Kim Kardashian is speaking out in support of a pay raise for incarcerated firefighters.
The “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star, 44, in an Instagram story on Saturday praised the inmates who have been involved in the relief efforts amid the devastating wildfires in Southern California.
Kardashian noted that “there are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us” but argued they do not receive appropriate compensation for their work.
“They get paid almost nothing, risk their lives, some have died, to prove to the community that they have changed and are now first responders,” she wrote. “I see them as heroes.”
More than 900 incarcerated firefighters have been involved in the response efforts in California and are working “around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Friday.
Incarcerated firefighters are paid between $5.80 and $10.24 per day depending on their skill level, and they receive an additional $1 per hour while serving during an active emergency, per the CDCR. The minimum wage in California is $16.50 an hour.
“During emergencies, crews can work a 24-hour shift, followed by 24 hours of rest,” the department explains. “For example, for one 24 hour shift during an active emergency, the lowest skill level would earn $26.90 per day. They are paid during rest periods, as well.”
Additionally, incarcerated firefighters can receive two days off their sentence for every one day served.
In her Instagram story, Kardashian, who has long been an advocate for criminal justice reform, appealed directly to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. She called on the governor 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 reality star previously shared that she would be donating to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation amid the crisis. She also said her clothing company Skims would be making a “sizable donation of underwear, clothing, and socks to Baby2Baby to help those displaced by the fires.”
