Kim Kardashian is using her platform to fight for fair wages for incarcerated firefighters working to protect Los Angeles, as fires continue to engulf the city.
The beauty mogul advocated for the firefighters in a series of Instagram stories explaining that these first responders put themselves in harm's way for just $1 an hour. Kardashian stated that since the fires crept into other parts of the city last week, she has had multiple conversations with the first responders on the ground.
"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,” Kardashian said.
Since 1984, wages for incarcerated firefighters have “never been raised with inflation. It’s never been raised when fires got worse and many died. A recent agreement to raise it to $5 an hour was reportedly ‘shot down last minute,'” Kardashian stated.
The criminal justice reform advocate urged California Gov. Gavin Newsom to raise their pay so it's “a rate that honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, while Kardashian has highlighted their low pay, The Department of Corrections website said that wages for these first responders can include "a bonus dollar per hour in time of an active emergency."
Alongside the bonus for emergencies, “Depending on skill level, conservation camp incarcerated fire crew members earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, paid by CDCR,” the website said.
For several years, Kardashian has been a staunch proponent of criminal justice reform in the U.S. and has met with figures like President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris on larger reform in the prison system. Kardashian has even gone to law school and passed the First-Year Law Students' Examination, sometimes referred to as the "baby bar."
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