When U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock of California called wildland firefighters “unskilled labor”earlier this month it provoked strong responses from the highly trained, professional, tactical athletes who put their bodies on the fireline to protect our citizens and forests.
One of those reacting was Jack Jones who was motivated by the criticism to put together the video he shot last year while serving as a highly skilled firefighter on the Idaho-based Sawtooth Hotshots. The resulting 26-minute documentary is titled, “Unskilled Labor” A Season with the Hotshots.
The video is the best I have seen that captures what it is like to work with 20 other highly skilled professional firefighters over the course of a fire season — digging fireline, mopping up, firing out, and hiking impossibly steep terrain while carrying heavy loads. Mr. Jones narrates as we see excellent photography of scenes that most people can’t even imagine. It brought me back to the five seasons I spent on Southern California hotshot crews.
Mr. Jones addresses thoroughly the ridiculous comment by Representative McClintock about “unskilled labor”.
The viewer may be left with the conclusion that if the trained and experienced firefighters on Hotshot crews were not skilled, instead of returning home after a fire assignment they could be in a cemetery.
A lot of key points he didn’t touch on like some of they guys are EMTs so they can keep their crews alive. Fire weather has to be read so they don’t end up getting burned over. You just cant walk up to a tree and cut. You have to know where its going to fall so it doesn’t land on anyone. There are classes they take to better themselves for this job. They have a command center that checks topography and weather and direct their crews so they can best attack and maintain fire lines. So no! they are not unskilled labor.
Old DRHS, thank you so much! I agree with you 100%! When I was in college I met a woman who never graduated from high school, she owned her own business and was very successful and probably the wisest woman I have ever met, but she did regret dropping out of school. And when I worked for the FS, I met a man with a PhD and he was the laziest and ignorant man I ever met. So, yes, I understand what you are saying. There seems to be a big divide in the FS between educated and experience. I believe you need both. Again, if you have experience and your management is not supporting you to get training/education than that’s poor management. I respect some of the firefighters (not all…long story), but people need to know that not everyone is skilled, because if you get fired or leave, your job doesn’t really translate in the real world. Leadership…yes, well, that a whole different thing! I think the FS has lost some really good leaders. Some have retired and some were fired, other have been silenced and I hope they start to get their voices back, because we need good men and women to stand up and lead.
SR…Well said Not sure that I can agree with every thing you said but I can respect it.
I for one can say that when I first began my WL FF career I received maybe a total of 40 hours of very basic training and a step test to measure my fitness, upon completion I was deemed qualified to fight fire, GS-3-4 entry level. ” Not Skilled” Not even close, Skilled did not come until years later. Just to put a fine point on this……Our skill sets certainly may not transfer very well into the big world of employment, but the opposite also holds true, to become a leader it takes time, and leadership is a real and tangible skill. Leaders are not found in the unemployment line, they are born and then made thru experience.
I can tell you from experience that because someone has a Masters or PHD they have an advantage in WLF, they do not, maybe on the science side of things, but not suppression.
We all start out unskilled and develop skills as we grow…..just a fact……
Peace…..
I am so tired of this argument – skilled labor vs. unskilled labor. The definition of unskilled labor is “labor that requires relatively little or no training or experience for its satisfactory performance” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unskilled%20labor). So, if you have a GED and have little to no training or experience than you are unskilled labor. If you have a MS, BS, or a PhD and/or years of experience (any combination) than you are a skilled worker. I would also like to add if you can do your job somewhere else than the NPS, FS, and BLM you are skilled. If you cannot than you are not. I know that is going to upset some of you, but are you marketable? The real issue here, is that the FS can’t have it both ways. 1) The FS can’t say they are short firefighters, because they didn’t get the inmates they needed and then turn around and say that these men and women are skilled. Let’s make this very clear I am not insulting inmates here. I am insulting the FS. By law, there are things inmates can and cannot do. 2) Yes, many of you are hard workers, no argument there, but can you do your job somewhere else? The reason I ask this is because we are trying to get you a f*in raise and if you can do this somewhere else the argument is then do it somewhere else. Again, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t asked for more money and then get mad when some calls you unskilled. Because, seriously, if you are skilled than you can work somewhere else and make more money. This has been a very difficult argument to make, because your leaders are saying, “If you don’t like the pay, go somewhere else.” Seriously!!! They don’t care if you go to CalFire! 3) Training! I have tons of letters in my alphabet soup. I have tons of certificates, but once you leave the NPS, FS, and BLM it is very difficult to keep those certificates. I know people think they have tons of training, but it is nothing compared to what others outside NPS, FS, and BLM have to do. (And you have to do it on your own dime!) And I know people don’t like training, but seriously, you need more training to be considered skilled. (And if your management does encourage you to get more education/training…they they are poor management. You should always be moving up!!!) Finally, now that I have p@$$ed everyone off. I want you to know I do not support what that Congressman said, but look at all the media coverage that y’all got out of it. Look at all the conversations that happened, because he called you unskilled. Just think if we could use that same energy to fix problems like the budget, wage disparity, sex harassment/assault, accidental deaths, and suicides…man the FS, NPS, and BLM wouldn’t have any problems (except NEPA…sorry, just had to throw that in there!) Anyway, good luck out there and stay safe!!!
