The head of the union representing Los Angeles Fire Department employees took home more than half a million dollars last year, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.
In 2022, the most recent year for which records were available, Freddy Escobar had a base salary of more than $184,000, but through overtime, he took in an additional $240,000 in pay and benefits, the Times reports.
Furthermore, in his role as president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, he received almost $116,000 in a union stipend.
All told, that’s about $540,000.
A request for comment from Escobar and the UFLAC was not immediately returned, and Escobar did not respond to the Times’ questions.
The issue of Escobar’s pay comes amid criticism of city leaders from those who claim budget cuts impacted firefighters’ response to the Palisades, Eaton and other fires in January.
