COVER STORY
HISTORIC CHANGES FOR CAL FIRE
Nearly all municipal, county, and fire district firefighters work a 56-hour workweek, a standardized period of time that allows for overtime when necessary while still providing employees with a healthy work-life balance.
CAL FIRE firefighters have had a 72-hour workweek since 1977. Prior to this, it was 96 hours, and they did not receive pay for the hours between midnight and 5 AM unless they got a call. It was “modernized” to 72 hours, but only for permanent staff, leaving Firefighter 1's out for over two decades.
“Local 2881 members are taken to a breaking point, it’s just a fact. We work a 72, but the average person really works a 96 or more,” said CAL FIRE Local 2881 President, Tim Edwards, acknowledging that the modern demands placed on the department in this era of extreme fires – our new normal – mirror the outdated conditions of the 1970s.
Current staffing and scheduling demands limit the availability of relief crews during large wildfires that can keep Local 2881 members away from home for weeks, if not months at a time. The physical demands are obvious. The psychological strain is measured in broken marriages, three times the number of calls for mental health services than there are firefighters, and tragically, even suicides. Long-term health implications and countless other stressors on the firefighters and their families are taking their toll.
Hundreds of rank-and-file employees have left for other departments. The demands being made on CAL FIRE’s men and women have prompted an exodus of company officers.
At the 49th CPF Biennial Convention, President Brian K. Rice announced that Governor Gavin Newsom would be reaffirming his commitment to the health and safety of Local 2881 members by keeping the 66-hour workweek in the Governor’s proposed budget. Since then, the proposal has been adopted as the budget for fiscal year 2024-25.
"It is a basic fight for us, not just CAL FIRE Local 2881, but for every single member of CPF. This is not a CAL FIRE issue; this is a firefighter issue that has historic significance for every one of us,” said President Rice.
“This is not a CAL FIRE issue; this is a firefighter issue that has historic significance for every one of us.”
It has taken countless hours from the Local 2881 bargaining team led by President Tim Edwards and Rank and File Director, Pete Boctor, to make this happen. They have been joined shoulder to shoulder by IAFF leaders, CPF leaders, Local 2881 governmental advocates and the CPF legislative team.
“CAL FIRE Local 2881 recognizes and appreciates the considerable difficulty of our brothers and sisters,” said President Edwards.
The move to a 66-hour workweek means less exposure to cancer-causing agents, less mental strain, and most importantly, more time at home with family and friends. This would not have been possible without the collaboration of the CPF.
Pete Boctor, the Rank and File Director for Local 2881, also addressed the delegation of the CPF Convention, “We wouldn’t be here without your help and support, so I appreciate every single one of you... we still have a heavy lift, and we’re not done.”
The 66-hour workweek is the first step in moving CAL FIRE towards a 56-hour workweek. The fight will continue to ensure that our brothers and sisters of Local 2881 have parity with the rest of the fire service.