California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday vetoed a bipartisan bill, designed to give raises to California state firefighters, only nine months after the state's most expensive wildfire raged through Los Angeles.
The raise would have bumped their salaries by between 11 and 29 percent.
Current base pay for state firefighters is $54,122 per year, while Los Angeles city firefighters make $85,315.
Gavin Newsom recently VETOED a bill that would increase the pay of firefighters in his state.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 7, 2025
This same governor allocated $50 MILLION in state funds to protect criminal illegal aliens and "fight" the Trump administration.
Do you see where the Democrats' priorities are now? pic.twitter.com/YDG8WW1DoU
Governor Newsom argued that the bill would create “significant cost pressures for the state” and undermine collective bargaining power for salary increases. “Establishing a statutory floor for employees of a single department undermines this process, to the detriment of both the state and other bargaining units,” Newsom wrote.
Union members condemned the governor's decision.
“Cal Fire is an all-risk fire department, just like a San Francisco Fire Department or Santa Rosa or San Jose Fire Department,” Tim Edwards, the president of the Local 2881 union representing CAL FIRE workers, said. “We don’t have the staffing like they do. We don’t have the workweek like they do, and we definitely don’t have to pay like they do, but we do the exact same job at the exact same training, and we’re expected to do the exact same, the exact same services.”
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Edwards also noted the veto would not help to remedy CAL FIRE's staff shortage. State firefighters are also expected to work more than local firefighters, and yet local departments, on average, have around a 17 percent lead in total compensation, and nearly 90 percent greater staffing.
“It’s highly disappointing and frustrating especially when he vetoes the bill the day before we put six members on the memorial wall honoring fallen firefighters in the state of California,” he continued.
The bill would have required CAL FIRE salaries to be set within 15 percent of the average pay at 20 local fire departments.
It would have cost the state between $373 million and $609 million in the first year, according to a State Assembly analysis.
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