California Professional Firefighters

Windswept wildland fires in Riverside and Ventura counties have forced the evacuation of hundreds of local residents, the leading edge of what could be a record-setting fire season.

CalPERS' investment portfolio hit a record $261.7 billion last Friday, earning back all of the investment losses suffered as a result of the 2008 market meltdown.

Drought conditions in California have caused a 45% increase in wildland fire activity, signaling the early beginning of a potentially bad fire season.  

 Cities and counties are far and away the biggest spenders on lobbying at the California State Capitol. According to the LA Times, local agencies spent nearly $100 million last year on lobbying, a total that "dwarfs" spending by unions, oil companies and energy firms. 

The Sacramento Bee has renewed an attack on legislation aimed at easing a 100-year-old restriction on firefighter survivor benefits in a harsh, and in CPF's view, misleading editorial 

Building the Next Generation: This May, would-be firefighters will have the chance to meet department reps and learn if they have what it takes at the annual Career Expos in Orange and Livermore, co-sponsored by CPF through the CFFJAC and its Women's Commission.

More than 700 California firefighters are scheduled to get layoff notices tomorrow, and local public safety grants face steep cuts ... all courtesy of the latest round of federal budget brinksmanship. 

It is with great sadness that Ventura City Firefighters Local 3431 announces the passing of Retired Fire Captain John Duff. John passed away with his family at his side on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 after a long and hard battle with job-related cancer.

The next generation of retirees will be measurably worse off thanks, in large measure, to the end of defined benefit pensions. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. faces a $6 trillion retirement savings deficit that will likely mean greater pressure on the social safety net and more poverty among the elderly.

The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) provided San Diego firefighters and other public workers with a major victory this week. In an exhaustive and well-documented decision, the PERB's chief administrative law judge ruled that San Diego's pension-slashing Measure B violated state collective bargaining law.