The Education of Washington Staffers and their "Bosses" -- the Senate and House Congressional Representatives -- Part II

Casey's RESPONSE to Frank Gladics, Staffer for New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici who is Chairman of the Senate committee on Energy & Natural Resources:

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Dear Mr. Gladics:

Thank you for your response. However your opinion is exactly why it has taken us so long to educate congress on these issues. 

It may come as a surprise to you, but most firefighters across the nation, whether they be DoD federal firefighters, municipal or state firefighters, work a 24 hour shift. It is a safe bet that over 90% of paid, professional firefighters across the nation are paid for 24 hours whether they go to a fire or not. I can't imagine that the Senator would not know this given his long-tenured career. They are paid to be on call so as to be able to respond at a moments notice. They are not paid only when they put "the wet stuff on the red stuff."

Yes, those brave New York City firefighters who gave their lives on 9-11-01 were paid for 24 hrs of duty. Had they not had a call that day, they still would have been paid for 24 hours. That is simply the fire business as it has been for decades.

You find it incredulous that "our folks think they should be paid for the time they are sleeping or sitting in a fire camp eating free food." We are asking for portal to portal pay only when they are dispatched on emergency incidents. This is still significantly less than the rest of the firefighting population that gets paid for 24 hrs/day regardless of whether they are dispatched to an emergency incident.

Let me ask you something. Does your position mean your boss is opposed to paying our military troops when they are sleeping, or eating "free food." Is it wrong for our military to expect to be paid while they are sleeping or eating. I spent 4 years in the Air Force and I can safely say I never saw battle...but I was paid for everyday to be ready to do my job...ironically, I was a firefighter in the Air Force.

Perhaps you are suggesting that military be paid only when they are firing their weapons. That would be the same as suggesting wildland firefighters should only be paid while on the fire line fighting fire...even though they may be in a remote section of the country for up to 3 weeks away from their families and civilization.

The analogy of military and our firefighters is clear. Wildland firefighting is a war. You cannot appreciate the battle unless you have lived it. It is even more dynamic that a battle field. I will tell you that until this recent incursion into Iraq, there had been more federal wildland firefighters killed in the line of duty between 1994 and 2003 than there had been military deaths in the line of duty. That sir, is a fact of our war.

Obviously you did not attempt to understand the clear intent of this legislation. We are not asking that the Agency add this cost to the already significant costs of firefighting. Instead, we are asking that the agency change their mind-set by paying their own employees properly, as other firefighters are, inclusive of DoD civilian firefighters for a 24 hrs while on shift. However we go one step further and restrict that 24 hrs of pay to only when they are on emergency responses.

The high costs of firefighting now is a result of the federal government paying the full salary (for a full 24 hrs per day on the incident) to all the municipal and state firefighters who are called to help on wildfires. The "hourly rate" of these "cooperators" is already significantly higher than the hourly rate of our federal wildland firefighters.

Additionally, contractors are gouging the American taxpayers and the federal government by charging sometimes 5 times the costs of a federal crew or piece of equipment at a scene. Perhaps you and your boss can explain it to us why the Government is willing to pay a contractor 5 times what the same service costs for a federal crew. Perhaps he is willing to explain to us why he would choose to waste millions of tax dollars maintaining the present system.

If you were a federal wildland firefighter out on a large wildfire, and some of the "cooperators" working the fire with you were municipal firefighters who were there simply to take advantage of the federal government paying their high overtime rates; firefighters that already made significantly more than you based on an hourly rate, how would you feel knowing that when you slipped into your paper sleeping bag, tossed down to you from a helicopter in the middle of nowhere, the guy next to you was being paid while he slept by your own boss while your boss took you off the clock. I'd be delighted to have you or the Senator explain that to me.

We get many many recruits. They come not for the money, but for the job. Often they do leave the federal government for better pay (a statistic already codified in Congressional record). Of course this is after the federal government has expended tens of thousands of dollars in training these firefighters. As a potential employer, I'd love to pick up someone who's training had been paid for by some other entity. Recruits do not necessarily equate to hires.

Very simply, if this legislation were enacted, it would curtail the loss of staffing to outside agencies and it would bring in more qualified recruits. By properly staffing federal firefighters, you reduce the reliance on the high-priced cooperators and contractors thereby saving money. I would submit to you that properly staffing federal wildland firefighter positions and paying them portal to portal pay while on emergency incidents is far less expensive than the current practice of paying price gouging contractors and money-hungry cooperators. How that escapes you is disturbing.

Your last sentence is a microcosm of why it has taken years to educate congress. You indicate you'd be hard pressed to recommend to your bosses that anyone get paid 24 hours a day. Well, with all due respect, welcome to the 21st century. Additionally, I think the President and the Administration, not to mention DoD and their employees would be stunned to hear that you believe our military should not be paid for 24 hrs a day. There is obviously a problem if you didn't know until now that the military and most firefighters are paid for 24 hours.

If you as a taxpayer want to continue seeing your tax dollars going to price-gouging, unprofessional firefighting contractors, that is your business. I would submit to you that congress and the American public, especially those in recent years affected by wildfires and urban interface, would think differently.

I would be truly delighted to have the opportunity to discuss this issue with you and your boss. I am confident that by educating him, regardless of your personal opinions, he would be significantly supportive of the issue. Better yet, have him contact folks such as Rep. Pombo or Curt Weldon, co-chair of the Congressional Fire Service Caucus (and HR 2963 cosponsor) or other cosponsors like Duke Cunningham, Scott McInnis, Rick Renzi and others. Obviously they know something.

That being said, I am ready, willing and able to go face to face with you and your bosses on this issue. I'm ready to go toe to toe with the agencies. I'll be in town May 5-7, 2004. Let me know where to be and when and I'll be there. In the meantime, I can be reached at 916-515-1224. I'll go one step further...why don't you and your boss join us at our table at the Congressional Fire Services Institute's Fire & Emergency Services dinner the evening of May 5th at the Washington Hilton. I know... the Senator already has a previous engagement.

looking forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

Casey Judd
Business Manager
Federal Wildland Fire Service Assn.