California is implementing a policy change to pay incarcerated firefighters $7.25 an hour during active firefighting. This wage increase is funded through the new state budget and follows ongoing advocacy for better pay and working conditions in the correctional labor system. The change comes as a response to the deployment of hundreds of incarcerated firefighters during severe wildfires. While initially aiming for $19 per hour, the bill authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan received bipartisan support, with concerns raised by the California State Sheriffs' Association regarding fiscal implications.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's new budget allocates $10 million to raise the pay of incarcerated firefighters to $7.25 an hour during active firefighting, effective Jan. 1.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan stated, "It's the right thing to do and it's long overdue," emphasizing the importance of valuing the sacrifices of incarcerated firefighters.
Bryan mentioned, "To have a bipartisan moment where we're dignifying incarcerated labor with a federal minimum wage - I think that is the best of who we are."
The wage change follows years of advocacy and comes after hundreds of incarcerated firefighters were deployed to battle deadly wildfires.
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