Seasonal wildland firefighters working for the federal government do not have access to federal health insurance. A group of them hope to change this, and have initiated a national petition which can be signed online. Presently they have 468 “signatures”, but they hope to ultimately get 100,000. The organizers emphasize that federal employees have the right to sign it.
The petition can be viewed and signed HERE — the text from it is below:
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The work that wildland firefighters perform is critical. Each year they are responsible for keeping tens of thousands of homes and businesses from being consumed, often protecting entire towns from the threat of fire.
Because wildfire is overwhelmingly more common between the months of May to October, the majority of firefighters are seasonally employed. More than 90% of these return to service year after year. They often work the equivalent of a full year’s worth of hours in six to seven months, but are never given the opportunity to buy into a government health care plan even at the most basic level, because they are classified as temporary workers.
There are many risks these brave men and women take in order to serve their community. Since the year 2000, 179 wildland firefighters have been killed in the line of duty, and the conditions of the firefighting environment have been linked to cancer and respiratory disease leading to permanent lung damage.
Seasonal federal wildland firefighters demonstrate a commitment to service equal to that of permanently employed firefighters and other emergency responders. It is only right and fair that they have access to a quality, affordable health plan for themselves and their families. I urge you to introduce legislation that makes seasonally employed federal wildland firefighters and their immediate families eligible for year-round health insurance coverage.
Federal Employees: You have a right to sign this. See [the petition site] for legal permission from the Office of Special Council…..
