Gallego pushes to extend pay increases for wildland firefighters as deadline approaches
Surrounded by more than 30 federal wildland firefighters in a large warehouse in southeast Mesa, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., spoke Friday at the Phoenix Interagency Fire Center about proposed legislation to boost the group's pay and benefits.
Gallego called on legislators in Congress — specifically U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a cohort of right-wing Republican members of the House — to pass two important pieces of legislation related to protecting and increasing wildland firefighter pay.
"These are the faces of Arizona heroes. These men and women come from fire departments across the state and they are all here with a simple ask: that they get the support they need and the wages and benefits they deserve," Gallego said at the center, located near the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
In February 2022, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law increased pay for wildland firefighters. These firefighters were paid a minimum of $15 an hour, as previously established by the federal government. The law required an increase in base salary by either $20,000 or 50% of their current salary, whichever one was less, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
However, this pay is set to expire at the end of the month, which, if an extension is not successful, could lead up to a 50% decrease in pay for these firefighters based on the raise they received from the infrastructure law, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The Wildland Fire and Paycheck Protection Act, which has been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and the House, would increase the pay base for wildland firefighters, as well as establish premium pay.
The Senate version's primary sponsor is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz...
Gallego urged the passage of this legislation before the Sept. 30 deadline as its continuance would result in the firefighters retaining the pay increases they received from the infrastructure law.
"If we don't act, our firefighters will see a pay cut that they don't deserve," Gallego said. "It's not a trim. It's something that will be extremely costly to them personally."
Gallego said he was feeling "good" about the likelihood of the extension legislation being passed before the deadline.
Smaller wildland fires have been sweeping across the state this year, and the work of Arizona's federal wildland firefighters has been intense. As of August, the state has had more than 1,400 wildfires this year, which is 200 more than last year.
The federal wildland firefighters union, a part of the National Federation of Federal Employees, was out in force at the fire center. The majority of the firefighters wore their union shirts with the phrase "Union Strong" on the back.
Max Alonzo, a federation representative, spoke about the hard work of the wildland firefighters.
"We have a couple of things in the works right now in Congress that are going to help these men and women out," Alonzo said. "They are about to lose a lot of pay if we don't get some stuff passed."
Nevertheless, the extension is just a temporary solution. Gallego is pushing for a long-term one as well.
He voiced his support for Tim's Act, which would establish permanent pay increases, as well as establishing paid and sick leave and provide retirement, housing and tuition assistance benefits — among other supports — for federal wildland firefighters.
"We can't just keep kicking this can down the road," Gallego said. "We need to do more."
By: Morgan Fischer
Source: Arizona Republic