Read it here first. The Associated Press has now picked up the story we posted here back on May 11 about the compensation of government beach lifeguards in California. The wire service reports that the $210,000-a-year lifeguards are fighting back with justifications of their compensation:
Those whose salaries are in question point out that they hold management roles, have decades of service and are considered public safety employees under the fire department, the same as fire captains and battalion chiefs. The fulltime guards train more than 200 seasonal lifeguards who make between $16 and $22 an hour, run a junior lifeguard program that brings in $1 million a year and oversee safety on nearly seven miles of sand.
Many began as seasonal guards and worked their way into management roles and must stay certified as instructors in an array of advanced emergency, scuba and rescue techniques, said Brent Jacobsen, president of the Lifeguard Management Association, the lifeguards' union....He acknowledged that the current pension benefit now seems excessive given the recession.