{"id":2429370,"date":"2025-04-30T16:55:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T20:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lafd-union-boss-pulled-in-500000-a-year-after-highlighting-shortages\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T16:57:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T20:57:58","slug":"lafd-union-boss-pulled-in-500000-a-year-after-highlighting-shortages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lafd-union-boss-pulled-in-500000-a-year-after-highlighting-shortages\/","title":{"rendered":"LAFD union boss pulled in $500,000 a year after highlighting shortages"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flafd-union-boss-pulled-in-500000-a-year-after-highlighting-shortages%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2429370&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Freddy escobar, the president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, has faced scrutiny for his significant income of over $500,000 annually while simultaneously blaming the Los Angeles Fire Department&#8217;s (LAFD) lack of funding for poor responses too recent catastrophic wildfires. During a media appearance, Escobar expressed his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jp-morgan-shareholders-hand-jamie-dimon-a-rare-rebuke-disapprove-52-6-million-bonus\/\" title=\"JP Morgan Shareholders Hand Jamie Dimon a Rare Rebuke, Disapprove .6 Million Bonus\">long-standing concerns<\/a> about inadequate resources, claiming he had warned of potential disasters for years.Despite his accusations of budget constraints, records reveal that he earned about $540,000 in 2022, substantially due to extensive overtime pay and union stipends. Escobar&#8217;s earnings reportedly include $424,500 in pay from the city and an additional $115,962 from the union, raising questions about the ethics of his compensation amid ongoing staffing and funding issues within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-massive-explosion-in-downtown-nashville-on-christmas-morning-possible-car-bomb-video\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Massive Explosion in Downtown Nashville on Christmas Morning, Possible Car Bomb (VIDEO)\">fire department<\/a>. Recently, the LAFD announced plans to review its tracking of hours and reimbursements for union-related duties.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">LAFD union boss who blamed lack of funds for limited response to wildfires took home $500,000 in pay and overtime<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1938639\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/14\/us\/la-fire-department-resourses-understaffed-invs\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Freddy Escobar\">Freddy Escobar<\/a>, the president of the <a href=\"https:\/\/uflacweb.velarium.com\/about-uflac\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Freddy Escobar\">United Firefighters of Los Angeles City<\/a>, broke down in tears when he blamed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-los-angeles-earthquake-shakes-espn-studio-forces-host-to-take-things-into-her-own-hands\/\" title=\"Watch: ... Earthquake Shakes ESPN Studio, Forces Host to Take Things Into Her Own Hands\">fire department&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s lack of money for its limited response to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/wildfires\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"catastrophic LA fires\">catastrophic LA fires<\/a> that ripped through towns, burned down businesses, and left thousands&nbsp;homeless earlier this year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Escobar said he had warned &ldquo;for years&rdquo; that a disaster of such magnitude could happen and that more money was needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3396773\/education-department-title-ix-investigation-washington-state\/\">Trump Education Department launches Title IX investigation into Washington state<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3396527\/trump-cabinet-meeting-sycophants-praise-honor-president\/\">Team of sycophants: Cabinet lines up to lavish praise on Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3396447\/arizona-bitcoin-reserve-legislation-katie-hobbs\/\">Arizona push to create first-ever state Bitcoin reserve heads to Katie Hobbs&#8217;s desk<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112, President, Freddy Escobar, left, and member Richard Ramirez, middle, join a coalition of Los Angeles area elected leaders, public safety officials, and business leaders announcing their support for Proposition 36, in Los Angeles, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo\/Damian Dovarganes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t about one budget cycle. It&rsquo;s not about a single mayor,&rdquo; he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/14\/us\/la-fire-department-resourses-understaffed-invs\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"told CNN\">told CNN<\/a>.  &ldquo;This has been the case for decades. We have been speaking about it for years now. It&rsquo;s sad it&rsquo;s taken this natural disaster and tragedy to highlight what we have been saying for decades.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At a city Fire Commission in February he stated:&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a damn shame, and excuse my language, that it took this incident, the Pacific Palisades, to finally bring attention to our grossly understaffed, underfunded Fire Department.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But even as Escobar was denouncing reductions in workforce and budgets, he was pulling in more than $500,000 a year. <\/p>\n<p>He had also helped secure four years of pay raises for the city&rsquo;s 3,300 firefighters with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.&nbsp;He saved the cushiest carve-outs for himself and other top union leaders, a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-04-30\/lafd-union-head-massive-amounts-of-overtime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"report\">report<\/a> from the&nbsp;<em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>&nbsp;claimed. Most of the union&rsquo;s top brass padded their paychecks with overtime on top of six-figure union stipends.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In 2022,&nbsp;the most recent year for which records of both his city and union earnings are available,&nbsp;Escobar&nbsp;made about $540,000.<\/p>\n<p>He more than doubled his base salary of $184,034 with overtime payouts, earning more than $424,500 from the city in pay and benefits,&nbsp;the news outlet reported. He also collected a $115,962 stipend from the union. He claimed he worked 48 hours a week on union-related duties and also picked up 30 hours of overtime&nbsp;a week, which works out to roughly 78 hours each week.<\/p>\n<p>The union is allowed to place its board members on full-time leave from their LAFD jobs while they still collect their regular salaries. The board members are allowed to pick up extra shifts outside their <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">40-hour union work week<\/a>, getting paid time and a half. That&rsquo;s exactly what Escobar did as union president, a position he has held since 2018. He has another two years left on his contract.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Escobar also had the highest union stipend and made the most in overtime among the board members eligible for the deal, wrote the&nbsp;<em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>, citing city and tax records. Just in overtime alone, he made $738,439 from 2018 to 2024.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, Escobar took about nine overtime&nbsp;shifts per month, usually overnights ranging from 12 to&nbsp;16 hours. Sometimes, though, they were longer. They started on the weekends and ran for 24 hours, followed by two 16-hour shifts.<\/p>\n<p>Including Escobar, UFLAC board members made nearly $750,000 in overtime in 2022, while each collected a union stipend ranging from $67,000 to Escobar&rsquo;s $115,962. All board members received a stipend, regardless of whether they were on leave, the tax records show.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, LAFD employees, including firefighters, support staff, and other personnel, made $225 million in overtime. In&nbsp;comparison, the Los Angeles Police Department, which has more than triple the number of employees, spent about $214 million on overtime that year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, the&nbsp;Los Angeles Fire Department announced it had launched a &ldquo;comprehensive review and overhaul&rdquo; of tracking hours and reimbursement of those on leave for the union.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/economy\/3392711\/china-exempts-some-us-made-goods-steep-tariff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"CHINA EXEMPTS SOME US-MADE GOODS FROM STEEP TARIFF\">CHINA EXEMPTS SOME US-MADE GOODS FROM STEEP TARIFF<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Department has recognized the need for significant improvements to its accounting and timekeeping processes related to union release time,&rdquo; the agency said.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">The&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&nbsp;has reached out to the firefighters&rsquo; union and Escobar for comment, <\/span>but has not heard<span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"> back.<\/span>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1938639\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1938639\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LAFD union leader blamed funding issues for wildfire response but earned $500,000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2429371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/firefighters.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50133,11543,7601,48185],"class_list":["post-2429370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-lafd","tag-salary","tag-shortages","tag-union-boss"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/firefighters.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2429370"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2429374,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429370\/revisions\/2429374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2429371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2429370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2429370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2429370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}