SACRAMENTO, California — Gavin Newsom on Monday approved a raise for incarcerated firefighters after the Los Angeles wildfires drew widespread attention to their low pay.
Legislation signed by the California governor will immediately raise wages for inmates working active incidents to the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour, up from as little as $30 per day, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Isaac Bryan, a Los Angeles Democrat in the state Assembly, introduced the bill after crews of inmates battling the destructive January blazes in their distinctive orange-red uniforms drew attention from sympathetic Southern Californians and celebrities like John Legend and Kim Kardashian.
Incarcerated firefighters have long been an essential part of California’s wildfire response, and their work allows them to earn sentence-shaving credits, in addition to their wages. But the Los Angeles fires cast a bright light on the compensation they receive while laboring in dangerous conditions…