Over the last two summers, as wildfires incinerated much of Lane County, I saw countless yard signs thanking the firefighters who risked their lives to protect our homes. Finally, the bipartisan infrastructure bill transformed this gratitude into action.
U.S. Forest Service firefighters have not been fairly compensated for their extremely dangerous jobs. Entry-level federal firefighters are seasonal workers who earn only $13.45 per hour. Many can only pay their bills by working exhausting amounts of overtime. Typically, Forest Service firefighters work 16 hours a day for 14 days straight, with two days of rest between assignments. These seasonal firefighters are ineligible for federal retirement plans or year-round health insurance.
Many firefighters simply cannot afford to perform extremely arduous work that pays less than the fast-food industry. For this reason, many have left the profession or transferred to state agencies like CALFIRE that pay double the federal wages. According to Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, the federal firefighting force was staffed at 25 percent below normal levels this summer. Lane County cannot afford to lose any firefighters — not with climate change making each fire season more catastrophic.
Fortunately, Congress finally invested in our communities and in our firefighters by passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill. This bill included provisions to raise entry-level firefighters’ pay by $20,000 annually and converted 1,000 seasonal firefighters to permanent positions with full benefits. Thank you, Rep. Peter DeFazio, for working with your colleagues to pass this bill. Our heroes deserved it. The safety of our communities depended upon it.
Kelly Missett
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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