Rookies start out unskilled id say but are led by people who are highly skilled. Wildland firefighters are specialized in this and yes the skill set doesn’t transfer well because of that.
Nicely articulated and no that wasn’t upsetting.
Thank you Joe Schmo!
I can’t really parse most of this comment, but I assure you that
“If you have a MS, BS, or a PhD and/or years of experience (any combination) than you are a skilled worker”
is not implied by your definition of unskilled labor. There are many people with advanced degrees or extensive experience working jobs that require little or no training or experience in order to be performed satisfactorily. Some of this is just your basic downward mobility, but there are a good deal of jobs that require a degree or some other credential as a filtering mechanism but for which the credentialing process imparts little or no additional skill.
psmith, I’m not sure I understand your comment. If you have a BS, then you probably went to school for 4 to 6 years, a MS usually takes 2 years, and a PhD can be 4 to 8 years. So, if you have a BS, MS, and PhD then that’s 10 to 16 years of education, which is a lot of education/training. I think we both can agree that there are many smart people out there that don’t have a BS, MS, and/or PhD and there a lot of dumb people who do, but many jobs at the NPS, FS, and BLM require the education and/or experience. An unskilled worker by definition is labor that requires relatively little or no training or experience for its satisfactory performance. I would say there are a lot of positions at the FS that are unskilled and there are a lot that are skilled. I just want people to understand that you might think you are skilled, but then you find yourself not working at the FS, maybe you retired, quit or fired and you find out quickly that in fact jumping out of a plane to fight a fire (although fun!) does not really translate to a job at Walmart (or any other job!).
I think you are having some confusion with unskilled vs. “firm-specific skills.” Just because our jobs aren’t marketable in the private sector does not mean we are not skilled. I can’t go out an be a smokejumper for Amazon because they don’t have a smokejumping program. That doesn’t mean I’m not skilled and it doesn’t mean the USFS should not attempt to retain me.
In fact, the opposite is true. It should be even easier for the USFS to retain me, because I have “firm-specific” skills I can’t use elsewhere. So the fact the federal government -as an employer- is falling so far behind regarding retention given that their employees have a high degree of “firm-specific” skills is alarming.
Now that more employers are entering into this sector (Cal Fire, PG&E, Private Insurance, etc…) the difficulty of recruitment/retention is increasing for the feds.
So I’m not sure what your point is, because people are leaving and they are earning much much more with other employers. Yes we are skilled. Yes the federal government is making a huge mistake not doing what it takes to retain their workforce, especially since many of us have very “firm-specific” skills.
I learned all kinds of hydraulic calculations working on an engine, I know heavy equipment operators who do things I don’t even understand, not to mention ALL of the technical, mental, and physical responsibilities that go along with working with aviation resources (despite what the hotshots think! :). So the video is a small snapshot of what really goes on out there. ICS is well thought out and a very effective way to manage incidents, and everyone who has a position supporting it (as a collateral duty, by the way) deserves recognition also. We all know that everything we do takes a high amount of skill, hopefully the congressman gets it now too. Sounds like our POTUS does.
Wildland firefighters have always struggled against being labeled undeservedly as knuckle-dragging neanderthals. This video is a well-prepared chronology of days in the lives of hotshots and the narration adds a lot of personal insight. It does a very nice job of illustrating the physical demands of the job. I would agree, though, that beefing up descriptions of the hours and hours of training, years of experience, requirements of quals, etc. somehow without diluting the video would help enforce the mental demands of the job too.
I would also be suggest quotes around “unskilled labor” on the video title pages and all references. As most of of us would agree, the term “unskilled labor” demeans the entire wildland fire community.
Let me reply my comment since I had a typo since Mr McClintock thanks firefighting is unskilled labor I would gladly put him in the cab of my dozer and take him with me on initial tag and when we got to the wall of flames let him have the controls of my dozer since it’s an unskilled labor he should be able to run the dozer and cut fire line or put him with the ia type 1 team cuz they work along with me he should be able to do any of that since it’s all unskilled what a jerk
my older brother is a hotshot and i brag about him all the time, definitely highly skilled <3
I hope he would apologize or take back his comments. Or invite him to join once in fire fighting in the field.
Anyone who thinks this is unskilled labor hasn’t had to execute a (successful) firing operation or fell a tree…scout line (that will hold), work with heavy machinery and coordinate air resources…handle logistics for a crew, etc.. all of this during a stressful and dynamic environment.
