More than 600 federal employees at Yosemite National Park and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park in California have voted by a wide margin to join the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM). The group includes park rangers, recreation specialists, firefighters, forestry workers, maintenance staff, facility operation specialists, and others.
This development is part of an ongoing organizing effort led by the IAM Organizing Department and NFFE-IAM. According to Jerry McCarty, IAM Assistant Organizing Coordinator, existing master agreements between NFFE-IAM and federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service provide immediate protections for new members.
“Federal employees at Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks realized the only way to have a voice in this political climate was to form a union. The IAM has all the necessary resources to make it happen for them and other National Parks across the country,” McCarty said.
IAM Organizing Special Representative Art Jackson highlighted concerns about job security under current government policies. “Federal workers are facing a changing landscape that the current administration designed to keep them guessing about their employment security,” Jackson said. “These National Park Service workers ensure that Americans can visit and enjoy these beautiful national treasures now and for centuries to come. They now stand tall and proud like the Sequoia trees they protect because they know life and work is better in a union.”
The National Park Service currently faces staffing shortages with hundreds of vacant positions nationwide. Many roles offer hourly wages ranging from $17.60 to $21.47 for wage grade 5 jobs, which often require work on holidays, weekends, or overtime due to year-round public access requirements.
IAM Assistant Organizing Director Juan Eldridge noted recent success in union elections among federal workers: “We are having great success in union elections with federal workers right now because NFFE-IAM and the IAM Organizing Department understand the assignment,” Eldridge said. “The IAM Organizing department has solid experience with Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) elections, and these workers need union representation without delay before some of the Trump administration’s job actions take effect without the workers’ input.”
IAM Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett added: ”It just makes sense that they get professional representation from a union like no other, the IAM Union,” Bennett said. “We have a proven record of fighting for federal government civilian workers with NFFE-IAM, and new members choose us because we know the drill and get results.”
Additional representation elections involving federal service workers are scheduled across various locations as part of this ongoing initiative.
