For $1 an hour, inmates fight California fires. ‘Slave labor’ or self-improvement?

On the front lines of some of the deadliest fires raging in California, professional firefighters are working alongside prison inmates with one key difference: pay.

Cal Fire firefighters make at least $10.50 an hour, according to the agency, and inmates make only $2 a day plus $1 an hour.

All the attention on the wildfires over the past two weeks has begun to draw attention to a prison program in California that, according to state corrections spokesman Bill Sessa, can reduce state firefighting costs up to $100 million a year.

The number of inmates fighting fires varies but with 19 fires burning simultaneously at one point, KQED reported that there are about 3,800 state prison inmates who are minimum-custody inmates deemed a low safety risk fighting fires. That’s about 7 percent of the 9,500 firefighters working those fires.

California’s firefighters have been overwhelmed this month. The state’s wildfires have caused some $6 billion in damages, killed 42 people and burned more than 5,000 homes, according to the Sacramento Bee. Some 100,000 people have been displaced, The New York Times reported.

Now a national story, inmate firefighter pay has gained steam as a conversation on social media and even in the political sphere where one candidate for state lieutenant governor has called it “slave labor.”

So how does the program work? How are inmates selected to join this program? Why are they paid so little? Here are a few things to know about this story:

What does the program entail?

The Conservation (Fire) Camps program is jointly managed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or CDCR, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection better known as Cal Fire.

Its origins date to the early 1900s when inmates helped build highways and roads. Their duties expanded to include firefighting in the 1940s. Today, the program has some 3,800 inmates based in 43 minimum-security camps all over the state.

How are inmates chosen to join?

Only minimum-custody inmates are allowed to volunteer for the program, according to its site. On top of that, they are screened and medically cleared before they can join. Those with convictions like sexual offenses or arson and those who have tried to escape by force are not eligible to join.

The inmates receive firefighting training and are given equipment such as fire gear and tools to fight fires in difficult terrains.

How are inmates compensated?

In July, Sessa, the corrections spokesman, told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the base pay for inmates is $2 per day plus $1 per hour for time spent on the fire lines. Those salaries are “lavish pay by prison standards,” Sessa told CNN for a recent story about the inmate program.

In addition to pay, Sessa told CNN that most of the inmates in the program get two days off their sentence for ever day of good behavior at the camps. Inmates normally get only one day off for each day of good behavior.

How are people reacting to this?

Former Richmond mayor Gayle McLaughlin, who is now running for lieutenant governor, has been the biggest critic of the inmate program wages.

“No matter how you may want to dress it up, if you have people working for nothing or almost nothing, you’ve got slave labor, and it is not acceptable,” McLaughlin says on her campaign website.

Others on social media have shared similar critical reactions.

What do the inmates think?

In interviews with news outlets, inmate firefighters have expressed frustration and gratitude. One woman firefighter in the program told The New York Times that inmates are not all happy about the low wages.

‘‘The pay is ridiculous,’’ La’Sonya Edwards, 35, told The Times. ‘‘There are some days we are worn down to the core. And this isn’t that different from slave conditions. We need to get paid more for what we do.’’

Another female inmate at a camp in Malibu told NBC News the work they perform can be uplifting. “We basically fight fires and it gives us a chance to better ourselves mentally and physically,” Latoya Najar told NBC News.

“Every day is a difficult day,” Najar added. “This will show you that you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Have some thoughts to share?

Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet. 

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez

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