CAL FIRE has Tentative Agreement to Increase Wages

Article

Updated: August 29, 2022


CAL FIRE Local 2881 and CAL HR (and Governor Newsom) have arrived at a tentative agreement to increase wages and reduce hours.  

The contract would provide CAL FIRE firefighters a retroactive raise of 2.5% from July 1, 2022, plus 2% on Jan. 1 2023 and another 2% raise on July 1, 2023.  The hours would be reduced from 72 hours to 66 hours.

Tim Edwards, the President of CAL FIRE Local 2881 stated “If you’re working 72 hours and running multiple calls, and you don’t have time to rejuvenate and decompress from what you’ve seen and saw, it’s going to stick in your head."  President Edwards indicated that there has been an uptick in PTSD claims.

An additional benefit in the tentative agreement is a $260 a month supplement to cover health insurance.

The goal of this tentative contract is to assist with recruiting.  CAL FIRE has experienced staffing shortages in recent years.  The hope is these changes will motivate increased interest in the working for the department.