Kim Kardashian calls for incarcerated firefighters to receive higher pay amid LA fires
After copping backlash for promoting her clothing sale amid the fires, Kim Kardashian has issued an urgent plea for higher pay for those on the frontline.
Kim Kardashian called on California Governor Gavin Newsom to increase the pay of incarcerated firefighters battling the devastating LA fires.
“On all 5 fires in Los Angeles, there are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories late Saturday night.
“They are on the Palisades fire and Eaton fire in Pasadena working 24 hour shifts. 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. I see them as heroes.”
The Kardashians star said the incarcerated firefighters are being paid $1 an hour to “risk their lives” and that pay has been the same since 1984.
“It has never been raised with inflation. It’s never been raised when fires got worse and many died,” she wrote.
Kim, 44, said there was a recent agreement to raise incarcerated firefighters’ pay to $5 an hour “but it got shot down last minute.”
“I am urging [Newsom] to do what no Governor has done in 4 decades, and raise the incarcerated firefighter pay to a rate [that] honors [sic] a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes,” the mum of four continued.
Kim, who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $US$1.7 billion, also thanked the firefighters from the Ventura Training Center, which offers formerly incarcerated firefighters additional rehabilitation and job training skills to help them become qualified to apply for entry-level firefighting jobs.
“Due to bills passed by @antirecidivismcoalition, these guys can now get their sentences reduced, expunging the felonies from their records for their fire service,” she wrote.
“And when they come home can get six figure jobs working for the fire departments.”
The Skims founder and the rest of her famous family — including Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Rob Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner — have had to evacuate their pricey homes in the wake of the fires, which started last Tuesday in Pacific Palisades.
Despite leaving the area, the Kardashians gave back to their community by donating meals from the Carousel Restaurant to “several fire stations” across LA.
Additionally, Kim’s shapewear brand, Skims, has donated clothing and other necessities to families affected by the wildfires.
It comes after Kim was dragged online due to her clothing brand promoting products on social media instead of addressing the horrific wildfires ravaging throughout Los Angeles County.
Skims shared several slide shows of images showcasing designs to its official Instagram just hours after the initial Pacific Palisades blaze ignited Tuesday night.
“THE WINTER SALE STARTS TOMORROW,” stated one of the posts on Wednesday, as more than 30,000 residents were forced to evacuate their homes. “Set your alarm to shop the first major event of the year with up to 50% off your favourite SKIMS collections,” the company added in the post.
Fans quickly flooded the comments sections of the posts to point out the “tone-deaf” timing of the promotional content as thousands of people’s homes were burned to dust.
This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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