engine, they’ll throw you out and get a new one.
To be fair, that mentality is slowly changing, but that change can’t come soon enough.
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It is actually very easy to figure your hourly rate.
1st we get paid every 28 days, not per month. So 13 pay periods not 12 months which equally 4.33.
Take your salary and divide by 4.33 and you get your weekly rate(4.33 weeks per PP total 13 28day PP)
Then take your weekly rate and divide by 53(because of the 6/20/2020 side letter, the clock is 53 not 56)
Then take that number and multiple by 1.5(OT time and 1 half) and that is your OT rate.
The EDWC is 19hr per week, 76hr per month times your OT rate. The EDWC is PERS able and any OT beyond the 76 is paid at the same rate, just not used for PERS.
If what the union has said is true(reduction in hours worked) from the current 288 in a 28 day PP to a new 264 that is a reduction of 24hr of EDWC per PP. If they(HUGE IF) make it happen without a reduction in total compensation. Those 24hr that get reduced would be added back into your base rate. Making your base check larger by the current amount plus 24hr of the EDWC OT.
Then the formula would be recalculated to create a new OT hourly rate. Which is between $8-10/hr in addition to the current OT rate. It is this exact part that the LAO has such a hard time with and is cautious about. It would be by estimate $100+ million more than is currently being paid. Not to mention the need to hire additional people to make up for an additional day of coverage. While it’s not the “1/3 more employees” that has been talked about. There would need to be more employees compounding an already tight labor market.
Finally, it is just not CF, Fire or any other Blue Collar job. ITS ALL BLUE COLLAR JOBS IN AMERICA.
Just today the number of “Help Wanted” signs increased from 11 to 11.2 million open jobs in America(JOLTS Report) until that number gets smaller. The tight labor market will continue.
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Yep…simple calculation.
I don’t know why everyone doesn’t have it memorized. 
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You do understand a perpetual 48/96 rotating schedule without any type of “Kelly or Skip” has 8 PP working 10 days and 4 PP working 8 days?
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Well, not intending to be sarcastic, but every other fire department in the country has seemed to figure it out.
Every other fire department in America has access to some form of local taxes(Property, sales, district, etc)
Calfire is part of the Resource Agency and is “Supposed” to be funding from timber. But is instead funded from the General Fund of the state taxpayer’s.
While CF L2881 is the largest single member of CPF & IAFF. One need look no further than the 1970’s, the Strike that CDF employees were forced to cross the lines and the loss of the ORU because of "Politics’
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I see your calculation and it’s right on.
However, I don’t understand how going to a 66 (or 56) would trigger a new OT formula that would result in an increase of $8-10.
I don’t see the state reducing the divisor (increasing the hourly rate) unless it’s required by law.
In this case, we currently work a 72 but use a 53 divisor, which is the maximum divisor per the national FLSA 7k exemption. As far as I know, changing the standard work week wouldn’t affect the divisor unless our standard work week were to be less than 52, which is most certainly not going to happen. What am I missing?
By the way, I have no idea how CAL FIRE got away with using a divisor of 56 or 72 or higher for so long since that seems to be against FLSA 7k, but that’s a topic for another day.
With no loss of compensation, EDWIC would be rolled into salary which would significantly increase the OT rate is the way I understand it.
My understanding for your last comment is bargaining process, things can be broken if bargained for.
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That is the question everyone is waiting for an answer on. Is compensation staying the same and hours going down or will hours and compensation go down congruently.
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Copy that. I missed the part about EDWC rolling into salary. That would make a difference for sure.
Your second part makes sense, too, since the union is bargaining on behalf of the membership. I just can’t believe anyone would allow their members to even vote on a contract that didn’t follow standard labor laws, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that type of thing.
As long as the OT is at least 1.5 times the hourly rate, and the hourly rate is at least minimum wage, FLSA is happy. State laws can provide more than that, but not less, even by MOU. It was shown in court that an LG was using an averaging method to keep hourly rate the same across pay periods to calculate OT. Cant do that, must use actual calculated rate during that pay period. Court awarded lucky bucks to the employees.
Haven’t looked in while, I believe regular wage earners in CA get overtime after 8 hrs in a day even though they may not work 40 hrs in the same week or 80 in 2 was, etc.
Also, FLSA is most concerned with non union employees. FLSA tends to allow some flexibility if employees are covered by mou, like allowing voluntary duty trades across pay periods without requiring employer to incur additional OT.
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Just to let u know imma screenshot that math and put it on my Home Screen and also send it to my financial counselor, my buddies divorce attorney and Dave Ramsey.
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Close. Your base pay salary is paid monthly. Your EDW OT pay and other OT is paid based on the hours over 212 in the 28 day cycle. That’s why you get 12 base pay checks per year issued on or around the 1st, and 13 OT checks.
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Yes this is correct, pay period vs work period.
Is anyone else concerned about the OPEB percentage being reduced from 4.4% to 3.4%… and then being subject to change every year by +or- up to 0.5%? Seems like a great way to eventually make us pay more than 4.4% of our salary to post retirement medical. I could be wrong but it seems like a terrible idea.
Thanks for pointing that out, while it’s capped at .5, there isn’t a maximum. I think this contract has too many questions to accept it. Feels very unfinished, radio silence from the union isn’t helping.
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I agree that’s a concern.
Here’s a thought…
If this was such a great offer, I think L2881 would be banging the drum from minute 1 about how great the deal is, how hard they worked to get such a great deal, and how proud they are to represent the needs of the membership.
Shoot, if it was such a great deal, I’m sure thered be a press conference on the steps of the capitol!
That doesn’t seem to be the case since it’s almost like they’re avoiding addressing the membership for some reason. Is that because they’re not proud of what’s been presented?
We have yet to hear anything more than “we got a deal…more to come” FIVE DAYS AGO with nothing more since. Not a peep.
Oh, wait, There was the solicitation for media photos for the monthly newsletter that they took the time to send out.
Oh…and President Edwards’ KCRA interview from what looked like the living room of someone’s house wearing what appear to be street clothes. The reporter shot the clip in front of the Union Hall yet had to use Skype for the interview…huh…interesting. Maybe there’s a reason, but it’s poor optics, to say the least.
Yet no info released to the members.
To me, something isn’t adding up.
Meanwhile, rumor and speculation are running wild.
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It’s pretty sad that the union has not came out with information to it’s members. No where can anyone find we are keeping the 24 hour EDWC. No union people can give a Straight answer now that’s scary. I would say that if it doesn’t say you are keeping the 24 hours then I doubt you keep 24 hours. This is unexceptable how the union has handled this. It’s all smoke and mirrors kids look at this 6.5 raise over here but on the back side you are taking a huge pay cut. VOTE NO.
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And like I said early in this thread, minimum wage is set to increase 3.3% January 1 to $15,50 and will probably go up another 50 cents January 1, 2024, in which case she state has to give 6.6% in the next 18 months whether the deal is ratified or not.
I really hope we’re all misinterpreting the unwritten details of this deal. Otherwise, I’m still looking for someone to trade a dollar for these three shiny quarters That’s three for one. Still no takers?
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