Kim Kardashian is again leaping to defend the incarcerated and those she sees as unjustly treated by the U.S. government, this time advocating for incarcerated firemen in an Instagram Story posted over the weekend explaining how they are risking their lives to save the Los Angeles community for just $1 an hour.
The 44-year-old reality TV superstar and business mogul has been dipping into prison law reform since 2018, when a chance viewing of an online video about Alice Johnson, an incarcerated-for-life grandmother who was found guilty of involvement with a Memphis cocaine ring, led to Kardashian meeting with then-President Donald Trump to seek clemency for Johnson and ask him to support the First Step Act, which enacted major reforms in the prison system.
On Sunday, while several massive fires laid waste to Los Angeles for the fifth day straight, Kardashian posted a story to Instagram about the inmates who are now part of teams battling the blazes — some of whom have died over the years while performing acts of bravery for the L.A. community.
“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,” Kardashian wrote, thanking CAL FIRE and those working to contain the Palisades and Easton fires last week, adding that “hundreds of incarcerated firefighters get paid almost nothing, risk their lives, some have died, to prove to the community that they have changed and are now first responders. I see them as heroes.”
The longtime reality TV player then claimed incarcerated firefighters have been paid $1 per hour since 1984, telling her millions of fans that pay for them has “never been raised with inflation. It’s never been raised when fires got worse and many died. A recent agreement to raise it to five dollars an hour was reportedly ‘shot down last minute.’”
Kardashian then asked California Gov. Gavin Newsom to raise pay for incarcerated firefighters so it’s “a rate that honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes.”
While Kardashian may be correct about the underpayment of these firefighters, she may still need to check her research on the matter. The Department of Corrections website indicates that pay for incarcerated firefighters can include a bonus dollar per hour in time of an active emergency.
“Depending on skill level, conservation camp incarcerated fire crew members earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, paid by CDCR,” DOC writes in its FAQ section. “While assigned to an active emergency, incarcerated fire crew members earn an additional $1 per hour paid by CAL FIRE, regardless of skill level. During emergencies, crews can work a 24-hour shift, followed by 24 hours of rest.”
While Kardashian is correct in that the pay for these brave firefighters is very low — with a $5.80 floor, an eight-hour work day comes out to less than $1 an hour — she may have gotten mixed up over the bonus pay. Yet that may soon be neither here nor there, if Kardashian, who in 2021 passed the baby bar exam, wields her influence again in the name of criminal justice reform.
English (US) ·