Organizers attempted for two years to unionize employees at Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon but did not reach critical mass until this summer. Mass firings of National Park Service employees in February under the Trump administration jolted staff, with many reinstated and litigation ongoing over the legality of the firings. The Park Service has lost about a quarter of its staff since Trump reclaimed the White House, compounded by buyouts and a hiring freeze. More than 97% of voting employees at the three parks approved unionization, resulting in over 600 staff represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees. Roles represented include interpretive park rangers, biologists, firefighters and fee collectors. Employees report low morale and hope the union will provide protections and better career security.
"Culture is hard to change," said Steven Gutierrez, a national business representative for the union. "It takes something like this administration firing people to wake people up, to say, 'Hey, I'm vulnerable here and I need to invest in my career.'"
"With this administration, I think there's a lot more people who are scared, and I think the union definitely helps towards protections that we really want," said one employee.
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