This summer the scales tipped. More than 97% of employees at Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks who cast ballots voted to unionize<\/a>, with results certified last week. More than 600 staffers \u2014 including interpretive park rangers, biologists, firefighters and fee collectors \u2014 are now represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees. <\/p>\n Steven Gutierrez, national business representative with the National Federation of Federal Employees, said it took mass firings to \u201cwake people up.\u201d <\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cCulture is hard to change,\u201d said Steven Gutierrez, a national business representative for the union. \u201cIt takes something like this administration firing people to wake people up, to say, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m vulnerable here and I need to invest in my career.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The unionized employees work at some of California\u2019s most celebrated and highly visited national parks. Yosemite is famous for its awe-inspiring valley, while Sequoia and Kings Canyon are known for their giant sequoia trees<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amid that beauty is a workforce that is frustrated and fearful. Two employees at Yosemite National Park described rock-bottom morale amid recent turmoil \u2014 and a sense that the union could provide an avenue for change. Both are union representatives and requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this administration, I think there\u2019s a lot more people who are scared, and I think the union definitely helps towards protections that we really want,\u201d said one employee. <\/p>\n National Park Service Ranger Anna Nicks walks through a grove of sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park in May 2024. <\/p>\n (Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Despite staff being depleted by buyouts and a hiring freeze, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has ordered parks<\/a> to remain \u201copen and accessible.\u201d As a result, the employee said visitors may not notice something is off. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of folks doing multiple jobs and just trying to hold up the park,\u201d she said, adding that she believes that the union will help ensure people get paid properly for the work they do and that their duties don\u2019t shift. <\/p>\n The employees stressed that many workplace problems they want to see fixed \u2014 including low pay and squalid living conditions \u2014 predate Trump\u2019s second stint in the White House. But recent developments have exacerbated the situation. <\/p>\n Because pay hasn\u2019t kept pace with inflation, one employee said he\u2019s unable to pay rent and lives out of his car for most of the year. Meanwhile, he said, those in park housing face safety threats such as hantavirus-carrying rodents that invade living spaces, caving-in roofs and unstable decks. Understaffing has plagued Yosemite for years.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople that you see working here, they\u2019re really at their wit\u2019s end,\u201d he said. \u201cPersonally speaking, it\u2019s just a lot of work to handle. Years ago, we had twice as many people doing this work.\u201d <\/p>\n Staffers are \u201cworried about their futures,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n The National Park Service did not respond to a request for comment. But in a statement to a Senate appropriations subcommittee in May, Burgum said the Trump administration remains committed to supporting the parks, while looking for ways to cut costs. <\/p>\n A waterfall is reflected in water in the meadow in the Yosemite Valley as the snowpack melts in April 2023.<\/p>\n (Francine Orr \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cSince becoming Interior Secretary, I\u2019ve traveled to National Parks, historic sites, and wildlife refuges to learn and hear from leadership on the ground,\u201d Burgum said.<\/a> \u201cWe\u2019re instituting changes to get more people actually working in the parks and are looking forward to what Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly forecasted to be an \u2018outstanding summer.\u2019 \u201d <\/p>\n The unionization vote comes as the Trump administration seeks to strip federal employees of labor protections many have long enjoyed. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive orde<\/a>r that directs certain federal agencies \u2014 including NASA, the National Weather Service and the Bureau of Reclamation \u2014 to end collective bargaining agreements with unions representing federal employees. <\/p>\n The Department of Veterans Affairs previously moved to terminate protections for more than 400,000 of its workers. The president\u2019s overall effort on this front is being fought in court, although federal judges have so far sided with the administration<\/a>. <\/p>\n As labor unrest mounts, Americans and foreign tourists are visiting national parks like never before. In 2024, there were a record 332 million visits to national parks<\/a>, including 4 million to Yosemite. Crowds continued to stream into national parks over Labor Day weekend. <\/p>\n Groups that advocate for public lands say that short staffing is quietly adding to long-standing problems.<\/p>\n Preventative Search and Rescue Program Coordinator Anna Marini gives the Lutter family children junior guide books after they finished a hike in August 2024 in Joshua Tree National Park.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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