BTW, hotshots are one part of wildland fire…think smokejumpers are unskilled? Lol. What about rappellers? Engine crews? All of these firefighters start out as rookies and learn on the job for the most part. Oh did you mean because a college degree isn’t required it’s unskilled?
I’ve rappelled. Job skill exists on a continuum, of course, but I was struck by how little training was really required for us to do our jobs compared to the pilots we were working with.
I hope our Dear Congressman is inundated with links to this article.
I am in his District and he got it from me.
AMEN TO THOSE WHO ULTRA SKILLED FIRE FIGHTERS WHO TELL IT LIKE IT IS!!
No amount of words can thank them enough for their skill and courage and sacrifice!
I would like to put Mr McClintock in the cab of my dozer and take him with me on initial attack and when we get up to the wall of flames let him have the controls and he can show me how to cut fire line with flames blowing at the dozer sends it to unskilled labor he should be able to do all this
McClintock is clueless and should not give an opinion of something he knows nothing about. How dare he say this type of work is unskilled labor. He would cry like a bitch if he had to spend even one day on a crew..
First paragraph (actually first sentence) of ‘Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences’ by Galileo and as translated to English by Henry Crew & Alfonso de Salvio (1914)
“The constant activity which you Venetians display in you famous arsenal suggests to the studious mind a large field for investigation, especially that part of the work which involves mechanics; for in this department all types of instruments and machines are constantly being constructed by many artisans, among whom there must be some who, partly by inherited experience and party by their own observation have become highly expert and clever in explanation.”
Galileo, required his book be published in Italian because these ‘artisans’ to whom Galileo had written. They were his definition of SKILLED LABORERS.
Watched the Video and Honestly besides talking about how hot shot crews have more quals then regular crews it dosent provide anything real proving its a skilled job. Yes people need to be in shape not a skill, walking with a drip torch not a skill. Should re make it telling why those things are skills how it takes years to gain certifications go into statistics etc. Videos of fire for eye candy is nice but if you going to take the time to make a video and most likely not be employed next season as its the governments video as they paid you to take it while you were working should have taken the time to at least make damn sure it states why wildland firefighters are skilled.
Dude, crews make videos all the time. It serves to build a sense of camaraderie and celebrate the accomplishment of getting through the season. I’m not sure why you think this fella won’t be employed next season. Most of my seasonals shoot video, as long as it doesn’t detract from work or capture inappropriate behavior or sensitive information (like homes on fire or medical incidents) I’m fully supportive. PIO have thanked my crew members for video captured and posts made to Facebook and Instagram. I realize it’s a fine line, but if we don’t capture and share what goes on on the ground, the public remains in the dark about what the reality of the job looks like.
You must work for McClintock. I had took my firefigher one certification, took a urban interface structure program in college. If you think they are talking about all wildland firefighters. Smokejumpers, engines crews, helitak. You can’t just run out planes or just try and fly helicopter. Get out from under all the congressman desk and open your eyes.
Other than traveling in a low trajectory and leaving a slime trail, what other skills do YOU possess?!
I lol’ed, and basically agree.
Videographer is a good dude from what I know, but I don’t like this kind of “thank me for my service, civilian” stuff one bit.
Sure, Walking with a torch isn’t much of a skill, but knowing how to direct 5 or 6 burners on a slope in mixed con without spotting it out is.
No, Nathen, the government does not own that video. The Forest Service doesn’t own it, the BLM doesn’t own it. Jack Jones owns it. Jack Jones shot the images, created the video, and owns the copyright to the video. The USFS promulgated for years the misinformation that they owned photos and videos, and they do not. The Forest Service does not get to overrule federal copyright law — and it’s actually international law as per the Berne Convention (http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p08_berne_convention), which set forth an international agreement on intellectual property rights. It applies to the rights of authors (and artists and other creators) who are nationals or residents in the participating countries. The Union comprises well over 100 countries, listed online here (http://www.copyrightaid.co.uk/copyright_information/berne_convention_signatories).
If you are hired as a PAO and you work as a PAO and your job duties include “shooting photos and video and editing and producing video,” then the agency owns the work you produce. Unless Jones has “photography and video production” listed on his job description, then that’s not his job and what he produces is his. He owns the copyright as soon as he produces the video, and no one else owns it. PERIOD.
Representative Tom McClintock has a long record of denigrating folks he knows nothing about.
Pretty well nailed it. How about getting the congressmen and women off their bottoms and go out and cut line for a day. Bet damn few would make it. I’m an old firefighter out of Texas Canyon and have been there , done that. Mr. Jones should get an Oscar for that documentary.
strong work! a better response to congressional ignorance couldn’t be better.
If members of the House and Senate were as “unskilled” in doing their jobs as wildland firefighters are “unskilled” in doing theirs, we might have a functioning Congress again.
Beautiful!!!
Well hello JW I’m down here watching and listening to the Dixie fire in my little town of Greenville.