Art and culture

Kim Kardashian Pushes For Pay Rise For Incarcerated Firefighters

Reality TV star and SKIMS mogul Kim Kardashian has used her platform, which boasts more than 358 million followers, to push for a pay rise for the incarcerated firefighters who are risking their lives in the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

Over the last week, California’s Los Angeles has been in a state of emergency after multiple wildfires engulfed large parts of the city. At the time of writing, more than 12,000 buildings have been destroyed, more than 150,000 have been forced to evacuate, and sadly, at least 16 people have lost their lives to the fires.

To help battle the devastating blaze, CalFire has sought out the help of incarcerated firefighters, deploying 939 women and men to work alongside the Los Angeles firefighters, per TIME.

A firefighter battles the flames from the Palisades Fire. (Image source: Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

Taking to her Instagram Stories on Sunday, Kim Kardashian thanked all the firefighters for working tirelessly to contain the fires before calling for a pay rise for the incarcerated men and women who are risking their lives.

“On all five fires in Los Angeles, there are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us,” she began.

“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.”

Per The New York Times, incarcerated firefighters in the US are paid $USD10.24 ($AUD16.66) a day, with a dollar per hour during emergencies, an issue that was highlighted in Kim’s Instagram Stories.

“The incarcerated firefighters have been paid $1/ hour to risk their lives and this pay has been the same since 1984,” Kim penned.

“It has never been raised with inflation. It’s never been raised when fires got worse and many died.

“This year there was an agreement to raise the incarcerated firefighter pay to $5/hour, but it got shot down last minute.”

Kim went on to tag California Governor Gavin Newsom, urging him to raise the pay rate for incarcerated firefighters to a spot that “honours a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes”.

Kim calling for the pay rise of incarcerated firefighters comes as no surprise as the reality TV star has been working in the world of criminal justice and prison reform in recent years.

Most recently, the reality TV star has called for the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez who were sentenced to two life sentences for killing their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989.

Per Page Six, the KarJenners have all evacuated their homes amid the wildfires. However, despite leaving the area, the famous family gave back to their community by donating meals to “several fire stations” across Los Angeles.

Kim has also announced that her underwear brand, SKIMS, will be donating clothing and necessities to families affected by the devastating fires.

Image source: Getty Images

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