Minnesota DNR firefighters union says pay issues leading to burnout
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Minnesota Department of Natural Resources firefighters teamed up with their U.S. Forest Service counterparts this summer to fight fires across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
But behind the scenes, DNR firefighters say Minnesota gives them inconsistent standards for time off, compensation and overtime among their three unions.
Those inconsistencies impact working conditions, said Megan Eiting, a forester and firefighter based in Eveleth who has been with the DNR for 18 years.
“It encourages people to push through fatigue, to push through burnout, to keep working to protect your income,” Eiting said, speaking on behalf of her union, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees.
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Union firefighters are asking for a standardized pay system for all DNR firefighters.
In a statement to MPR News, the DNR said, "Under Minnesota law, the DNR is responsible for preventing and extinguishing wildfires. We take this responsibility very seriously. We also take seriously the responsibility to appropriately compensate our staff according to state and federal law, labor contract and policy and to ensure safety and adequate time off for our firefighters. In the collective bargaining process, the State has made several offers related to overtime, which have not been accepted by MAPE. "
Eiting spoke with MPR News host Clay Masters. The transcript below was edited for time and clarity.
What are the concerns around compensation?
You're doing the same work. You have the same qualifications, and yet you're getting compensated differently. It's not uncommon for firefighters to be working overtime and not know what rate they're going to be compensated.
Since we have nationally recognized qualifications, we assist our federal partners. We go out of state, in state, in the Boundary Waters, on federal fires to Canada.
The national standard they've recognized after these really long 14-working-day assignments, is … to have people mandatory take days off. The national standard is to pay up to three paid R&R days, or rest and recuperation days following an assignment of at least 14 days.
There are state-imposed limits on when and how many R&R days we can accept following an in-state assignment. So in the Boundary Waters, the July lightning incident fires, a lot of those were federal jurisdiction. On those fires, we're not allowed at all to accept any of the offered R&R days, and so I've gotten a lot of calls this year because obviously we had a lot of folks up there.
What are the safety concerns around not getting comparable rest or compensation?
In the last year now, we've had two (deaths) that have hit really close to home. You know, this this one this summer in the Boundary Waters, but then last fall we had one of our own, not in Minnesota, but in Idaho. And so, when that happens, it kind of hits you like a ton of bricks, and it really puts into focus what the conditions are that we're exposed to doing this work.
You know, I should be working on, trying to explore ways we can get early retirement options or presumptive healthcare benefits for smoke exposure and and things like that. And so it's frustrating that we that I'm still working on these pieces that others before me have worked really hard on that we've been over and over and just can't make headway.
With climate change extending fire season, what happens if the concerns aren’t addressed?
These are concerns that we've had for years. And as we get into these extended years, where we're getting extended seasons into the summer, maybe into the fall, maybe into the winter, if we have low snow years, you know, that is a real concern.
It's really going to drive people out, and really going to make them consider if this is the job that they want to do, is it worth it for their family? And when you lose people, when they walk out the door, all of the qualifications, all the experience, all that walks out the door with them.
