After the Palisades fire broke out in January, the head of the powerful firefighters union, Freddy Escobar, quickly got on the news and continued to say what he always had: The Los Angeles Fire Department was underfunded. <\/p>\n
With millions around the world paying attention to the dire situation in Los Angeles, Escobar had a much larger audience than the month before, when he made the same points at a meeting before the city\u2019s Board of Fire Commissioners.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fire chief does not have the money to staff the resources that are needed,\u201d Escobar told The Times on Jan. 10, three days after the fires started burning. \u201cUnfortunately, everything was lined up to have a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Escobar says now in an administrative claim against the city that his comments about the department \u2014 which he thought were protected speech from his position as the elected head of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City \u2014 led to retaliatory action from Mayor Karen Bass. <\/p>\n
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, and Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley address the media at a press conference in January.<\/p>\n
(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The city has 45 days to respond to the claim before Escobar can file a lawsuit. The LAFD declined to comment on \u201cunion-related matters.\u201d The mayor\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Escobar, a 30-year-veteran of the fire department, has run UFLAC since 2018. Months after the fires he was suspended from his union position<\/a> following an audit, which found that more than 70% of the transactions he made on his union credit card \u2014 worth $230,466 \u2014 had no supporting documentation.<\/p>\n He also came under scrutiny from the media and the fire department after it was revealed that he made more than $500,000 in 2022 in union pay along with overtime firefighting work \u2014 about 78 hours of work per week.<\/p>\n But Escobar said in his claim that the investigation into his overtime pay was calculated retaliation by the mayor\u2019s office because of his criticism during the fires.<\/p>\n The mayor summoned Escobar to City Hall on Jan. 10 to discuss the fate of Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, Escobar wrote in the claim. <\/p>\n Crowley, like Escobar, had been critical of the mayor and of the level of funding <\/a>the fire department received in the lead up to the Palisades fire. The chief said the city of Los Angeles had failed her and the department<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the meeting, Bass asked the union leader if he supported Crowley and why he kept making complaints about the staffing levels of the fire department, according to Escobar.<\/p>\n The mayor \u201cexpressed displeasure with those statements,\u201d Escobar said in the claim.<\/p>\n Crowley and other mayoral staff joined what Escobar called a \u201ctense\u201d meeting, where they were both questioned about their comments to the media. <\/p>\n \u201cFrom their expressions and tone, Escobar understood that his statements had offended the mayor,\u201d the claim said.<\/p>\n While he assumed Crowley would be ousted, Escobar still believed he was protected in his union position.<\/p>\n Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley gets hugged by a firefighter after the Palisades fire.<\/p>\n (Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Crowley was ousted from the top position<\/a> at the fire department, but Escobar continued to run the union. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n