Well said, Stacy. Thank you for giving voice to the issue of federal firefighter pay (that hourly rate is abysmal!) and to incarcerated firefighters. Honestly, if we're paying folks less than a dollar an hour for the incredibly grueling and hazardous work of fighting wildfires and then not allowing them a career path to take advantage of their experience when they are released from incarceration, I don't see how it can be called anything but slave labor. That is just wrong.
Well said, Stacy. Thank you for giving voice to the issue of federal firefighter pay (that hourly rate is abysmal!) and to incarcerated firefighters. Honestly, if we're paying folks less than a dollar an hour for the incredibly grueling and hazardous work of fighting wildfires and then not allowing them a career path to take advantage of their experience when they are released from incarceration, I don't see how it can be called anything but slave labor. That is just wrong.