Worse, union work rules have been rewritten such that firefighters seldom take the risks they once did, in part because the crews have women. In many respects, firefighting has become a cushy job. Several times during a wildfire I have seen a row of half a dozen engine crews standing around collecting overtime at a staging area.
My brother’s L.A. Co. FD, and a long-time friend, who was a neighbor of ours growing up, is Orange City FD. They could both tell you stories of fat, dumb, ‘n’ happy FD unionism that’d ruin your gall bladder.
Don’t get me wrong; there are a lotta guys in there EARNING their pay, but there are many, many more who do no more than they absolutely have to, and when you’ve got a bloated union covering for your lazy arse, you don’t absolutely have to do all that much.
And HERE’S a twist for you: it isn’t always the guys making the most money who oughta be priority targets, because sometimes the reason a guy’s making so much, is that he’s the one willing to work extra shifts when others call in sick, or when others want to take their vacation days. If a guy’s willing to pick up the slack like that, for Heaven’s sake don’t penalize him just because it jacks his annual take-home up over $175K.