USFS Chief Randy Moore shared what some called a tone-deaf Labor Day celebratory press release the day after a federal employee union accused the agency Moore runs of continuing ongoing wildland firefighter wage theft.
“We commemorate the struggles Labor Movement activists undertook to provide all workers across our nation with a more fair, just and equitable workplace,” Moore’s post said on the USFS website.
The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) said it’s facing one of those labor struggles under Moore’s leadership. The union saw the agency’s adoption of a new occupational series for wildland firefighters as a chance to end a decades-long tradition of wage theft, but numerous requests by the union went unanswered by the Service.
“After nearly three years of engagement…NFFE has determined it will not endorse the launch of the new series in its current form,” the union’s statement said. “Employees who volunteer to opt-in to the new series will still be performing duties without equal pay for substantially equal work in violation of law, rule, and regulation.”
Numerous aspects of wildland firefighter positions have either been misclassified or not included/graded by service administration, with the Forest Service not accurately calculating time-spent training for or performing major duties on the job, the union said. NFFE requested union employee representation to review and correct errors within the classifications, along with proper representation of EMT duties increasingly performed by wildland firefighters and adopting a career-ladder progression up to Grade 7.
NFFE said USFS failed to correct numerous errors in the new series, including:
- Hotshot (IHC) Squadboss: Error in grading factor, Uncorrected.
- Engine Assistant: Deceptive acronym used to hide supervisory duties.
- Handcrew Assistant: Crew organized improperly to meet stated goals.
- EMT: Major grade-controlling duty ignored.
Click here to see a full breakdown of each of NFFE’s issues.
Moore, in his Labor Day statement, specified that one of the labor movement’s pillars is fair pay for equitable labor while affirming some USFS employees still fail to meet that standard. He said Service leadership continues to work with Congress to “iron out a long-term solution for a permanent, competitive pay structure,” but NFFE’s recent statement makes it clear the union believes more needs to be done.
