Xavier Becerra
From his time in Congress to serving as California’s Attorney General, Xavier Becerra has fought to preserve firefighters’ right to have a voice in the workplace.
HAS THE EXPERIENCE WE TRUST TO DELIVER FOR FIREFIGHTERS
A Message from the CPF Executive Board
In the last several weeks, the CPF Executive Board has confronted a difficult decision on how to best move forward in advocating for the health, safety, and well-being of our membership and their families. We do not come to this decision lightly, but we also recognize the importance of this decision for the road ahead. After interviewing the remaining candidates for Governor who have a viable chance at winning in the upcoming Gubernatorial Election, we have concluded that Xavier Becerra is the candidate we can trust to deliver for us.
As we have always said, the Governor is critically important to the work we do at CPF. Whoever is elected will have a direct say in the day-to-day operations of the fire service by appointing those who oversee the administration of our state’s emergency response system, signing bills that impact the safety of our workplaces, overseeing the progress we have made in protecting firefighters from cancer, and ultimately serving as the leading advocate for the causes we fight for across California. With this in mind, sitting on the sidelines in this race was not an option. The Executive Board felt that it was necessary to let Californians know who is the best candidate for firefighters.
Xavier Becerra is that candidate. He comes from a working-class background, raised in a union family, and has dedicated his life to public service. With over three decades of experience, he has stood with us in ensuring that firefighters are part of the decision-making process by protecting our collective bargaining rights, defending our retirement guarantees, and delivering resources to fire departments across California. We are confident that he will be a Governor who understands and supports firefighters.
Xavier Becerra Brings
A Commitment to Public Safety
An Understanding of Workers’ Compensation Challenges
Support for Retirement Security
A Proven Union Collaboration Experience
An Understanding of Firefighter Needs
A Vision for Fire Service Funding
Why Xavier Becerra is the
Best Candidate for Firefighters
Experience – Xavier Becerra brings over three decades of leadership, including serving as the Attorney General of California and the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. He will be ready to deliver on day one.
A Record of Supporting Firefighters – During his time in Congress, Becerra advanced IAFF priorities including protecting the right for public safety unions to collectively bargain, expanding death and disability benefit presumptions for firefighters, and delivering resources for the fire service. As Attorney General, he fought to protect the California Rule, a legal principle that safeguards a firefighter’s right to the defined-benefit pension that they have earned.
The Vision We Trust – Throughout the process, Becerra has demonstrated a deep understanding of our issues. During a town hall CPF hosted in the fall, he discussed reducing wall time, lowering the retirement age and fixing other disparities in retirement benefits and rights created by PEPRA, and reforming workers’ compensation for firefighters to speed up their access to care.
Key examples of
Xavier’s leadership
Xavier Becerra is the son of a union construction worker who knows personally the struggles impacting working Californians.
As a Member of Congress, Attorney General, and HHS Secretary, Xavier has stood up for the health and safety of our members by expanding workers’ compensation presumptions for firefighters, strengthening public safety collective bargaining rights, advocating for protection against cancer-causing chemicals, and protecting retirement guarantees.
Becerra supports protecting and strengthening firefighters’ retirement security and collective bargaining rights.
Supporting Firefighters
at the National Level:
Co-Sponsored H.R. 980 and several bills aimed at guaranteeing public safety workers’ collective bargaining rights as firefighters and public employees everywhere faced attacks on their union protections.
Co-Sponsored the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act to make heart disease, lung disease, and specified cancers presumed to be caused by employment as a firefighter in the federal fire service for the purposes of death and disability claims.
Led and defended the Affordable Care Act to lower the cost of insurance, hold insurance companies accountable for denying coverage, and expanding Medicaid funding which has increased EMS reimbursements while also reducing the wall time that keeps firefighters tied up at the Emergency Room.
Co-Sponsored H.R. 6081 to provide tax relief for emergency responders.
As Health and Human Services Secretary, Becerra increased funding for emergency responders by directing $68.2 million in grants through the Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Program aimed at reducing burnout in the fire service.
Supporting Firefighters
at the Local Level:
As Attorney General, Xavier Becerra stood with firefighters by not pursuing the State Government's attempt to throw out the California Rule that protects employers from cutting the pension guarantees firefighters are promised. Throughout his career, Becerra has stood against attempts to attack defined benefit pension plans and privatize the fire service.
Becerra represented CAL FIRE as Attorney General to recover funds from damages incurred by the Thomas Fire in Ventura County.
In 2019, Becerra wrote letters urging Congress to pass legislation addressing dangerous PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam and providing screening for exposure of firefighter personnel. He later joined several Attorneys General across the country pushing the EPA to expand review and regulation of PFAS chemicals.
While Attorney General, Becerra filed an amicus brief in Janus v. AFSCME defending public sector unions’ ability to collect dues from their membership.