Assembly Bill 1309 would have required the state to pay “firefighters who are rank-and-file members of State Bargaining Unit 8, employed by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, within 15% of the average salary for corresponding ranks in 20 listed California fire departments.”
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The bill won bipartisan support as it worked its way through the Legislature, however, Newsom wrote in his veto letter, “While I appreciate the author’s intent, this bill would create significant cost pressures for the state and circumvent the collective bargaining process.”
“State employee salaries, along with other components of compensation such as health and pension benefits, should be determined through collective bargaining. Establishing a statutory salary floor for employees of a single department undermines this process, to the detriment of both the state and other bargaining units,” he added.
The bill was introduced by GOP Assemblymember Heath Flora, who has served as a volunteer firefighter for over 15 years. He told SFGATE, ”
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President of Local 2881, a union that represents Cal Fire workers, Tim Edwards, told the outlet, “Cal Fire is an all-risk fire department, just like a San Francisco Fire Department or Santa Rosa or San Jose Fire Department. We don’t have the staffing like they do.
