Your calculations are not correct, you did not use the proper CF overtime factor for FF1. Your calculations are closer to FC wages not FF1.
The clock reset went from 60 to 53 hours on July 1st.
So FF1 work 53hr straight time and 19hr OT every week
Those hours are not correct and neither are your calculations for wages. Not even top step FF1’s are making $5238.44/month.
From CALFIRE ePay this morning:
First step FFI: $3428.00 + $1611.96 EDWC = $5039.96
Top step FFI: $4137.00 + $1944.84 EDWC = $6081.84
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That’s about on average $66,000 a year for an entry level firefighter if they worked all year?
Vallejo are you reading this thread?
See LA times article below. Glad some of this topic is reaching some media outlets. They did a good job hitting some of the key issues, but there is a lot more going on then just issues cause by the shutdown. This issue has been in place for 25+ years.
Peak fire season is near and the federal government is short hundreds of firefighters
Ok, never mind I stand corrected.
Wow… I’m a GS-8 step 7 RUS locality in CA, Engine Captain with 18+ yrs experience. Qualified as DIVS,RXB2, TFLD, STEN, STCR, ICT3 etc… and my salary is $ 55,886.00. How do the FEDs not see this huge discrepancy. Dont think I will go much past my 20 yrs of service even though I would have many years to go to hit 57.
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What’s edwc?
Extended Duty Week compensation. It’s the 19 hours a week of time and a half of overtime that most rank and file employees in CALFIRE get above the monthly salary. It also counts towards earnings for retirement.
Great for calfire. Nice job.
Copy. Never knew it had a name. I just called it $2.00 an hour when I worked for cdf!! Lol!!
And praying for a nickel!
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Not many know about the “nickel”. I used to pray every night for it. Nowadays it’s a straight 72 and true time and a half.
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Thank you for posting yesterday’s LA Times article.
To the person or persons, most likely internal, out there who acted as the source(s) for the LA Times article and helped the LA Times with the FOIA and what questions to ask, I say thank you very much. You cared enough to step up and help Wildland Firefighters.
The agency is not going to bend or face reality with one LA Times article. History told us that back in 2005-2008. We all need to find a newspaper reporter. We all need to email and continue until the agency is overwhelmed with inquiries. Until politicians take notice.
Lack of staffing is something to share widely. Entry level wages for all fed agencies needs to be shared. Do whatever you can in your spare time to fight back, call an editors desk. Email a representative on your own time and own computer.
Never stop until we get Firefighter pay to a level for which they deserve.
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I don’t know about statewide, but in the south you have Fire Fighters, AFEO, FAE, FC And even IHC SUPTS who have left the FS for entry level positions at Calfire & Local Government. Even the IHC Supt from the oldest HS in the nation left 2.5tr from his 20 and went to work as a Boot FNG FF with a LG department.
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The OT “clock” is just a means of computing the OT rate. The rate went from 72 hrs to 53 incrementally, also boosting the base hourly rate so as to keep up with the CA minimum wage.
Ex:
FF1 at step 1 makes $3428 salary/month.
To figure the OT rate: $3428 divided by 4.33 (weeks in a month) = $791.68/week.
Then $791.68 divided by 53 (OT clock rate) = $15.22 which makes the “hourly” rate.
Multiply hourly ($15.22) by 1.5 = $22.83 for OT rate.
EDWC (guaranteed 19 OT hours/week X 4 weeks per pay period) $22.83 X 76 = $1735.08
$3428 + $1735.08 = $5163/month
I know, too much maths. But its creative accounting in the OT “clock” that made it possible to be in line with the CA min wage. Think of it as pizza. If you are “paid” by pizza hourly, which is more, 1/4 slice and hour or 1/3? Yeah, cutting a pizza in fourths means more slices, but smaller slices. By 1/3’s, you get less slices, but bigger pieces (OT rate).
Course this is all moot in 2021 when the MOU contract is up and the CA min wage goes up again.
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I wonder where all these GS-12, GS-13 Forest Fire Chief’s are about the pay for the firefighters they’re leading. Seems to be radio silence for them. We see them often, some almost everyday on twitter or FB spreading words about leadership, values, posting pictures of themselves and highlighting what they’re accomplishing.
One Forest Service Chief-1 is on Twitter so much I wonder how he does his job.
Come into this forum and show you care. Truly stand up for your firefighters. Be vocal, let’s have a chat.
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We have lost 3 people within 30 days due to low salary and little fire.
Our firefighters can’t pay the bills when they get paid in “sunsets and experiences”.
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Vallejo👆🏻Are you reading?
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Such a bummer we have to go through this…what forest are you on?