The video is a bit misleading.
First, from the associated press, in regards to pay, "Base salaries for Newport Beach lifeguards range from $58,000 for the lowest-paid officer to $108,492 for the top-paid battalion chief, according to a 2010 city report on lifeguard pay. Adding in overtime, special compensation, pension, medical benefits, life insurance and other pay, two battalion chiefs cleared more than $200,000 in 2010, while the lowest-paid officer made more than $98,000."
Which isn't too outrageous for Newport, where, according to wikipedia "Males had a median income of $73,425 versus $45,409 for females. The per capita income for the city was $63,015." $58,000 to $108,000 lies fairly across this range. So, their pay is roughly average.
On top of that, these aren't the guys in the towers. Again from the associated press: "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."
So, what we have is 13 professionals who manage 200 lifeguards being paid comparably similar wages to those in similar positions (firemen and policemen) and average wages for the city they live in while working over 40 hour weeks. That sounds... pretty standard and reasonable.
Sources:
Associated Press: http://www.google.com/host
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
