JACK A. BLACKWELL
Regional Forester
January 21st 2005

Dear Mr. Blackwell:

I am writing you in response to your most recent and publicly discussed letter addressed to Mr. Judd who serves as the current business manager for the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association regarding the debate of disparaging remarks, portal to portal pay as well as pay versus retention that we are currently facing within Region 5 / California.

First allow me the opportunity to introduce myself as the elected representative of the Region 5 Engine Captains’ workforce. You may remember that I was the gentleman in the back of the room during the 2004 Division Chiefs’ Workshop where I rebutted to your comments of our engine workforce polishing our engines during high fire season.

While I commend you for addressing our issues without tying up your thought and direction with the standard political spin of sugar coating the situation, I too have given your letter many days and hours of professional thought as well. Please know that since your letter to Mr. Judd has been widely discussed, I have received many requests as to when our response as the workforce affected could be anticipated. Rather than sending you a “response crafted by others”. Rest assured, this response is the general majority consensus of our Engine Workforce for Region 5.

As stated in your letter to Mr. Judd, you sound your opposition of portal-to-portal pay stating that you are opposed to paying our workforce to sleep. We as a workforce do not consider this as paid sleep, but rather a compensatory adjustment for the many sacrifices we have endured during long and exasperating fire seasons that require a high level of dedication where our families have been asked to accept our many long and strenuous assignments away from home for extended periods of time. During one fire in 2004, I had the opportunity to sleep on a High School Football Field just shortly after the local 4-H club had their local livestock fair on the very same dry soiled lawn. Unfortunately, less than a few miles up the road, a CDF Firefighter (Eva Schike) lost her life during initial attack fire suppression. I have even slept in road side turnouts before only to awake and see used syringes right in the general area that we were sleeping in. When the very workforce at the field level thinks of paid sleeping, I assure you the thought does not include portable toilets next to your sleeping area, off gassing from the numerous generators needed in support of a large fire campaign or co existing sleeping areas with the California Department of Corrections Inmates. Nor does it include discussing our children’s homework with them or trying to explain to them why we won’t be home for 14 more days all while on our cell phones.

As I further read your letter to Mr. Judd regarding your experiences in other Regions, you refer again to portal to portal firefighter pay and allude to California Firefighters being perceived as resting in comfortable motel beds each night while still being paid. This may be the issue or perceptions in other Regions, but here in California Region 5, we seem to be facing a larger degree of occurrence and complexity than most other Regions. While I do agree with you that Non Federal Agencies drive up the cost of fire suppression efforts when assigned to Federal Campaign fires, I fail to see the relationship between what we aspire to achieve for our work force and what has already been established among non-Federal Fire Departments within the Region. We only seek a compensation that would re-stimulate our work force to stay with our organization as opposed to seeking employment with adjoining Municipal Fire Departments within the Region. We have asked for no special hotel accommodations through our representations from the FWFSA, but have continuously asked for recognition and compensation for the professional efforts our leaders so readily boast about at local, federal and national fire conferences throughout the world.

While our group appreciates your efforts of reviewing an analysis prepared which highlights the differences in wages by agency, our workforce continues to leave at an alarming rate for better pay, a better schedule with a more desirable benefits package as well as an amenable schedule that promotes a better dynamic for the building of a family. Our group is confident that you will agree that we are now facing one of our greatest shortages of quality leadership at the field levels and have resorted to using lower grade employees as Band-Aids to hold various parts of our fire organization together in the Region. This obviously adds to the great many stresses exerted at the Battalion, Division and Forest Chief levels, so I hope that you are aware of the situation at its fullest potential. As we say…. Sound the alarm early rather than late. I would also speculate that we are seeing a greater number of un-expected retirements Region wide due to these stresses and complexities as well.

Also of concern to our group Mr. Blackwell is your testimony to the Governor's Performance Review Commission where you support National Fire Director Jerry Williams who predicts that the wildfire problem in the United States will be won or lost on the fuels reduction and management front. Through personal knowledge, both the Los Padres National Forest as well as the Angeles National Forest are still in an un-determined state regarding allocation of funds to manage such programs of these extremely fire affected forests. Many of the fuels management positions in the Region remain unfilled or have a person either detailed into the position or they are multi tasking beyond that of the requirements of their position description. While we as a Region struggle with the loss of quality employees who opt to accept new positions with adjoining city and county municipalities in there community areas, we again are left with a multitude of issues that have presented a negative impact on our organization.

In closing, We as a Firefighting workforce, continue to seek compensatory and adjusted equalized pay for our contributions, sacrifices and dedications that we have given during our long and demanding fire seasons in Region 5 and beyond. I leave you with the name of one employee…. “Mark A. More”…. Mark was a close friend who died from injuries sustained on the Ynez fire in 1990 on the Los Padres National Forest. His name can be found at the Sacramento dedication memorial to those who lost their lives in the line of duty as well as at the National Fire Academy where he was also honored for his ultimate sacrifice to our cause.

Maybe we should have just slept on the ground for a little while instead…. His daughter is 18 this year…. My son is 7 and many of us balance our families each and every summer for our mission in the Forest Service. You are right when you say that the Forest Service is a family, and I as well as my professional colleagues expect far better possibilities for our families all together for the sacrifices we endure each year. Please consider a new strategy that will inspire our workforce with encouragement as your letter to the FWFSA sent a shock wave throughout the region that was less than encouraging to your regime of dedicated professional wild-land Firefighters here in Region 5.

Respectfully,

Timothy J. Davis
U.S. Forest Service
Regional Engine Captains Representative
R-5 California