California is moving to pay incarcerated firefighters the federal minimum wage of $7.25 during active fires, a policy change that follows years of advocacy to improve pay and working conditions for incarcerated labor.
Best I can do is minimum wage for grueling, dangerous work.
Using prison slave labour for firefighting is literally the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard even ignoring all the ethical issues. You know who I don’t want in charge of saving my life from a fire? Someone who’s being forced to do it. Because that person probably won’t try very hard.
The prison firefighters all volunteer for that detail. From what I understand, it’s one of the harder details to get on.
But don’t dehumanize prisoners with such a broad brush. They are all people too, and when they see someone in dire need, they are still people and will more than likely help.
But woodland firefighting is very much clearing brush and creating fire lines with literal hand tools. Hoes, chainsaws, and shovels and their primary tools. This isn’t a position where firefighters are going into burning buildings looking for injured or trapped people.
Using prison slave labour for firefighting is literally the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard even ignoring all the ethical issues. You know who I don’t want in charge of saving my life from a fire? Someone who’s being forced to do it. Because that person probably won’t try very hard.
The prison firefighters all volunteer for that detail. From what I understand, it’s one of the harder details to get on.
But don’t dehumanize prisoners with such a broad brush. They are all people too, and when they see someone in dire need, they are still people and will more than likely help.
But woodland firefighting is very much clearing brush and creating fire lines with literal hand tools. Hoes, chainsaws, and shovels and their primary tools. This isn’t a position where firefighters are going into burning buildings looking for injured or trapped people.