SFFD Firefighters Making Over $350,000/year

[RES24CUE 168]

SAN FRANCISCO – Some San Francisco firefighters are raking in six-figure overtime paychecks because of staffing shortages that have department managers scheduling numerous extra shifts, a newspaper reported.

A lieutenant at Station 39 on Portola Avenue collected $221,000 in overtime last year, raising his total salary to $363,000, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

A paramedic-firefighter at Station 51 in the Presidio made $191,000 in overtime, taking his pay to $337,204, while three battalion chiefs made $113,000 to $124,000 each in overtime, boosting their pay to $316,000 to $332,000 each, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Wednesday.

Sign Me Up!!!

Full Article

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/25/san-francisco-fire-lieutenant-makes-221000-in-ot-due-to-understaffing/?test=latestnews

Edited April 25, 2013 by RES24CUE

[newsbuff 286]

Maybe they will finally figure out that hiring more people is more cost effective...

[efd184 59]

Sounds odd to me. $221,000 in OT? That means he would have been there everyday.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Sounds odd to me. $221,000 in OT? That means he would have been there everyday.

Assuming that the $363,000/$221,000 is just salary (and does not include benefits) it averages 42 hours per week OT. So he would be working about an 80 hour work week. I know a lot of people who between their job and side work do at least that much.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

400 vacancies? Of course you're gonna have people killing it with overtime! Even I can do that math

[SmokeyJoe 161]

All the power to them. Remember that California is only place with worst tax and higher cost of living than hear.

[CBX4627 114]

This is a typical media NON-STORY........................Hire more FF's and the o.t. goes down, it's just that simple...............

[16fire5 693]

I think it's safe to say working that many hours is probably physically not safe nor healthy.

[Bnechis 3,961]

I think it's safe to say working that many hours is probably physically not safe nor healthy.

Agreed. And yet that is exactly how we run EMS in NYS, except they get no pension benefit from working the 80 hours+ per week.

Interesting how EMS agencies are not physically safe or healthy for their employees. Which in turn makes it less safe or healthy for their patients.

[SmokeyJoe 161]

Agreed. And yet that is exactly how we run EMS in NYS, except they get no pension benefit from working the 80 hours+ per week.

Interesting how EMS agencies are not physically safe or healthy for their employees. Which in turn makes it less safe or healthy for their patients.

Amen brother

[x635 4,066]

From what I understand about SFFD, first choice of overtime is always given to the senior man...so firefighters junior to him may have wanted the overtime but didn't have a chance. Also, the mandatory overtime system that's supposed to be in place is not used.

Let's not also forget that SFFD provides ambulances, so a lot of the open shifts represent that.

[FireMedic049 597]

Maybe they will finally figure out that hiring more people is more cost effective...

Not always. Up to a point, it is actually more cost effective to cover vacancies using overtime.

With 400 vacancies and people making more than $100K in OT, I'm pretty confident that they've past that point.

Additionally, in today's economic and political environment you can't rule out the possibility that the City Administration is intentionally not filling the vacancies and running up the OT costs. OT costs soar, the fingers start pointing at the "greedy" (union) firefighters, the public gets worked up over the perception that it's the Union's fault and then the City tries to use this as leverage to make cuts in manpower, unit staffing, fire stations, benefits, etc.