So, like, way before that big fire in Pacific Palisades, the heads of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s labor union were all like, “Yo, we don’t have enough cash to keep this city safe.” Freddy Escobar, who’s the president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, was straight up at a city Fire Commission meeting in February, talking about how the Fire Department was so understaffed and broke. The union bosses and top LAFD peeps were all up in arms about budget cuts causing a bunch of fire engines to need fixing and not having enough mechanics to do the job. But get this, even as they were dissing the cuts, they managed to score four years of pay raises for the city’s 3,300 firefighters through talks with Mayor Karen Bass. And let me tell ya, those firefighters make bank with about 30% of the LAFD’s payroll costs going to overtime.
Turns out, Escobar and the other big shots at the union were raking in the dough with overtime on top of their hefty salaries. The LA Times did a deep dive and found out that Escobar pulled in about $540,000 in 2022, doubling his base salary with overtime payouts and collecting a fat union stipend on the side. The guy was putting in 78 hours of work a week when you add up his city job and union duties. After some prodding from The Times, the LAFD was like, “Oh snap, we need to review how we handle union leave hours.” Probably should’ve thought of that sooner, but hey, better late than never, right?
And get this, the union, known as UFLAC, is under the microscope for their spending habits. The big dogs in D.C. are checking out their financials, including how they use those union credit cards. Overtime has been a thorn in the LAFD’s side for a minute now, causing fatigue and burnout among the crew. The union honchos have been telling the city to hire more firefighters to cut down on overtime costs, but it’s been an uphill battle.
The city was like, “Fine, we’ll hire more firefighters,” but also slashed some other departments’ budgets, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The fire peeps are making good money, though, with firefighters and captains pulling in over $200K on average with all that overtime. It’s a tough balance between keeping the city safe and not breaking the bank, ya know?
With all the overtime rolling in, the LAFD is struggling to keep up with staffing levels. People are getting tired, injured, and calling in sick left and right. The union can give some board members full-time leave while still paying them their regular salaries. Escobar, the big cheese at the union, was making bank with overtime and a fat stipend. Dude was pulling in almost $750K in overtime in 2022, while also collecting a six-figure stipend. Must be nice, right?
The LAFD had a rough time during that big fire in Pacific Palisades, with 40 fire engines out of commission because they didn’t have the funds to fix or replace them. The former Fire Chief got the boot over it, with the city saying she didn’t keep enough firefighters on duty for a second shift. The whole situation was a mess, with blame flying all over the place.
At the end of the day, the LAFD is trying to balance keeping the city safe with not going broke. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. Let’s hope they figure it out before the next big disaster hits.
