Kim Kardashian is demanding out that California Governor Gavin Newsom increase the wages of incarcerated firefighters’ as they continue to help combat the Los Angeles wildfires.
The reality star turned social justice activist, 44, who harbors a net worth of around $1.7 billion, took to Instagram to launch her plea on Governor Gavin Newsom – urging him to increase the hourly wage of incarcerated firefighter pay.
In the statement, posted on her Instagram story Saturday, she wrote: “I have spent the last week watching my city burning.
“And have seen and spoken to many firefighters who are up all night long using every ounce of their strength to save our community. On all 5 fires in Los Angeles, there are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us.
Over 900 prisoners were reportedly battling the deadly blaze ripping through LA, reported The New York Times Saturday.
Kardashian went on to note that the inmate firefighters are “working 24 hour shifts” where they “get paid almost nothing” while carrying out the life-saving work.
Branding them as “heroes”, the social media star continued by highlighting that the incarcerated fire crew members earn roughly $1 an hour – a wage that has remained largely unchanged despite rising inflation and several fires in the southern California region.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, incarcerated crew members are paid between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, depending on skill level.
But they can earn an additional $1 an hour while assigned to an active emergency regardless of skill – a sum paid by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
She continued by stating: “I am urging @cagovernor to do what no Governor has done in 4 decades, and raise the incarcerated firefighter pay to a rate [that] honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes.”
The mom of four praised the work of Cal Fire Ventura Training Center, a program for formerly incarcerated firefighters after they saved her $60 million Hidden Hills home.
The star even flagged the activist group “Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)” and their rehabilitation efforts for incarcerated firefighters – a group who according to their website, seeks to end mass incarceration in California.
“Due to bills passed by @antirecidivismcoalition, these guys can now get their sentences reduced, expunging the felonies from their records for their fire service. And when they come home can get six-figure jobs working for the fire departments.”
By comparison, state seasonal firefighters can take home a monthly base salary between $3,672.00 and $4,643.00 plus an additional $1,824 - $2,306 of extended duty week compensation every four weeks, according to Cal Fire.
She did not state in the post whether she would be donating to the cause. The Independent contacted Kim Kardashian’s media representatives to ask whether she had already or intended to donate to the cause.
The South California fires have torched more than 40,000 acres, including more than 23,000 acres across the Pacific Palisades and along the Pacific Coast Highway, since last Tuesday evening.
As of Monday morning, only 13 percent of the Palisades fire was contained. While the Eaton fire has burned more than 14,000 acres in Altadena and Pasadena – a fire that is only 27 percent contained.
On Sunday, Governor Newsom described the Los Angeles wildfires as the worst disaster in U.S. history.
