"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.
And when the surf is really pumping -- like it was late this week with 20-foot wave faces at the infamous Wedge -- the supervisory lifeguards are just as busy as the seasonal staff with dangerous rescues, said Brent Jacobsen, president of the Lifeguard Management Association, the lifeguards' union.
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, Jacobsen said."
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Also the "total compensation" listed isn't salary, it's adding in employer-paid medical, pension, etc. which at many private-sector jobs is 25-50% of the salary amount. Are they paid too much? Maybe, but the soundbite version is misleading.
